Bowing

I apologize for not writing in a while but there has been too much going on and I really have not had the time. If you would like to keep up with everything please join facebook and invite me to be your friend (all the cool people are doing it). Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.
I was surprised to see the following article online:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/news/20071012p2g00m0dm018000c.html
Basically it's a whole article about how the little princess of Japan does not bow. The public seems to be offended by this horrible act. In terms of the magnitude of this unspeakable offense it would be the equivalent of not shaking some one's hands but multiplied by 1000 in Japan. In this particular case it would be multiplied by 10,000 since it's the Royalty of Japan. Oh did I mention the little princess is only 5 years old!!!! I could barley tie my shoes at this age never the less keep my balance long enough to bow at random people who are always coming over to say hi for no specific reason. This got me thinking about how much bowing I do during the day. I determined that it is A_L_L_O_T. When I come into the office I bow, when I leave the office I bow, if I meet anyone outside of work I bow and it goes on and on. My favorite is if a lady at a store bows, I bow and then we keep bowing and bowing until one person (usually me) gives up and just walks away...usually while bowing. In reality I don't even notice bowing any more, it's part of my normal day.
According to reliable sources: "Bowing is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. Different cultures have placed varying degrees of importance on bowing, and have used bowing in a variety of ways. To show the highest degree of politeness, you bend your head and waist about 45 degrees. Common courtesy to most people is shown by bending your head and waist about 15 degrees. In a very casual meeting with a person about your age, nodding your head would be enough. People often bow while shaking hands with one or both hands." I have found this explanation to be 100% true. You have to adjust your bowing angle according to the person that it is directed to. Usually I forget to do this but hey at least I'm not as bad as the 5-year old princess.