Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“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,…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“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…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“More importantly, however, the formalized apprenticeship system led to higher and higher aesthetic and quality standards. The desire to make things better…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“One of the government edicts passed shortly after the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan’s last great shogunate dynasty (1603–1868), made it…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“An example of en maku wo haru is the tatemae (tah-tay-my), “facade” or “public position,” characteristic of Japanese behavior, which is nothing…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“Refusing to drink or drinking only moderately must be done with diplomacy, because the Japanese believe that the only way you can…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“Until the end of Japan’s Shogunate Period in 1868, businesspeople were considered the lowest of the main social classes. (There were no…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“When foreign visitors, unaware of this code, compliment individual Japanese, it may embarrass those receiving the praise and sometimes result in their…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“late as the 1950s, a foreigner who was able to speak very good Japanese would frequently encounter people who were so conditioned…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente

“Some time during the Heian Period (794–1185), the size of a room was commonly determined by the amount of space a person…

— Boyé Lafayette de Mente