Tomoya Takeda

Evaluation of Japanese Bowing of Non-experts by Experts

Bowing in Japanese greetings is an important move on a daily basis. However, scenes actually receiving guidance are few, and in many cases it is self-taught. In this research, we investigated and analyzed what kind of features are in bowing of non-experts who are done in self-taught, and what kind of motion the experts evaluate. Three experts evaluated the bowing motion of 41 non-experts with 7 full marks, examined the correlation of the three evaluations, clarified the evaluation viewpoint of each evaluator, and as a result, two examiners I was able to find a characteristic evaluation viewpoint. In addition, as a result of performing cluster analysis by the Ward method using the principal component analysis, multiple regression analysis, cluster analysis, the principal component score was used to clarify the evaluation components, it was possible to analyze into 5 clusters, and as a result, we ware possible to classify the bowing of each by feature.

Study of the Effects of Japanese Tea Ceremony Will Give the Peace of Mind of Guests

Tea ceremony, which is considered to be the representative of Japanese traditional culture, is used as one of methods to learn the spirit of “Omotenashi” that is a particularly Japanese form of hospitality. That is because when conducting a tea ceremony, care and sympathy shown toward one’s guest is considered to be the most important. In tea ceremony, there are attitudes, such as “Treasure Every Meeting, For It will Never Recur” that are crucial when hosting guests. Especially, attitudes that “the host must prepare thoroughly for the guests, stage a pleasant experience” and “the guests enjoy the preparation of the host” are important. In “Omotenashi”, the side that is providing the service and the side that is receiving the service are equal, and the guest and the host (the one who invites guest) are also equal in tea ceremony. Moreover, there are many types of utensils (tea things) that are used for tea ceremony. Many of them are specific to tea ceremony, and the ways they are used are also unique Originally, tea ceremony (Sado) was called “Chato” or “Cha no Yu”. The name “Sado” was adopted in early Edo period, and it is used until today. The ultimate aim of tea ceremony is the sense of harmony between the host and the guest. Therefore, elements such as tea things, chiefly among them the tea bowl, or hanging scroll with Zen wisdom hang in the alcove of tea room are more than just individual artworks. Rather, they are parts that constitute the whole, and the passing time of tea ceremony itself is regarded as a total work of art. The traditional Japanese act of boiling water, prepare tea and serve it, and the style and art based on this act, is considered to be a particularly Japanese “Omotenashi”. In tea ceremony, the host that is holding the ceremony invites guests after careful preparation, and the guests are expected to understand the intention of the host, behave appropriately to the situation and show gratitude. In other words, they create pleasant space by the host and the guests becoming one. This “reciprocity of the host and the guests” is also called “unity of the hosts and the guests”. In our series of research, we study that the Japanese tea ceremony will give the peace of mind of guests or not. We made several groups as customer of tea ceremony. Each customer set heart rate mater and measured the R-R interval. After the experiment we analyze the peace of mind on each step (called Otemae) of the tea ceremony. We found that peace of mind is different for each group. By analyzing peace of mind in the tea ceremony, we will be able to enjoy Omotenashi, based on the spirit of tea that aims to “Treasure Every Meeting, For It will Never Recur”.

Appropriateness and Impression Evaluation of Japanese Seated Bow

Japanese bowing has two types, that is, standing bow and seated bow. Though seated bow is used in the scene at tea ceremony or Japanese traditional restaurants, standing bow is the main style in Japanese society at the present. Before Meiji period, sitting bow was often used in the scene of receiving guests in Japanese (tatami) room. But after that, service systems have gradually been westernized, and standing bow have become more popular. As a study of researching bowing through experimentation, Gyoba et al. [4] conducted a pair of experiments, one investigating subjective impressions toward the action of bowing, and the other investigating the appropriateness of certain styles in given social contexts. But in this paper we focus on seated bow. This study used video clips of seated bowing actions. The bend angle (30°, 45°, 90°) and duration of the bent posture (0–4 s) were varied. In this experiment, the participants rated their subjective impressions of the bowing actions. It showed the effect that the bend angle and duration of the bent posture impress.

