The Simple Skill of Japanese Aisatsu So Anyone Can Be More Sociable and Likable
The power of just saying hello
What kinds of greetings do you use every day? Do you say good morning? Good evening? How about “I’m home!” or “Looking forward to working with you today!”
Japanese greetings, or aisatsu, are used all the time in society. Beyond just hello or goodbye, people say them when someone enters a restaurant, when they leave a store, when leaving the house, and as soon as they get home.
In fact, they’re not just prevalent, but they’re an important part of Japanese life. They’re taught from a young age in schools, reinforced in the home, and carried out in the workplace. But why?
I won’t forget the first person who really showed me the importance of Japanese aisatsu
Living in New York, my parents were still adamant I receive a partial Japanese education, and so they enrolled me in a Japanese Saturday school so I could keep up my language skills. But the thing was, my Japanese was already behind at this point, and so on Saturdays I was this weirdo American-Japanese girl who was not necessarily dumb but was made to feel like it (most of the other students had come from Japan, and were native speakers). I quickly…
