This is in response to the folowing comment: ----------------------------- "As I'm Japanese, I don't know about the social worker thing, but I would imagine that people scream because entering a house with shoes on, for a lot of us, is basically the same as stepping into a place where you would sit flat on the floor with footwear that might have stepped on dog shit on the way. I'm not exaggerating. Also, outdoor shoes in Japanese is "dosoku" which literally means "soil feet." We have a saying, "dosoku de fuminijiru (dishonorablly step on with outdoor footwear)" which means to dishonor horribly. To step on something with shoes where you're not supposed to has a nuance of putting mud on someone's face. I don't know the origin of this saying, although I naturally share the feeling.
All this will be excused if the place was meant to accept shoes in the first place (as in western style hotel rooms or places like Eiji's home). In places like that however, I would literally frown at people who eat food that was accidentally dropped on that floor. I'd say, "Yuk! That floor might have been stepped on by shoes that may have touched dog shit!" (which you have to admit is true).
Of course, when Rome I do as the Romans do. Whenever I travel to certain exotic places, I switch my mind and accept that everything is basically the same as the toilet floor, and if I should get sick, that's because I was too weak.
Btw, stepping on tatami with shoes is out of the question no matter what style of living you choose, because it would just be too difficult to clean the dirt or maintain the woven surface if you step on it with hard soles. Would you accept people who step on your pillow or a woven straw chair with shoes on? I think not.
Also, I doubt that Shinto has nothing to do with this, because again, Thailand shares quite a big shoes-off culture. And my bible teachers said that the reason people in the bible kissed Jesus's foot is because feet were considered as the most dirty place of the body and to kiss that would be the best way to show respect." ---------------------------- First of all, when Japanese go abroad they do not all abide by the customs of the country as you do.
I have lived in a house with Japanese people who were living abroad in my country. They took off their shoes, ate with chopsticks, spoke Japanese etc. Japanese do not "Do as the Romans do" when they go abraod.
When living in another country, you do not stop doing the things that come naturally to you, (ie. discarding all that you have learned and adopt a new way.) Values, ethics, the way things are done differ from country to country. Furthermore, even within the same the same country (in this case Japan) the values differ greatly between people. Cultural values may be the same as a whole.
When going abroad all Japanese do not obey all the customs and rules of other countries. If they did, eating with chopsticks, taking your shoes off before entering the house, eating rice, speaking Japanese, bowing, formality, saying 'Itadakimasu' before eating, etc would have to changed immediately according to what the above writer has to say.
Also, there are a lot of things that Japanese do abroad that would make a native scream and shout out loud.
In summation, people have a right to decide how they would like to live where ever they are livng. It is really up to that person, and every peron has their own value system as does each culture.
So, to be fair, if a Japanese person goes abroad, they should remember to 'Do as the Romans do' and make sure that every other Japanese does (which is impossible) or just remember that the world is a very big place filled with people from all different backgrounds, cultures, and values. Not just Japanese, but all peoples of all nations need to be more accepting and tolerant of other peoples customs and values.
Whether I take my shoes off or not is not the issue. It a matter of respect. Taking off your shoes in Japan is respectful in Japan. Taking off my shoes in my house in Japan is my choice. I am not Japanese, and I will not "Do as the Romans do" while living in Japan.
In an ideal world, things would all work great but, in the real world its not so easy.
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