Beckoning Gestures

Today, I will talk about gestures meaning "come here."

In Japan, when we want to express "come here," we wave our fingers with our palms down.

I heard that similar gestures are used with the same meaning in Asian countries, Russia, Greece, and Italy, etc.

However, in the US and European countries except the Mediterranean area, this gesture seems to mean "go away."

In these countries, they wave their fingers with their palms up to express "come here."

There is a Japanese traditional craft called "maneki neko (beckoning cat)," which is posing the "come here" gesture with his palm down.

Today, I learned there is maneki neko with his palm up for international sales.

手招きのジェスチャー

今日は、手招きのジェスチャーについて話します。

日本では、「こっちに来て」と伝える時、手のひらを下にして指を上下に振ります。

アジア圏、ロシア、ギリシャ、イタリアなどでも、同様のジェスチャーが使われているようです。

しかし、アメリカや地中海周辺以外のヨーロッパでは、「あっちへ行け」という意味になるようです。

これらの国では、手のひらを上にして振ります。

日本の伝統的な工芸品として、手招きをした猫の置物、「招き猫」というものがあります。

私は今日、海外向けには手の向きを逆にした招き猫が売られていることを知りました。

• Today, I will talk about gestures meaning "come here."
• Today, I will talk about gestures that mean "come here."

• In Japan, when we want to express "come here," we wave our fingers with our palms down.
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• I heard that similar gestures are used with the same meaning in Asian countries, Russia, Greece, and Italy, etc.
• I heard that similar gestures are used with the same meaning in Asian countries, Russia, Greece, and Italy, etc.

  It's a bit odd to use "and" and "etc" together, as "et" = "and"

• However, in the US and European countries except the Mediterranean area, this gesture seems to mean "go away."
• However, in the US and European countries, except the Mediterranean area, this gesture seems to mean "go away."

  You could even use parentheses here: "... in the US and European countries (except the Mediterranean area), this gesture..."

• In these countries, they wave their fingers with their palms up to express "come here."
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• There is a Japanese traditional craft called "maneki neko (beckoning cat)," which is posing the "come here" gesture with his palm down.
• There is a Japanese traditional craft called "maneki neko (beckoning cat)," which is posing with the "come here" gesture with his palm down.

• Today, I learned there is maneki neko with his palm up for international sales.
• Today, I learned there is a version of maneki neko with his palm up for international sales.

  Suggested, but not necessary

おもしろいですね！

I have seen the maneki neko with the upwards palm here in the US, never realized that it would be downward in Japan.

• Today, I will talk about gestures meaning "come here."
• Today, I will talk about gestures that have the same meaning as saying "come here."

  Just a more ellaborate alternative.

• In Japan, when we want to express "come here," we wave our fingers with our palms down.
• In Japan, when we want to express "come here," we extend our hand, the back of our palm facing upwards, and wave our fingers back and forth.

  I checked on youtube what that looks like and this would be a closed description I think. When you say "wave our fingers with our palms down" it can be ambiguous what you mean,

• I heard that similar gestures are used with the same meaning in Asian countries, Russia, Greece, and Italy, etc.
• I heard that similar gestures are used with the same meaning in Asian countries, Russia, Greece, and Italy, etc.

  What you wrote sounds a bit like you're saying Russia, Greece and Italy are Asian countries. When you mix categories in a list like that things can get a bit messy.

• However, in the US and European countries except the Mediterranean area, this gesture seems to mean "go away."
• However, in the US and Europe except the Mediterranean area, this gesture seems to mean "go away."

• There is a Japanese traditional craft called "maneki neko (beckoning cat)," which is posing the "come here" gesture with his palm down.
• There is a traditional Japanese kind of figure called "maneki neko (beckoning cat)," which is posing the "come here" gesture with his palm down.

  A craft is for example making sushi or building boats (the actitivies are crafts, not the objects created).
  
  Also, mind the adjective order! :P

• Today, I learned there is maneki neko with his palm up for international sales.
• Today, I learned that they make a version of maneki neko with his palm up for international markets.

In Poland, where I live, and probably also in other northern European countries, the gesture for "go away" is similar to what you're describing, except the fingers move very clearly away from us and not towards us. It's like waving someone away.