Key Points
It would be unthinkable for a business meeting to commence without formal bows..
And while etiquette and archery may not appear to be compatible skills, Ogasawara said incorporating proper etiquette into a person's daily life is required to attain the strong legs and perfect posture needed to have both hands free to fire a bow from a galloping horse..
The "keirei" bow is the most common variant in the Japanese business world and requires the person to lean at an angle of 30 degrees and look at the ground about 1 meter in front of their toes..
Another, far more rare bow, is the "dogeza," which requires the person to get on their hands and knees and place their face on the ground and was in the past used when a person was begging for their life after somehow offending a powerful superior..
Matthew Strecher, a professor of Japanese literature at Sophia University in Tokyo, was given lessons in etiquette when he first arrived in Japan in the 1980s, with emphasis being placed on a proper bow "not just ducking my head briefly," he said..
