Business Manners: Meishi Koukan

Sorry to nitpick, but it’s “stock up”.

It’s also rude to put the card in a wallet that will be placed in your back pocket. It’s some what like sitting on something that was given to you.

While I applaud bringing up this topic, the fact of the matter is that this is one of the most needlessly confusing / intimidating aspects of the Japanese business world.

When I got my job, during out training session, we spent AN ENTIRE WEEK…thats 8 HOURS A DAY for 5 DAYS going through the ins and outs of meishi culture.

Basically, for any hypothetical situation you could possibly conjure up in you mind, there is a set in stone way of dealing with meishi. Its not only the physical act of handing it over, but what you say, and who you say it to is also extremely important.

You could make a Ken Burns length, 25 part documentary about meishi culture, and you would not even get anywhere close to covering “the basics.”

And while I 100% agree with Vonskippy when he says this is “exceptionally useless”…the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of grumpy old ossan salarymen who will give you hell if you don’t know even the most obscure aspects of 名刺交換.