Japanese Politeness: An Enquiry

Politeness is an important element of every culture around the world. It serves as ‘a key means by which humans work out and maintain interpersonal relationships’ (Kádár & Haugh, 2013: 1). For people in Asia, and for Japanese in particular, politeness plays a pivotal role in social interactions. Japanese Politeness: An Enquiry by Yasuko Obana addresses major issues in Japanese politeness based on personal and original research from her previous publications. In this book, she provides definitions of politeness, as well as comparing Japanese politeness to that of other countries, especially American English politeness. The book carefully highlights that politeness in Japan is equally flexible and negotiable. Yasuko Obana’s Japanese Politeness presents an integrated explanation of what composes Japanese politeness, and the extent to which earlier theoretical assumptions and discussions of politeness can apply to Japanese language by giving examples from con- versations, drama and films, as well as evidence of polite behaviour in social life interactions.