Ask John: Chinese Finger Puzzles?

Question:
Something I’m curious about. . . a lot of times I see characters touching their fingers together like they were playing chinese finger puzzles. Mostly during embarassing moments does this happen. I guess it’s similar to twiddling thumbs but what is it really?

Answer:
I’ve never seen any discussion of the meaning of the particular gesture, so all that I can provide is my personal interpretation. My first impression is that it’s a representation of Japanese psychology. Japanese people inherently try their hardest to avoid even the slightest bit of embarrassment or scandal. The accepted standard of Japanese society is to blend in and not be noticed. Furthermore, as a society, Japanese people often tend to be somewhat childish or child-like. I suspect that the finger twiddling is a combination of these two characteristics. By concentrating on their fingers, an embarrassed person has something to both absorb him/herself and possibly distract the other person. Furthermore, as you’ve stated that this is similar to playing with Chinese finger puzzles, it seems logical for a child-like personality to try to escape an uncomfortable situation by doing something playful. Often, when anime girls do this, it makes them look more child-like, innocent, and cute, thereby making them that much more difficult to scold. That, once again, is my own interpretation. If any readers would like to share their own differing interpretations, I’d be glad to read them.