Bowing in Degrees

As the Toyota recalls mount to epidemic proportions, apologies are flying thick and fast. Bowing to say sorry has its own geometry...here is an excerpt from the Times -

The important thing to remember about the Japanese bow is that, when it comes to saying sorry, there are several contortions.

Degree and length of hold are the key measures: the theatre is important here, not the actual regret.

There is the momentarily-held 10-degrees (gosh, was that your toe I trod on?), the briefly-held 25-degrees (sorry, we’ve run out of tuna) the 2-second, 45 degrees (I know you’re the Best Man, but the flight is cancelled) the 5-second 45 degrees (I've just backed over your dog, boss), the 20-second 90 degrees (our widget blinds kids) and the “dogeza” kneel on the floor (evacuate your village, the plant is exploding).


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Links / References -

• TimesOnline - Bow to say Sorry? You will be - 4 Feb 2010
• The Economist AudioGuide - Doing Business in Tokyo - 10 Feb 2010