Gift giving custom in Japan
I have been living in the states for 7 years. Very first year in the states was with some culture shock. Japanese culture is a little bit westernized but still,some things were very new or sounded strange to me.
One of the things is gift-giving custom. In Japan, gift giving is common thing in personal or business life.
In mid July,people give gift to people they know and they were taken good care of or to supervisors at company,relatives.. This custom is called "o chu- gen". Usually people give gifts like assortment of beer,ham,summer drinks, deserts,cookies,coffee... if you receive one,you will give "O chu- gen" gifts to people who gave gifts to you too.
Then, at the end of each year,gift giving custom again called "O se i bo". It is a custom to give gifts to those who helped one's life and gift giving usually done around mid December.
Kids gets Otoshidama (small envelope with some money in it) on New years day. This custom is,I think, can be considered part of gift giving custom in Japan.
So, our family received some gifts from people in summer and in winter,and we kids were very excited to find out what we have got.
Gift giving is way to show appreciation to others who helped you. When we visited my family in Japan,our dog "Palette" stayed at kennel in the states and,when we were in Japan,we tripped to western part of Japan (Nara,Kyoto,Kobe etc) and I got some gifts for kennel owner. For me, showing appreciation to someone that helped you was natural but, it was a little awkward when we went pick Palette up. I know,for her,it was business to take care of Palette and she gets paid.Kennel owner was surprised, but she was happy for unexpected gift from Japan.
It is also custom to bring gift to place where you visit for the first time. For example, if you were a business man and visit partner company on your business trip,chances are,you will be bringing small gift to them as custom. I usually bring gift to my new work places too. However,it was a little awkward moment when I did so here in the states although the company was Japanese company based in the states. I baked lemon curd bars and brought it to head office. I got surprise faces from everyone although they were hit among them. You will also bring small gifts to visit parents of your daughter's husband etc.
On the talk of gifts,one of the thing that shocked me most was Christmas gifts giving custom here in the states. In Japan, kids write letters to Santa's and make wish list for him,but not so among adults. Say you have a boyfriend,and Christmas came around the corner.You would not ask him what he wants or you would not ask for wish list from him. You will come up with something that makes him smile and give the gifts as surprise gift.And you get surprise Christmas gifts from him too.
Therefore,when I was asked to come up with my wish list for Christmas,it was a little strange.
Gift giving in Japan is without wish list in general and, come with surprises. You can pick what other people would find it great from wide range of choices.However,some of the items are considered not appropriate to give.
For example, flowers are beautiful and pretty and brighten up the hospital rooms.But you are not supposed to bring in the potted flowers in Japan to hospital patients. It is a little bit from superstition.People believe that potted plants for patients at hospital encourage the sickness.
Surprise presents or expected presents,which do you prefer??
One of the things is gift-giving custom. In Japan, gift giving is common thing in personal or business life.
In mid July,people give gift to people they know and they were taken good care of or to supervisors at company,relatives.. This custom is called "o chu- gen". Usually people give gifts like assortment of beer,ham,summer drinks, deserts,cookies,coffee... if you receive one,you will give "O chu- gen" gifts to people who gave gifts to you too.
Then, at the end of each year,gift giving custom again called "O se i bo". It is a custom to give gifts to those who helped one's life and gift giving usually done around mid December.
Kids gets Otoshidama (small envelope with some money in it) on New years day. This custom is,I think, can be considered part of gift giving custom in Japan.
So, our family received some gifts from people in summer and in winter,and we kids were very excited to find out what we have got.
Gift giving is way to show appreciation to others who helped you. When we visited my family in Japan,our dog "Palette" stayed at kennel in the states and,when we were in Japan,we tripped to western part of Japan (Nara,Kyoto,Kobe etc) and I got some gifts for kennel owner. For me, showing appreciation to someone that helped you was natural but, it was a little awkward when we went pick Palette up. I know,for her,it was business to take care of Palette and she gets paid.Kennel owner was surprised, but she was happy for unexpected gift from Japan.
It is also custom to bring gift to place where you visit for the first time. For example, if you were a business man and visit partner company on your business trip,chances are,you will be bringing small gift to them as custom. I usually bring gift to my new work places too. However,it was a little awkward moment when I did so here in the states although the company was Japanese company based in the states. I baked lemon curd bars and brought it to head office. I got surprise faces from everyone although they were hit among them. You will also bring small gifts to visit parents of your daughter's husband etc.
On the talk of gifts,one of the thing that shocked me most was Christmas gifts giving custom here in the states. In Japan, kids write letters to Santa's and make wish list for him,but not so among adults. Say you have a boyfriend,and Christmas came around the corner.You would not ask him what he wants or you would not ask for wish list from him. You will come up with something that makes him smile and give the gifts as surprise gift.And you get surprise Christmas gifts from him too.
Therefore,when I was asked to come up with my wish list for Christmas,it was a little strange.
Gift giving in Japan is without wish list in general and, come with surprises. You can pick what other people would find it great from wide range of choices.However,some of the items are considered not appropriate to give.
For example, flowers are beautiful and pretty and brighten up the hospital rooms.But you are not supposed to bring in the potted flowers in Japan to hospital patients. It is a little bit from superstition.People believe that potted plants for patients at hospital encourage the sickness.
Surprise presents or expected presents,which do you prefer??
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