The origin of Japanese etiquette

The Japanese etiquette was formalized in the Muromachi age (1336 – 1573), the period that saw the rise of the military class, by Sadamune Ogasawara (1294-1350), member of the Ogasawara clan, a respected samurai cast.

He was the first official in charge of court etiquette, and he was appointed by Kougon, a cousin of the shougun, as a demonstration of his gratitude through Sadamune.

In fact, Sadamune has a key role in elevating Kougon to the imperial throne.

The great-grandson of Sadamune, Ogasawara Nagahide (1366-1424) continued in this office and was responsible for codifying the teachings of the Ogasawara clan into an anthology titled Sangi ittō ōsōji (三議一統大双紙), "The Three Unified Teachings": horsemanship, archery and etiquette.

Their code was a means by which the samurai could be safe around other fighting men and could signal a lack of malicious intent, saving their life.

For this reason, Japanese etiquette on blow and sit require calibrate and perfect movement to confuse the enemies while let the person ready to fight. 

Even the smallest opening in posture or comportment was dangerous.

Until the Edo period, the conventions of the Ogasawara clan where taught only to the nobility and to the samurai class.

In that time, the etiquette was seen as a masculine quality and a life-saving skill.

After the Edo period, the merchant class had enough wealth to afford to study etiquette, and the Ogasawara clan started to disclose their anthology to them.