The exchange of business cards is an elaborate ceremony in many Asian countries, especially in Japan.

Japanese ceremony for a card exchange is called “meishikoukan”, is an essential part of Japanese business etiquette. The business card is a representation of your status in society. Japanese consider their traditions and culture very important, proper business etiquette demands one treats the business card with respect and honour.

Traditionally, the vertical set-up was used for Japanese business cards. The horizontal layout has become the norm. Addresses are in a different order than in English. The country appears first, then the state, the city with the zip code in front, then the street address. Usually the person’s name is written in Japanese using both kanji and romaji (typically kanji is on the obverse of the card, and romaji is on the reverse), along with the person’s title and the company for which he/she works. Other important information is usually provided, such as business address, phone number and fax number.

How to exchange business cards in Japan

In Japan, after a person has introduced him/her, Use both hands to present your card, and received with both hands with a slight bow. The business card should be printed in both languages; it should be printed in your home language or English language on one side and Japanese on the other. If you receive more than one business card at once, leave them lying on the table in front of you neatly until the end of the meeting or carefully insert them into a business card holder. It is important to deal with another’s business card with care.

In a business situation, business cannot begin until the meishi exchange process is complete.

One of the most famous Japanese classic ghosts (yuurei) story is Oiwasan, the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon, is a tale of betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times, and continues to be an influence on Japanese horror today, which was written in the Edo period, which lasted from 1603 to 1867.

Summary of the Oiwasan story

A long time ago (in the Edo period), a woman named Oiwa was married to a Samurai man named Tamiya Iemon and they lived in Yotsuya in ancient Tokyo. Even though Iemon didn’t have a job, Iwa was happy because she was carrying a baby. However, Iemon was depressed due to unemployment. One day, Iemon was attracted to the lovely daughter of a wealthy family. She quickly fell under his spell and agreed to marry him. One night Iemon put a particularly horrible poison in Oiwasan’s food. The poison does not kill her, but the poison hideously disfigured the right side of her face became deformed and her hair to fall out. After she died, Iemon married his new wealthy bride. Iemon was not happy because he was tormented by Iwa’s ghost. It appeared everywhere around him. And many strange things happened and all of the people who had mistreated her died.

All over Japan you will see this carp streamers (koinobori) flying in the wind, sometimes as early as from March until the 5th day of the 5th month. The 5th of May is called Children’s Day (kodomo no hi) in Japan.

This is a famous short Koinobori Song often sung by kids and their families.

Japanese:

屋根(やね)より高(たか)い鯉幟(こいのぼり)

大(おお)きな真鯉(まこい)はお父さん

小(ちい)さな緋鯉(ひごい)は子供(こども)たち

面白(おもしろ)そうに泳(およ)いでる

Romaji:

Yane yori takai koi-nobori

Ōki na magoi wa o-tō-san

Chiisa na higoi wa kodomo-tachi

Omoshirosō ni oyoideru

Translation:

Higher than the roof-tops are the koinobori.

The large Black Carp is the father.

The smaller Golden Carp are the children.

They seem to be having fun swimming.

Carp streamers or carp-shaped windsocks are also known as “koinobori” in Japanese decorate the landscape from April through early May, in honor of Children’s Day (kodomo no hi) on May 5, on this day parents who have a newborn baby boy celebrate their son’s birth by flagging carp streamers in the sky, above the roofs of houses, outside shops, and in the countryside, strung out over rivers. This day was designated as Boys Day or tango no sekku.

The carp streamer is a Japanese symbol of masculinity and success in life, the large koi are a symbol of the courage, strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals  because it the most spirited of fish, its ability to swim up a waterfall. The Japanese families traditionally flew koinobori from their in front of house to honour their sons.

The streamers are made by colourful decorated paper, cloth, nonwoven fabric etc .The sizes of streamer generally with length 100 meters, and weight 350 kg was made in Kazo, Saitama.

The koinobori set are consists of streamers, made of paper or cloth, from the top of the bamboo or wooden pole down.

The top of the pair of two arrow- shaped spokes wheels (yaguruma) with a ball-shaped spinning vane, symbols of warfare.

