Unbowed

Ha! See what I did there?!

Sorry.

Obama's bow to the Emperor of Japan has ruffled various and numerous feathers.

(oh dear...)

The event:

News photos of President Barack Obama bowing to Japan's emperor have
incensed critics here, who said the US leader should stand tall when representing America overseas.

The criticism:

"We don't defer to emperors. We don't defer to kings or emperors. The
president of the United States -- this coupled with so many apologies from the
United States -- is just another thing," said Bennett.

The defense:

"I think it's a gesture of kindness," she told CNN, adding that the bow
appeared intended to show "goodwill between two nations that respect each
other."

The bowing etiquette in Japan:

When bowing to someone of higher social status, a deeper, longer bow indicates respect. Conversely, a small head nod is casual and informal. However, most Japanese do not expect foreigners to know proper bowing rules and so a nod of the head is usually sufficient.

The saikeirei explained (boy, are the Japanese stickers for this stuff!):

When bowing while standing, their is the “highest respectful bow”
(saikeirei), which is executed from a position of standing straight upward, and
then bending 45-degrees or more. “Respectful bow” is at 30-to-40 degrees, and
everyday “eshaku” around 15-degrees.

“Saikeirei” is not seen on a regular basis, but is used in order to
offer an apology, or when one is extremely grateful for something received, as
well as performed before the altar of Shinto shrines and Bhuddist temples.

The etiquette for foreign diplomats in Japan:

A handshake is appropriate upon meeting. The Japanese handshake is limp
and with little or no eye contact.

Some Japanese bow and shake hands. The bow is a highly regarded
greeting to show respect and is appreciated by the Japanese. A slight bow to
show courtesy is acceptable.

How the Japanese see the emperor:

The Emperor (天皇, tennō, literally "heavenly emperor," formerly referred to
as the Mikado) of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the
Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the
highest authority of the Shinto religion. Under Japan's present constitution,
the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a
ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy.

My take:

It is said a country is someone's home, hence, when one is in another's home, it pays to be courteous. If that means greet someone with a slight bow, then bow. It's courtesy. Obama has never struck me as courteous, not altruistically. For a man whose apologies for America's "bad behaviour" has caused enormous dissatisfaction among the flag-waving masses, Obama's newest misstep is in a long line of missteps. Is he as "multicultural" as he claims? Apparently not. Was his cartoonish low bow appropriate, a "gesture of kindness"? No. It was Obama being Obama. He tried to show the world how he does things- the demi-god among the lowly American mortals (after all, he does have the blood of Africa running in him, doesn't he?). In the end, he made himself appear the bumpkin, incapable (or unwilling) of accepting cultural direction and incapable of asserting his country's prominence.

When asked about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Obama again bowed, though not at ninety degrees. He didn't need to be sanguine to an audience of Japanese press, just assertive that his country- a victim of an unprovoked attack and whose servicemen were brutalised by a repressive militaristic state that once held the belief that its emperor was a god- acted the way it did to end the war they helped start.

This is why the bow stinks.

***

The secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Japan Ichiro Ozawa considers Christianity and Islam to be "very exclusive."

What a rich thing to say given that Japan's history is just rife with persecution of its own people and others. When I was in Japan, I saw that Japanese Christians reached out to Korean Christians, inviting them to stay at their centres, to visit their houses of worship and enjoy their food.

That doesn't sound exclusive to me.