Showing off and Pride
by Yukihiro Tanaka
In your long lifetime, you might sometimes have the opportunity to achieve something great or you might sometimes have met someone who has done something great. When it is someone Japanese, probably, many people do not know how Japanese people react, or how people from outside of Japan should act at that moment. The pictures below might help you understand Japanese gestures. But be careful! These gestures make you look like you are confident and reliable, but showing too much confidence sometimes gets you into some trouble in Japan!
In Japan, crossing arms on the chest gives a strong image to people. So when you hear the speech of someone who is in a higher position, you had better not cross your arms.
Resting your chin on your hands gives the impression that you are confident. A person may take it in good way, but mostly will take it that you have been intimidating. So you had better not do this in public place.
Putting your hands on your waist is a gesture that shows pride. We sometimes use this gesture when we have made a success, but it is more like a children’s gesture. Adult people rarely use this gesture.
Bending your arm and show your muscle originally means you have great strength, but it can be used to show that you have the ability to do particular things. So this gesture means “I can do it! ” or “Count on me!”
“Banzai”…this is a very famous Japanese gesture. Raising both hands toward the sky, and saying “banzai” The words do not have to be “banzai,” they could be “Yatta” meaning “I made it!” or what ever you can think of. This is a very useful gesture. There are a lot of situations in which you can use this. For example, of course when you have achieved great things. You can use this when some good things have happened. If you change the word to “waa!!”, then you can use the same gesture when you are surprised. So it could be said that this gesture is a useful gesture.
Of course these I listed above are not all the body gestures that the Japanese people make when they are proud of themselves or showing off. It depends on the person, time, place, situation, and many other factors, but these are very typical gestures that Japanese make. But there are some taboos in Japan when you make the gestures of showing off or being proud of yourself. Generally, it is not polite to show yourself off in Japan, especially in formal places. It is kind of hard to distinguish when it could be used and when it should not be, so I suggest that it is safer to use such gestures only between friends, or with people you know well.
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