bowing

is done so much in Japan that you don't know which end to talk to.

The help (in Japan) is very polite. They bow so much, you don't know which end to talk to.Bob Hope

Japan

Japanese culture

is not just a question of knowing ‘to whom’ but also knowing ‘how much’. One must learn, and learn early, how to suit the obeisance to each particular case.

The Japanese have, in other words, what is called a 'respect language,' as many other peoples do in the Pacific, and they accompany it with proper bows and kneelings. All such behavior is governed by meticulous rules and conventions; it is not merely necessary to know to whom one bows but it is necessary to know how much one bows. A bow that is right and proper to one host would be resented as an insult by another who stood in a slightly different relationship to the bower. And bows range all the way from kneeling with forehead lowered to the hands placed flat upon the floor, to the mere inclination of head and shoulders. One must learn, and learn early, how to suit the obeisance to each particular case.

bowing, n.All

bowing