This is an advertisement poster from a department
store
for the "summer gift season".
We (mostly between business relationship)exchange
summer gifts
to express appreciation for the good relationship.
Anyway, I found it interesting because the
white bear
in the poster is sitting in the manner we
do in
formal occasion (on tatami mats).
We call it SEIZA in Japanese, which literally
means
"right (way of ) sitting".
But if someone who is not very familiar with
our culture got
a chance to look at it, he/she may not believe
what he/she is seeing.
I have read many of essays written about
what foreign tourists are
most shocked to see while they are in Japan.
If I consult this word with a dictionary
to define what this is...
let's see...
1. fold one's legs under oneself
2.sit down Japanese style, with the buttocks
on top of the ankles
3.sit erect with one's legs folded under
one
Hmm...it sounds very acrobatic, doesn't it!
Actually it is not at all difficult to sit
this way..if only for a few minutes.
When we need to sit in SEIZA style for more
than ten minutes..
like when we visit temples...it sure is a
torture!! lol
I think this way of sitting has something
to do with kimono.
In other words, you will find no other way
of sitting on the
floor if you are wearing kimono!!
Yes, this makes sense, really.
* * *
By the way, many of us feel a slight shock
when we first see
foreign girls and grown up women sit cross-legged
when they
are in a casual atmosphere like talking with
friends in the park.
In Japan, it is taught to be most embarrasing
thing for girls
to sit that way. It is thought to be men's
style and personally,
I don't have complaints about it : )
BACK