[leetcrew]

right, I understand from thread context the conclusion I am supposed to draw. what I don't understand is the internal logic of the story. the guy is described as wealthy, and apparently is already taking advantage of a struggling family by offering 100 when he suspects they are hoping for 150. I'm inferring that anything in the 100s range of this currency is trivial to him. so why the outrage over the last 5 rather than the first 50?

[rawgabbit]

The seller is presumably an aristocratic family fallen into hard times. They are selling a presumably rare and famous item. The buyer's agent haggled over the item instead of just stating a flat price they were willing to pay.

If the buyer displays the item, then elite of Feudal Japan will say "Poor so and so, they got taken advantaged of by a merciless nouveau riche. Make sure not to invite that person to our upper class parties. We may be poor compared to them; but we still have our samurai pride."

Edited for spelling.

[muzani]

To note, honor meant a lot more during the samurai era. Someone who is not compassionate either comes across as manipulative or not alert to their surroundings. Manipulative people were bad allies. Inattention is a form of weakness. Dishonor wasn't just not being invited to parties, it could well mean death.

[smsm42]

Additionally, paying a price of 100 means the payer does not _really_ care about the price, they just say "here's an expensive item that I totally can afford to buy, and don't care how much does it cost, let's just make it an arbitrary 100". Paying 95, however, means "I know _exactly_ how much it costs, and I am willing to spend my attention on haggling for the extra 5 (even if it's done by a servant, it still reflects on the owner), which means 5 is a substantial enough sum for me to care, which means I'm not as rich as I pretend to be".

[muzani]

It was an act of calculated generosity - buying something that wasn't really worth that much. But you can't negotiate and look generous at the same time. 5 ryo transformed the context from helping out a poor family to taking advantage of someone's poverty.

In this case, the listed price is the floor price, even though the seller agreed to less in the end. The expected price was unlisted.

With tipping, the floor price is actually higher than the listed price. Someone might agree to sell at a lower price, but below that floor price, it brings great dishonor.

[exolymph]

It's not about the money, it's about honor, and what different amounts mean to other people.