The number 4 when pronounced in Japanese is pronounced the same as the word for death (shi) and is not used whenever possible. 9 is another number that is avoided because it sounds like the word for pain or suffering. The 4th and 9th floor do not often exist in hotels and hospitals. The room number 43 is extremely avoided in maternity wards because it literally means "still birth" when said out loud. Gifts are never given in fours. The receiver might interpret that you wish death upon them if you give them a set of four plates.
Poor chopstick manners are an easy way to bring bad luck to yourself. Many people who are not used to the culture here will commit these offenses without even knowing it, although you may notice when people start looking at you strangely. Here are a few:
Sticking your chopsticks into the rice is a bad one because people here do this at graves when offering rice to there departed.
Passing your food from chopstick to chopstick is also considered bad luck because of the connotations with death. People in Japan are cremated and the bones of the deceased are passed from chopstick to chopstick so that no one has to touch the bones.
Another interesting one is when a funeral car passes, hide your thumb. The reason is the thumb in Japanese literally translates to the “parent finger”. When you hide your thumb, it is a way of protecting your parents from death.
Sleeping towards the north is bad luck because that is the way bodies are laid out.
If you buy a new pair of shoes, make sure to wear them for the first time in the morning. Any other time for their first outing will bring bad luck.
The beckoning cat is a good luck charm that you will see in every store or restaurant. The meaning behind the cat is if the left paw that is raised is meant to attract costumers and if the right paw is raised it will bring in money.
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