Qualitative Analysis of Hospitality Extended to Patients by Reception Desk Clerks at Japanese Dental Clinics

The way appropriate manner and speaking for customers is one of the important things for the people who are engaged in the service industry. With the maturity of society and the market, besides the quality of products, improvement of the service extended to customers is one of the important factors to increase the company’s turnover and profit. Currently in Japan, due to the upsurge of the dental clinics, the dentistry industry as a whole is suffering from severe and excessive competition. In this study, we focus on the dental clinic management in Japan, where the service quality exerts a great influence to the clinic’s outcome. In order to make the good evaluation criteria of dental clinic reception, corresponding dental receptions in dental clinic with established reputation were employed. One dental clinic in Kanto region and three dental clinics in Kansai region were chosen to investigate through video analysis. The responses of clerks in reception to their patients at dental clinic were taken by videos since the entrance of patients. Analysis of greetings, smile and sight line were carried out. The results showed that clerks with 10 years experiences commonly communicate with patients with more sight contact and smile face than those clerks without 10 years experiences, which is considered as the guideline to make the good evaluation criteria.

Study of the Difference in the Movement of Experienced and Inexperienced Persons in Japanese Bowing

In Japanese, to receive a guest with hospitality and assist him in various ways is called “omotenashi”. The word “omotenashi” has become internationally recognized as designating a form of welcoming rooted in the traditions and culture of Japan. Greeting is the basis of omotenashi, and one of the ways to greet is to bow. We conducted an experiment on the difference in maneuver between an experienced and inexperienced person and measuring the positions and timing of the bowing motion. Furthermore for the inexperienced persons, we conducted an analysis of the improvement of the motion with presence or absence of instruction as variable. The bow of the experienced person had a stable angle, with the shoulder angle (θ1) being around 180° all three times, and the angle of the waist (θ2) was almost 30° all three times. Inexperienced persons can be trained to a certain level by watching footage of model bowing, though there are significant differences according to the individual.

A Comparative Study of Instructing Methods Regarding Japanese Bowing

We will examine whether a difference emerges between two such teaching methods: a method whereby learners watch a traditional instructional video depicting a situation in which the bowing of an expert is filmed from the side (Group A); versus a method whereby learners watch a video of the movements in the expert’s line of sight while bowing (Group B). We could ascertain that the point of vision of the keirei bowing expert was established at approximately three meters in front of her upon the floor, and that she was able to maintain a maximum angle of 30 degrees when bending at her waist. We could discern that the line of sight video had the effect of suppressing θ1, which had previously been impacted by conformity on the parts of the subjects of Group B to also bend their necks when bending at their waists. Also, we were able to observe several cases in which the angle of test subjects’ waists was rectified such as to nearly achieve 30 degrees.

The Perception of the Beneficiary for Japanese Bowing in Different Situations at the Reception

We inspected the effect on the recipient of Japanese bowing (ojigi) in proper keirei style and in one’s own style. First, we performed eleven variations of bowing and examined the impression of each bowing. The results were that keirei made the best impression on the recipient. Second, we set up two situations regarding five variations of bowing; absence of any people except the parties (extra 0), and presence of two people (extra 2). Then we examined whether the evaluation for these bowings changed or not depending on the two situations. As for keirei, extra 0 showed a significantly-high score. In “bowing deeply” and “bowing unsteadily,” extra 2 showed a significantly-high score. Keirei made the best impression in situations where there were no outside factors. On the other hand, “bowing deeply” could achieve almost the same impression as that of keirei, despite its being in one’s own style, in situations such as extra 2.

Qualitative Analysis of the Customer Satisfaction at the Dental Clinics

The way appropriate manner and speaking for customers is one of the important things for the people who are engaged in the service industry. With the maturity of society and the market, besides the quality of products, improvement of the service extended to customers is one of the important factors to increase the company’s turnover and profit. Currently in Japan, due to the upsurge of the dental clinics, the dentistry industry as a whole is suffering from severe and excessive competition. In this study, we focus on the dental clinic management in Japan, where the service quality exerts a great influence to the clinic’s outcome. Two dental clinics in Kanto region and three dental clinics in Kansai region were focused and investigated by questionnaire. 1,108 responses were gathered, out of which 898 valid responses, were selected for the analysis, which including 300 male participants and 598 female participants in total. Three categories were investigated by questionnaire, which were basic information, impression evaluation of customer service at each dental clinic, and overall evaluation. The result was showed that a patient who visited a clinic with a fewer times given a higher evaluation of the customer satisfaction level than others respondents. It also was found that recommendation to others by word of mouth can be affected by reception factor, the overall satisfaction level.