The Secrets of the Ojigi, The Act of Expressing with the Bowing
Ojigi is the act of bowing or lowering the head and upper back, typically used as a greeting, bow, apology, or gratitude in social and religious situations.
Historically, the ojigi was closely linked to samurai culture. During the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333) there was a growth in the figures of samurai warriors, which led to a series of codes of conduct and etiquette manuals that contained the correct way to interrelate between samurai. The word ojigi (お辞儀) comes from its homophone お時宜, which means to do something at the right or opportune moment, and was not limited to the act of bowing until the Edo period (1603 to 1868), when the samurai etiquette of ojigi became extended to the entire population. It is believed that it could originate from the arrival of Buddhism in Japan during the 5th century, but there are no final data on it.
Today the ojigi is based on the etiquette of the Ogasawara school, an ancient samurai clan founded over 800 years ago.
In modern Japan, bowing is a fundamental part of Japan’s most representative social etiquette, emphasizing respect and social position. From casual greetings, business meetings, to funerals, the ojigi is a fundamental part of interpersonal interaction and the ability to perform it correctly is an expected quality in adults. For this reason, even though we Japanese began to perform the ojigi from a very young age, many companies in Japan offer special training for their employees to learn how to perform the expected ojigi in business meetings.
Most Frequent Modes
In general, the ojigi falls into two broad categories, the zarei (座礼), or bowing while kneeling, and the ritsurei (立礼), standing bow.
In both cases, the bow is expected to be performed at the waist while keeping the back straight. Not doing it or showing signs of trying to do it correctly denotes disinterest, lack of sincerity and respect. Each of these has different subcategories depending on the angle of inclination and the position of the hands, which may depend on social status, situation and context.
