Uploaded February 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
See Our Japanese Body Language & Gestures Guide!
tofugu.com/guides/japanese-body-language
In this video, we teach you the Japanese gesture for referring to brown nosers. Everyone hates a brown noser, even in Japan. But, did you know there's a gesture for brown nosers too? It's grinding sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle. Some say it's because of the way the sesame paste sticks to the sides of the pestle, which is like "choosing sides." Either way, you don't want someone to do this gesture at you, so don't be a brown noser, mmk??
See Our Japanese Body Language & Gestures Guide!
tofugu.com/guides/japanese-body-language
In this video, we teach you the Japanese gesture for referring to brown nosers. Everyone hates a brown noser, even in Japan. But, did you know there's a gesture for brown nosers too? It's grinding sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle. Some say it's because of the way the sesame paste sticks to the sides of the pestle, which is like "choosing sides." Either way, you don't want someone to do this gesture at you, so don't be a brown noser, mmk??
