Originally Posted by
pgsmith
As a whole, westerners tend to be much more concerned with "rank" than any of the Japanese that I've dealt or trained with.
Actually, I'm not sure this is so true. When you meet a Japanese person they will want to know your name, your age, the group you belong to (company, MA organization, university etc.) in relation to the meeting, and your position within that group. Only after this has been determined for both parties will you know how to communicate with each other.
For example, just the other day I met a visiting iaido sensei at a friends house. We exchanged cards, studied them, exchanged formulaic greetings, it was obvious I was younger, he asked what dan I was and shared his rank in iaido. Then we had a nice conversation.
Doug Walker
Completely cut off both heads,
Let a single sword stand against the cold sky!