I like America anyway. In Japan we are much more formal. If two friends are separated for a long time and they meet they bow and bow and bow. They keep bowing without exchanging a word. Here they slap each other on the back and say: Hello, old man, how goes everything.
Meaning of the quote
In this quote, the Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa is comparing the differences between Japanese and American culture. In Japan, when friends meet after a long time, they bow to each other repeatedly without saying anything. This is seen as a formal and polite way to greet someone. However, in America, people are more casual and will often greet each other by slapping each other on the back and saying "Hello, old man, how goes everything." The actor finds this American way of greeting to be more relaxed and informal compared to the formal bowing in Japan.
About Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa was a pioneering Japanese actor who achieved stardom as a leading man in Hollywood during the silent film era. Despite facing racial discrimination, his “broodingly handsome” looks and roles as a sexually dominant villain made him a heartthrob among American women and one of the first male sex symbols of Hollywood.
More quotes from Sessue Hayakawa
I have come East to find what the public likes.
Japanese actor(1889 - 1973)
I like America anyway. In Japan we are much more formal. If two friends are separated for a long time and they meet they bow and bow and bow. They keep bowing without exchanging a word. Here they slap each other on the back and say: Hello, old man, how goes everything.
Japanese actor(1889 - 1973)
My one ambition is to play a hero.
Japanese actor(1889 - 1973)
I shall ask to see whether they want me in dress clothes or in Japanese.
Japanese actor(1889 - 1973)
That is one reason so many of the Japanese pictures are not good, they cannot spare all the footage necessary for that bow, which is repeated over and over again.
Japanese actor(1889 - 1973)