Learn where to sit at a business meeting
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Intro |
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| Becky: Hello, and welcome to JapanesePod101.com. This is Introduction to Business Culture, Lesson 6, Seating in a Business Meeting. In this lesson, we’ll teach you how to arrange seating depending on rank in a company. I’m Becky. |
| Risa: ...and I’m Risa. |
| Risa: Buddhism influences seating positions. |
| Becky: Right, the customs of Buddhism have led Japanese people to think that customers should have the best seat so that they can be entertained properly. |
| Risa: Even in Japanese business, there are seating order rules. |
| Becky: Yes, for conference rooms, taxis and even standing arrangements in elevators. |
| Summary |
| Becky: In this lesson, we’ll see what are considered to be seats of honor, and also lower seats. Plus, we’ll teach you how to spot them when a business meeting takes place. |
| Risa: It's important to follow the seating rules. |
Lesson focus |
| Becky: Let’s get started with the definition of “seat of honor” and “lower seat.” |
| Risa: The seat of honor in Japanese is called 上座 (かみざ, kamiza) and the lower seat is 下座 (しもざ, shimoza). |
| Becky: The seat of honor indicates the best place, and the most important person takes it. |
| Risa: Then, there’s the opposite. |
| Becky: This is where the person with the lowest rank sits. It’s considered the lower seat. |
| Becky: This separation between the two types of seats is linked to traditional Japanese rooms where there is a small alcove decorated by hanging scrolls and flower arrangements. |
| Risa: This small alcove is called 床の間 (とこのま, tokonoma). |
| Becky: The seat in front of that alcove is the seat of honor or... |
| Risa: ...上座 (kamiza)... |
| Becky: ...and on the opposite side is the "lower seat" or... |
| Risa: 下座 (shimoza). |
| Becky: Okay, let’s see now where to find these two seats in a meeting room. |
| Risa: It’s easy! The seat closest to the entrance is the lower seat (shimoza). |
| Becky: Why is that? |
| Risa: Probably because the seat by the entrance is not good. |
| Becky: Yeah, if you're by the door you might hear noise from outside, have people coming in and out all the time, and even the room temperature might not be as regulated there. |
| Risa: Also the lowest-ranked person might be sent out of the room to do a task... |
| Becky: ...such as fetching customers or bosses, so being seated next to the door is the best place for them. |
| Risa: The seat farthest from the entrance is the kamiza. |
| Becky: The seat of honor. People with high positions in your company or in your client’s company will sit in the seat of honor. |
| Risa: So when you have a meeting with your clients… |
| Becky:...your clients sit on the opposite side of the entrance, and the client with the highest position in their company sits in the innermost place. |
| Risa: Unless you have three clients. |
| Becky: In that case, the innermost place is not necessarily the seat of honor, and the middle seat of the three may be the seat of honor. |
| Risa: It’s important to know which client has the highest rank... |
| Becky: ...as the highest ranked person from your company should be able to face them. We can find a similar seat order also in taxis and elevators. |
| Risa: Right, it’s common to ride a taxi or get on an elevator with your clients! |
| Becky: In the taxi, the seat behind the driver is the seat of honor. |
| Risa: That's because it's considered the safest place, even in case of accident. |
| Becky: How do we say “driver’s seat” in Japanese? |
| Risa: 運転席 (untenseki) |
| Becky: The seat next to the seat behind the driver is the lower seat. But, when three people ride a taxi, the passenger seat becomes the lowest seat. |
| Risa: “Passenger seat” in Japanese is 助手席 (jyoshuseki)... |
| Becky: and when three people have to sit in the back seat together, the seat in the center is the lower seat. |
| Risa: In the elevator, the place in front of the operation panel is the lower seat. |
| Becky: This is because the person with the lowest position must press the elevator buttons and open and close the doors. So which is the figurative seat of honor? |
| Risa: Just like in the conference room, the farthest place from the entrance is the seat of honor. |
| Becky: And I guess it’s also furthest from the control panel. |
Outro |
| Becky: Those are the key facts about choosing the appropriate seat depending on company rank. If you want to find the related Japanese keywords, make sure to check out the lesson notes. Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
| Risa: Bye! |
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