To me , I am startled that the West has not yet "grasped" the mere rudiments of the East.
I refer to the taking off of the shoes when entering a house.
I do it automatically.
People in the Uk (bless them) seem to think it is ok if I just "wipe my feet" on the "Welcome" mat provided.
After that, I still take my shoes off, leave them on the mat, and only then I bow.
In all the places I stay, I do this.
The question has arisen for me thus: "what about your own house?"
My answer is the same, hence the title. I take off my shoes when I go inside.
The point? When will Westerners learn to have this amount of respect for Us?
American Tourists in Japan have to take off their shoes because they are there, out of respect ( very often begrudged). We just take off our shoes in the USA because we are Japanese.
At least I choose to.
The difference is clear.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
"Even in your own house?"
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6 comments:
Please e-mail me your e-mail address, if and when you get a new one. The current one does not seem to exist anymore, unless you have banned me. Now, to your blog.
I prefer to walk around in my house in my socks, but I would never leave my shoes outside my front door. The reason is because they might be removed by a dog, cat, or assorted other animals. Let me add young children to this list. Let me further add children who are at an age to know better than to take the shoes of others, plus adults--not just the homeless--who might look at it as an invitation to take them for whatever reason people do stupid things. Naturally, this is not the majority of Americans, but too many. Other parts of the Western World may be the same, I do not know. That is simply how our culture has developed.
I would never, ever think of taking my shoes off in most cases when visiting someone in my own culture. Now, if my shoes were muddy or otherwise unclean for entering a home, then it only makes sense to pull them off and in agreement with the homeowner, place them in an appropriate spot designated by the homeowner.
If I were in Japan or other Asian countries where removing ones shoes is a common cultural practice, then I might be reminded of this a few times, but after a time, it would become second nature to me, I hope. I also hope such homes have few obstacles ones toes are likely to meet in a most unfortunate misstep, as I confess happens in my home too often. It could be Americans put more obstacles in ones walking path in their homes and this led to wearing shoes to save feet and toes. Don't know how one would research this, short of maybe comparing an Asian home with an American home.
:-) I have been known to do that short little Asian bow, which seems to be a kind of hello or show of respect. To Asians, I mean. To me, this is a show of respect and knowledge of another's culture and a way of saying we are equals, no matter where you came from. I want the person to feel comfortable within my culture. I do not think I have ever expressed this thought in any public forum or private conversation before, so it is not easy to explain what this simple gesture means, although it is obvious to me and the other person at that moment.
I would be glad to comment further, if you wish. Sometimes out of a kind of true ignorance a person will begrudge what they are doing; sometimes out of stupidity they will feel this way; sometimes people indeed are egotistical idiots, whose vanity reveals their true self.
Maybe we can get to issues like Japanese public baths as opposed to Americans private bathrooms or some other cultural subjects I can't recall at the moment. I hope I have remained serious today, for I take this subject seriously and I am glad you brought it up. I can't believe I have never brought this subject up with any Japanese since being on the internet!!!
Wyman, we don't leave the shoes outside the house, there is a designated area inside the front door. Once de-shoed, you step up onto the main laminated floor.
Well, that explains why no four-legged varmint ever runs off with the shoes of a Japanese. I mainly have Hollywood to go by and I think I have seen movies where both your way has been portrayed and, if not outside, then where outsiders would have access--such as animals. So, my mistake. Still, most housewives I know would not want smelly feet inside their homes, which is what you get here sometimes when we pull our shoes off. I assume you wear mostly sandals or open-air shoes in Japan?
Oh, another thing which may have confused me is I have read of Asian cultures where it is the custom in apartments to leave shoes outside the door. Is this true in Japan? Not venturing through a great many cultures, I am not well informed on most customs. What is the big deal about pulling your shoes off when you enter a Japanese home, anyway? If I may be "the ugly American" for a minute. It is the soul that makes the person, not the sole of their feet. Thank you.
Allow me to repeat my earlier question: What is the big deal about pulling your shoes off when entering a Japanese home? In some sense I know it involves respect, but out of what historical/cultural background did this custom evolve? From this background, how did it become important?
I think cleanliness is the most relevant term.
Thank you. I managed to research the subject and found I bought the spiritual aspects a bit easier than the cleanliness aspects. Both seemed trivial bits of an ancient custom with little modern relevance until I read you still have "houses of paper", which I thought were few and far between after World War 2; paper burns easily, as you know. So, I learned one more thing about Japan I was unsure about.
I would respect the custom myself. As quaint as many Asian customs may seem to this Westerner, I see them as a vital part of who people are and you should respect others as you expect them to respect you. I think we in the West do not get much beyond Eastern philosophy, when we should consider how advanced Asian cultures were when we first met them. They were so far ahead of us, it might be worth it to consider Asian customs might be far ahead of us too. Certainly worth considering until you can honestly reject it, anyway.
That is why it seems incongruent to me that Nature lovers like the Japanese continue to wish to hunt whales, when most of the rest of the world has given it up for the sake of the whales. Seems like most of Japan would protest this industry and custom.
By the way, when in Hawaii and Alaska, your shoe custom seems to prevail among the enlightened. I did not know this. I would worry about freezing my toes off in Alaska, though. Even if I can't shut up, this blog has led me to learn a few things I did not know before. :-) Look forward to the day when we might rub our noses together like the Eskimoes do, while practicing their custom. I have known that one since I was a kid. P.S.--My posts are not posting before about 4 to 6 attempts now.
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