The writer George Mikes remarks that for the Japanese people ‘bowing’ has become a mania. However, he also speaks in an appreciative tone and says that the people bow to each other with the solemnity of a courtier yet with a great deal of natural and inimitable grace. Besides, he also says that the Japanese follow a complicated hierarchy in bowing. This system decides who bows to whom, how deeply and for how long. Though it is a little complicated to us, the Japanese manage it without difficulty and subtly and reflect in their bowing even the smallest difference in rank, standing, age, and social position in a split second.