The top of the carp streamers is represents the streamer with colorful stripes (Fukinagashi). This one is of five lucky colors, but sometimes they are made of red and white (koohaku) only, another auspicious combination. These streamers were used during battle in olden times to indicate the whereabouts of a brave warriors.

The largest and uppermost, black carp streamer represents the father of the house (Magoi).

The red carp streamer represents the mother of the house (Higoi).

The blue carp streamer one represents the boy.

The other carp streamers are children.

A koinobori set can cost anything from 10,000 yen (US$100) to 60,000 yen (US$600). Ours was 40,000 yen and some change. Not cheap by any means, but you only have to buy them once, you use them year after year, and up close they are actually pretty freaking cool.

Flat Marbles (Ohajiki, 御弾き, おはじき)

Ohajiki is a traditional game for Japanese children, especially girls. In the past, they used roll shells, pebbles or pieces from another game, but now they use flat ball made with small coin-shaped colures ceramic, glass or plastic, and whose diameter is 1-1.5 cm The name of game came from playing by snapping or flicking (“hajiki” in Japanese word) with the fingers.a game similar to marbles. This game became very popular as an indoor game for girls during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1867).

How to play

1. All players sit down on the floor and all players place the same number of ohajiki on the floor, and then do jan ken pon (rock, paper, scissors) to determine who goes first.

2. The first player gathers everyone’s pieces using one hand and then scatters ohajiki 20 pieces on a table or on the floor.

3. The player can only touch the disc, Shoot (flipping or snapping) one of the two pieces to hit another. If the player successfully hits one of the other players’ discs she can keep it.

4. But if player cannot hit, player does not get to keep any of them, then it is the next player’s turn. The person who acquires the most pieces is the winner.

Shimenawa are sacred rope with strips of white   paper (gohei). These ropes made from  rice straw or hemp which is braided before being bound with string. A wood or wire insert is often used to cause the shimenawa to preserve its shape.

The Shimenawa for decorations Japanese New Year (OShogatsu or shogatsu), used for ritual purification in the Shinto Religion. These are usually hung from the shrine gate (torii) and before above entrance of houses or a shrine precinct, the inner sanctuary of a shrines or a ritual site, to ward off evil spirits. Japanese people used to mark trees that are believed to be inhabited by spirits called Kodama. Cutting down these trees is thought to bring misfortune.

Izumo Taisha Shrine, also called as Izumo Ōyashiro (出雲大社) has the giant a sacred rope (shimenawa), lengths and weights of 13 meters, 5 tons, and 8 meters, 1.5 tons respectively. They change it every three years.

The Eel Eating Day (Doyou no ushi no hi, 土用の牛の日)

Doyo means “the end of the season”,are the days which mark the 18 days before the beginning of each season in the lunar calendar and Ushi no Hi, literally means day of the ox, from of old Japanese believed that each part of the day follows the 12 animals of zodiac signs for designation cycles of time, They are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, animals were used to represent certain text about “Doyo Ushi no Hi”(the Ox day of the hottest period).

Doyo no Ushi no Hi on July 20th as known as the hottest day of the year(temperature about 35-36°C and high humidity in summer),is a special mid-summer day dedicated to eating eels(Unagi, 鰻)because eels are very nutritious foods and can restore people’s vitality and then beat the summer heat, a great source of high quality protein, calcium, vitamin A, B1, B2, D, E, high in EPA (which lowers blood cholesterol) and DHA (sometimes called “brain food,” it is thought to enhance mental acumen), which is popular summertime fare. On Doyo ushi no hi, you will find eels sold at every supermarkets, the shopping arcade, restaurants, convenience stores and Long advertisement flags (nobori) are often around to promote sales. And then you can see a salesman or fishmonger with some freshly grilled eel for sale.

There are many types of eel dishes:

•Kabayaki(蒲焼) - grilled eel on skewers and grilled with sweet soy sauce-base sauce (kabayaki sauce) before broiled on a grill.

•Unagi-don orUnagi-donburi (鰻丼)- Bowl of rice topped with grilled eel.

