Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 147, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1918 — Japanese Greeting. [ARTICLE]

Japanese Greeting.

Nothing is more amusing than to watch two acquaintances saluting in the streets of a Japanese town. As they come in sight of each other they slacken their pace and approach with downcast eyes and averted face, as if neither was worthy of beholding the other; then they bow so as to bring the facp on a level with the knees, on which the palms of the hands are pressed. A succession of hissing sounds is next heard, made by drawing the breath between the closed teeth, interspersed with complimentary phrases uttered with great volubility, each trying to outdo the other. At last the climax is reached and each endeavors to give precedence to the other. For perhaps a full minute the polite contest continues; then the ceremony abrutly ends, as if the difculty were capable of none but a brusque solution, and the two pass on hurriedly, with a look of extreme relief. The Japanese gentleman who has many acquaintances must require an hour to walk the length of a block on a city street.