“More importantly, however, the formalized apprenticeship system led to higher and higher aesthetic and quality standards. The desire to make things better and better became compulsive. Japan’s traditional culture therefore tended to produce people who were korisho (koe-ree-show), or “perfectionists.”… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“The two “code words” itadakimasu (ee-tah-dah-kee-mahss) and gochisoh sama (go-chee-sohh sah-mah) are very important parts of the dining etiquette in Japan. Itadakimasu, said just… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“Ippiki Ookami (Ee-pee-kee Ohh-kah-me) Japan’s Lone Wolves Some years ago in Osaka, I was introduced to a young Japanese entrepreneur who had established a… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“More importantly, however, the formalized apprenticeship system led to higher and higher aesthetic and quality standards. The desire to make things better and better… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“One of the government edicts passed shortly after the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan’s last great shogunate dynasty (1603–1868), made it legal for… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“An example of en maku wo haru is the tatemae (tah-tay-my), “facade” or “public position,” characteristic of Japanese behavior, which is nothing other than… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“Refusing to drink or drinking only moderately must be done with diplomacy, because the Japanese believe that the only way you can really get… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“Until the end of Japan’s Shogunate Period in 1868, businesspeople were considered the lowest of the main social classes. (There were no lawyers in… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“When foreign visitors, unaware of this code, compliment individual Japanese, it may embarrass those receiving the praise and sometimes result in their colleagues becoming… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“late as the 1950s, a foreigner who was able to speak very good Japanese would frequently encounter people who were so conditioned to believe… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
“Some time during the Heian Period (794–1185), the size of a room was commonly determined by the amount of space a person occupied while… — Boyé Lafayette de Mente Copy Share Image
