The bow in Japan is not , contrary to Western conventional thought, a gesture of submission. According to Japanese tradition, the human body has three “zones” . Heaven ( from the shoulders up) Man (from Shoulders to hip)and Earth ( from the hips down.) When one bows in Japan, one offers the highest of the body in respect, the heaven aspect. Obama is indeed as you say, prostrating himself, and Akihito Samma, is not bowing even a little, either because he i s surprised, or because he does not respect Obama.The real key is the empress, who is not bowing even a little.
They do not respect Obama enough to bow even a little.This is done with feeling in Japan, and is spontaneous.It is a thing involving a type of perception very different to Westernern cultural ettiquette. A genuine bow can actually be felt in the heart. And Akihito knows this bow is all show.No heart. That is likely why he does not return Obama’s bow, even a little.Nor does the Empress. Obama , intent on being the skillful inter cultural president, shows here that he knows nothing of Japanese culture.Before one bows there is a brief glance at the eyes of the person to whom one bows, a spark. This is what Obama is missing, or they both would be bowing back.
Secondly, Obama should have bowed before he shook hands, in the proper way, with his hands on his upper thigh, and he should not have bowed so deeply, because he is not a Japanese subject... a slow respectful bow of 45 to 50 degrees would have been required in his case, if Obama knew the correct protocol, which he obviously does not. So it is a false submissive bow of a man who has little honor in the way of Japanese thinking. A man who wants something. A man not to be trusted.
Obama did not fool the Imperial couple even one little bit, and they are strained to remain polite, humoring Obama as it were. Patronizing conduct gets one no where fast in Japan. Generally Japanese folks know a genuine bow from a false one by the way it feels, a form of perception which few Westerners experience, but still some do.
Obama has idiots for protocol officers, or alteratively, he did not listen to what they had to say about it.
Obama would have been much better off simply shaking hands, instead of this empty, false bow, completely off in its lack of genuiness. The bow of a snake.
I predict that Obama will make little progress with his diplomatic agenda in Japan, he will give much, and receive little in return.
Cross thread reference, mega data on the wider strategic implications of this botched “bow”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2386153/posts
EXCELLENT post! Thank you! Especially the second paragraph.
Uhmmm, just one wrong thing with what you said. The Japanese, along with other Asian cultures, are beginning to move to our way of thinking. The bow is by no means a showing of submission. In fact, in the video I see the receiver of the bow to be quite happy that the bower (Obama) actually knows their customs.
Any Asians on this thread to back me up? For the most part they have tried to meld their customs with our. To get a bow and hand shake at the same time is no slap in the face to them but rather a meeting of two different ways of thinking. Since I am Asian I have found that bowing while shaking the hand of someone seems to please them quite a bit since they realize I am taking their culture into account.
Wow...I never knew that bowing had so many different meanings...
“Bowing has many functions in one. It expresses the feeling of respect, thanking, apologizing, greeting, and so on. It’s a convenient and important custom for you to learn. You can bow, when you say, “Thank you”, “Sorry”, “Hello”, “Good bye”, “Congratulations”, “Excuse me”, “Good night”, “Good Morning”, and more.”
“...there are different ways of bowing. It depends on the social status or age of the person you bow to. If the person is higher status or older than you are, you should bow deeper and longer. It is polite to bow, bending from your waist.”
http://gojapan.about.com/cs/etiquetteinjapan/a/bowing.htm
Perhaps not so different culturally. The royal couple can be seen to go bolt upright, perhaps even draw back from the bow almost imperceptibly. At the same time, desiring to show royal grace, much like the Queen of England, they smile and attempt to be polite. But they clearly know what they're dealing with.