An American woman living in Wisconsin (威斯康星州) offered to teach English to a Japanese woman who had moved into the same community. "Before each lesson, and on each and every visit," the American reported, "the Japanese lady brought me a gift-a book, some paper sculpture, flowers, or candy.Itwas embarrassing."
Unknowingly, this American was experiencing a part of protocol (礼仪) rooted centuries deep in the Japanese culture.
In America, valuable gifts are surely out. A proper (适宜的) behaviour on a gift is to take the person to dinner, or to an entertainment or a sporting event. On the contrary, gift-giving is a custom in Japan. According to Business Tokyo magazine, among the Japanese "gift-giving is a necessity, not only a small thing as in the West". In Japan the proper gift is thought to express the giver's true friendship, gratitude, and respect far better than words can, So if you plan to visit Japan or to have Japanese visit you here, be prepared.
So you know nowadays gift-giving plays a very important role in society. Now let's see what happens in other countries.
Australia is known for its kindness and honesty. So proper gifts, such as a business diary, a paperweight, or a coffee cup might be presented as a memento (纪念品) of a business meeting. At a trade show, T-shirts, ties, baseball caps, or a pin may be proper mementos. Anything more than these types of gifts could cause embarrassment.
