Honorifics in Japanese

Hi all, One more quick and simple question for you all and probably a silly one at that

How do I call ladies and gentlemen sir and ma`am in japanese??

Are you trying to write it (as in a first-time letter you write to an organization without knowing any individual's name), or are you going to say it at the beginning of a speech to an audience?

How do I call ladies and gentlemen sir and ma`am in japanese??

When you call a random person? What do you say in your country when you you do not know her/his name? Maybe excuse me? Or excuse me, sir/madame? (I learned English in the 7th year of education for the first time and "Yes, sir." was the first words we must say. But after that I have never used this phrase. Also, I have never used "I have a pen" :).

In Japan we say "sumimasen". Sir would be 旦那様 dan-na-sama, ご主人 goshu-jin and madame would be 奥様 oku-sama, but if I hear sumimasen, dan-na-sama, I should think I would be ripped off :).

In other situation when you know the person, there are sooooo many ways to say. Could you clarify the situation in detail?

Thank you for the quick replies and sorry I wasnt too clear.

It is literally for use in everyday general talking context very much like what Frog was saying about, Just as I have a tendency to say Excuse me sir/ma`am when I have to go through crowded places or get someones attention :)

If you are talking about getting through a crowd, or calling on someone walking by so that you can ask them directions, the phrase to use would be "Sumimasen" (excuse me). "Danna-sama," "go-shujin," or "oku-dama" are all expressions intended to refer to your master or madam that you work for, so it is not for general use.

When you call at somebody's house, you can address "goshujin" and "oku-san".
"oku-sama" is very formal, if you are a salesperson or something on your business.

BTW, when you leave a tip at restaurant, probably the staff chase after you and cry "okyaku-sama!" to return your money.
kyaku(客; customer/guest)