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Agura (胡坐 or あぐら, lit. 'foreign/barbarian sitting'; also called anza 安座) is the Japanese term for the position normally referred to as sitting cross-legged in English.

Description

The buttocks are on the floor (or on a cushion set on the floor) and the legs are out in front, with the knees bent and each foot crossed beneath the other leg.

Cultural background

In Japan, this posture is considered an informal alternative to the seiza (proper sitting) position, though it is generally considered unfeminine and uncouth for women if sitting in skirts or certain types of traditional clothing, such as the kimono (mostly due to where the opening is in a premodern kimono, and the fact that women seldom wore undergarments; whereas, under certain circumstances, men could appear in public wearing only their undergarment, the fundoshi). It may also be considered impolite to sit in this manner in the presence of a superior or elders, unless permitted to do so.

References

1. "Is Seiza really the traditional way to sit for Japanese people?". www.iromegane.com. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
2. "Sitting on the Floor". Unmissablejapan.com. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
3. Ito, David (26 June 2015). "How do you sit?". aikidocenterla.com. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

External links

• Media related to Agura at Wikimedia Commons

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