Why Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and other Asian people take off their shoes when they go in to their hause?

Question

I like animé and I always see that they take of their shoes. I also was watching "The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift" and the boy went in to the classroom, and the teacher told him to take off his shoes and put some other shoes just for using them inside the classroom. I think is because they don't want to bring the dirt from the streets to their houses. I don't really do that, unless is raining so i don't wet the rug or the floor. I think that's good, but also unconfortable to be taking off and putting on. (I apologize to anyone who is offended with this question, though.)

Answer 1

2 reasons - 1. cleaniness, 2. respect for the other persons house.

Answer 2

Vietnamese Shoes

Answer 3

I am not Asian, but I have many Asian friends. I think it is a wonderful tradition. I hate wearing shoes, anyway, and whenever I go to these people's houses, I HAVE to take my shoes off. The kids either go barefoot or wear slippers. The floor is immaculate. It makes so much sense!

My cousins, who live in Michigan, also have this tradition... but they do it to keep their nice light-colored carpet clean. They have a plastic runner for people to park their shoes on, and then they have several pairs of slippers for guests to put on if they want to keep their tootsies warm.

Someday, when I start over again in a different house with a different floor... I think I'll begin that tradition, too. It's actually homier..

Answer 4

Lets look at an extreme case. If you stepped in dog poop, would you walk around the house with your shoes on? Of course not, but what if you didn't know you stepped in dog poop. I'm just trying to show that the outside is a pretty drity place and one should leave the shoe at the door and not spread dirty stuff throughout the house. It's not a big deal with you make a habit of it. It's like brushing your teeth. You just do it.

Answer 5

You're absolutely correct. Many Asian cultures have a habit of taking shoes off before entering the home because they do not want the floors/carpets of the house to get dirty. It's considered a sign of disrespect to enter one's home and bring all the filth from the streets into their houses.

Answer 6

It's a natural thing to do. o.O If you were out in the rain, you wouldn't really want to leave dirty footprints all over the house. I had no idea most people wear their shoes inside the house - aside from slippers, etc.

By the way, anime and movies are not a good source of information.

Answer 7

Houses are smaller, and therefore more of it personal space. People aren't that much smaller, but their houses sure are.
You take your shoes off before you go to bed. Literally for a lot of people in the heart of cities in Japan and China, their living space is not much more than the size of a double bed.
We wipe our feet before we come in. Taking your shoes off is even easier, and you feel more at home.

Answer 8

Removing shoes is seen almost in all Indian families.Shoes and slippers carry dust and filthy things.It is also a disrespect for the persons house we are entering.This same kind of things we notice in almost all holy places,temples, gurudwara etc.We are not allowed to take our shoes in side as the shoes are made of leather .In my opinion we should remove our shoes before getting in,

Answer 9

traditionally it was done as a mark of respect in olden days but technically speaking it was considered unhygenic.
In modern society most of the folks wear shoes or slippers at home but use a lot of disinfects to clean the floors regularly.

Answer 10

I am an Indian and I know that shoes are carrying most

unhyginic things from his way to walk.