•Kimosui(肝吸い) - A small bowl of clear soup made from eel livers, often served as part of a set, whose vitamin D content is reputed to be good for the eyesight.

•Shirayaki(白焼き)- plain grilled eel without basting sauce for flavourings. This is usually eaten with a dip of plain soy sauce (shoyu) with wasabi.

•Unagi sushi (鰻寿司)- finger pieces of eel on rice sushi style.

•Uzaku(鰻ざく) - grilled eel with sliced cucumber in a sanbaizu (vinegar sauce) dressing.

Sacred straw festoon (Shimekazari, 玉飾り)

Shimekazari(標飾り)is one of New Year’s decorations, many house and companies   hang on the top of the house entrance or in the kitchen above the stove for block the invasion of bad luck or wards off evil spirits and welcome the gods (Shintoism God). Some even decorate the front of their cars with shimekazari after a car wash. These are made from sacred twisted straw rope hung with strips of white paper and pieces of straw ,shaped into one or more rings.

These consist of propitious decorations, most commonly an orange because orange (daidai is a small citrus)) sounds like “many generations”. It is a wish for fertility and lots of descendants, kelp (Konbu) sounds similar to the word, yorokobu (to be happy), a lobster, ferns with white-backed leaves, folding fan and attached to them. It has a modest and simple one. The lettering says daikichi, which means best luck, and that little cat is a manekineko. It is holding a golden coin in one paw and beckoning with the other. It is beckoning for more coins. each one of those decorations is significant, symbol of a prayer for longevity, academic success, prosperity and so on.

Wasabi is a root vegetable or above-ground root-like stem of this plant that is grated into a green paste. It is a strong, a fiery hot flavor which quickly dissipates within a few seconds and leave a lingering sweet taste, with no burning aftertaste in one’s mouth.

Wasabi can grow in the ground, but commonly it is cultivated in clean water running down the mountain valleys and the temperature must be mild (heat must be avoided).When the wasabi plant grows to nearly 20 inches tall, with green leaves on the head, the rhizome grows above the root and the plant is ready for harvesting.

Wasabi is most famous a staple condiment in Japanese cuisine. It is the light green paste that accompanies sashimi (raw seafood) ,sushi, noodle dishes, However, it is also used for many other Japanese dishes. Essentially, people dip sashimi (raw seafood) slices in a mixture of wasabi and soy sauce. Wasabi is said to be effective as an antidote to prevent food poisoning. That is one reason that wasabi is served with sushi and raw fish slices.

Many “wasabi” powder and paste products that is widely available in supermarkets and even some restaurants. Wasabi powders have to be mixed with water to contain only very little or no real wasabi at all and are made of colored horseradish instead. This is due to the fact that cultivation of real wasabi is relatively difficult and expensive.

Omikuji (御御籤,おみくじ)

Fortunes were originally lots written by hand one by one from container or box, but they can now be purchased from a red vending machine. The omikuji  falls out of a small hole, scrolled up, when the piece of paper is unfolded, paper reveals the fortune written on strips of paper ,one’s fortune is listed as one of several categories: Great blessing (daikichi,大吉) , very lucky (chūkichi,中吉), lucky or Blessing( kichi,吉), somewhat lucky or Small blessing (shōkichi,小吉), barely lucky (suekichi,末吉) , Half-blessing (半吉), Near-small-blessing (末小吉), Curse (凶), Small curse (小凶), Half-curse (半凶), Near-curse (末凶), Great curse (大凶).The fortune may also include predictions different subjects about love, lost articles, study, family,money, travel, childbirth, and other matters, in other words, predictions for all needs.

Another one, you usually have to shake a box waiting for a numbered wooden stick (there’s a number written) to come down from a little hole. You have to take a piece of paper from the bow with the same number. After reading it, if the fortune tells is bad luck you should to make the paper is folded into a stripe tied around the branch of a tree, or pillars or in a special place where the shrine indicates, so the predicted bad luck won’t follow you. But if the fortune brings a message of good luck you can take it with you or put it on your wallet.

The Japanese often go to consult the omikuji before a significant event (voyage, marriage, etc) and in particular the New Year’s Day.