Giri

When looking at the kanji (Chinese characters) for the word giri, the compound is made up of 義 (gi) meaning morality, honor or loyalty. Together with 理 (ri), which means logic, reason or truth, you could say that giri is the logic of honor or sense of duty. Giri is a motivating force behind gift-giving and could be defined as a moral imperative to perform one’s duties toward other members of one’s group. So, when custom demands it, one is morally obligated to give a gift. When giri gift-giving is performed, the so-called social superior does not reciprocate when the gift is already a token of gratitude by the giver for a past favor. If the social superior were to reciprocate, then it would reduce his status to that of the giver.[cf p. 450-451] Next, we will see if the chocolate industry created yet another tradition.