Agura

Toyotomi Hideyoshi sitting in agura position

Agura (胡坐, 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. 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. In Japan, this posture is considered an informal alternative to the seiza (proper sitting) position for men. It is generally considered unfeminine and uncouth for women to sit in the agura position (mostly due to where the opening is in a premodern kimono, and women seldom wore undergarments; whereas, under certain circumstances, men could appear in public wearing only their undergarment, the fundoshi).

See also

• Seiza