One of the great things about anime is that it allows us to reach out and touch a distant culture, one that’s very different from ours. Often the gestures and body language can look quite strange, so I thought we could learn about Japanese gestures using anime gifs!
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Uniquely Japanese Gestures
First let’s look at some Japanese gestures that Japanese do which are unique, and which might look confusing to us the first time to us.
The Japanese always point to their noses to indicate “me?” rather than to their chests, as we might do in the U.S.
This hand waving gesture means “come here” to the Japanese. This is the gesture Japan’s famous “Lucky Cat” is making, literally waving you into a shop to buy something.
The Japanese positively love the “peace” gesture. According to my extensive research, it came into fashion when an actor ad-libbed the gesture in a Konica camera ad from 1972.
This means “please do it for me, this one time.” Or possibly “I’m sorry my thighs are so amazing.”
Bowing is obviously a big part of daily life in Japan, and in Nara, even the deer are polite. (This is because they’ve learned that humans will feed them if they bow.)
A raised pinky means “girlfriend.” So if someone (usually a guy) makes this gesture, it means, “I can’t go drinking tonight, I’ve got a date.”
As you can probably guess, this means “hell no.” It would be done in a less flamboyant way usually, with crossed hands or crossed forefingers making an “X” that means “no, that is forbidden.”
Here’s another way to express the strong negation.
The Japanese are very self-effacing, and back when I was a teacher I had many students who’d go out of their way to say how baka they were. It’s certainly a nicer thing to do than the opposite, to be boastful and full of pride.
Another self-effacing gesture that you might use when receiving praise.
One traditional insult in Japan is called akkan-beh. It even has an official emoji: 👅
There are some cute things girls do to act effeminate and childlike, either in front of their friends or to appeal to men. For example, some might refer to themselves using their own names, as a child might do, despite being 20 years old. Another thing they do is hold their sleeve as pictured above, so it makes their hands look tiny and cute. This is called ぶりっ子 burikko and was popularized in the 80s by singer Seiko Matsuda.
Some gestures are easy to confuse. This looks like “okay” but it means “I have no money.” Or as in the meme above, “I consider your Internet post to be worth zero.”
The Pinky Promise is an adorable thing Japanese do. They sing a song while they do it, which translates as, “Pinky promise, if I break my promise or tell a lie, I’ll swallow 1000 needles.”
The way to express “brown-nosing” your boss is gomasuri, literally “grinding up sesame seeds.” You’re basically grinding your boss’s sesame seeds for him, the way an “apple-polisher” might polish the apple he brought for his teacher.
Western Gestures the Japanese Have Imported
Naturally, the Japanese use plenty of familiar gestures in their daily lives. Here are some…
The universal “okay!” gesture, meaning, “I’ve found the porn folder on your computer, and you have good taste.”
The “middle finger” gesture entered the Japanese psyche in the late 80s. They don’t really understand its potential severity, and when I was a teacher I took time to warn my students to never use it while traveling in the U.S.
“Air quotes” are another of the Japanese gestures you might see IRL.
Gestures You Only See in Anime
One gesture you probably won’t see in real life is a girl doing this cute thing with her fingers.
Similarly, nobody does this in real life in Japan. It’s an anime meme.
This is either the pose from Sailor Moon or “international yuri sign.”
This is “double peace” with a side of ahegao. Not something we get to see in real life very often, sadly.
This means “I’m executing some devilish plan,” or possibly, “I’m having naughty thoughts about Sailor Jupiter.”
Finally, my favorite Japanese gesture which means, “This is what I think of your disapproval of my taste in anime.”
Got any other fun Japanese gestures you’ve noticed in anime? Tell us on Twitter!
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