<p>Itachi is flicking his fingers towards himself, not outwards (which would be shooing away someone), which was why Sasuke came over to him. It's called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckoning_sign" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Beckoning sign</a> and it varies by country.</p>
<p>It's also not just an Itachi thing - it's a common gesture in Japan to call someone over to you. I believe it's a different gesture compared to Western countries hence the confusion, which is understandable since I also thought it was how the Western countries do it. Here's a video demonstrating the gesture: <a href="https://youtu.be/iBcQFBuj2Os" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://youtu.be/iBcQFBuj2Os</a></p>
<p>It's interesting to note that the 'come here' gestures of some English-speaking countries are <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cross-cultural-gestures_b_3437653" rel="nofollow noreferrer">considered rude in some Eastern countries and is even a ground for arrest in one country</a>.</p>
<p>Some resources about hand gestures:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/english-in-the-real-world/hand-gestures/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/english-in-the-real-world/hand-gestures/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-body-language/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-body-language/</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-03T02:09:41.030Z
I’m not sure about other countries, but at least in the USA, we do the same hand gesture except for our hands are pointed upwards rather than downwards.
Wondercricket
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-03T13:36:46.233Z
@Wondercricket Interesting. In ours, we do a gesture similar to what the Japanese does, sometimes with a slightly downward arm movement while flicking the fingers when it's something urgent.
W. Are
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-03T01:21:48.997Z
2021-04-03T01:21:48.997Z
W. Are
<p>I've always found this gesture curious, because it looked like the &quot;shooing away&quot; gesture to me, but Sasuke reacts as though he's being summoned. So I'm interested to know if this gesture is part of Japanese culture and would be generally understood.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zgjKH.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zgjKH.gif" alt="Itachi " /></a></p>
<p>I'm interested in two things here: Which direction is Itachi flicking his fingers? Technically speaking, he does both, but the way I understand the &quot;shooing away&quot; gesture is that you're flicking away, indicating to the other person to go away, so it could be a matter of how the gesture is understood. And I'd like to know how widely used this is in Japanese culture (or whether it's just an Itachi thing), and whether the Japanese would recognize this gesture as &quot;shooing away&quot; at all. Just an explanation for the gesture, basically.</p>

<naruto><culture>
What is the hand gesture Itachi does when calling Sasuke to him?
# What is the hand gesture Itachi does when calling Sasuke to him?
Posted by: username_0 on 2021-04-02
I've always found this gesture curious, because it looked like the "shooing away" gesture to me, but Sasuke reacts as though he's being summoned. So I'm interested to know if this gesture is part of Japanese culture and would be generally understood.

[![Itachi ](https://i.sstatic.net/zgjKH.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/zgjKH.gif)

I'm interested in two things here: Which direction is Itachi flicking his fingers? Technically speaking, he does both, but the way I understand the "shooing away" gesture is that you're flicking away, indicating to the other person to go away, so it could be a matter of how the gesture is understood. And I'd like to know how widely used this is in Japanese culture (or whether it's just an Itachi thing), and whether the Japanese would recognize this gesture as "shooing away" at all. Just an explanation for the gesture, basically.
**Tags:** naruto culture
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-03. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
Itachi is flicking his fingers towards himself, not outwards (which would be shooing away someone), which was why Sasuke came over to him. It's called the [Beckoning sign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckoning_sign) and it varies by country.

It's also not just an Itachi thing - it's a common gesture in Japan to call someone over to you. I believe it's a different gesture compared to Western countries hence the confusion, which is understandable since I also thought it was how the Western countries do it. Here's a video demonstrating the gesture: <https://youtu.be/iBcQFBuj2Os>

It's interesting to note that the 'come here' gestures of some English-speaking countries are [considered rude in some Eastern countries and is even a ground for arrest in one country](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cross-cultural-gestures_b_3437653).

Some resources about hand gestures:

* <https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/english-in-the-real-world/hand-gestures/>
* <https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-body-language/>
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2021-04-03): I’m not sure about other countries, but at least in the USA, we do the same hand gesture except for our hands are pointed upwards rather than downwards.  
> **username_1** (2021-04-03): @Wondercricket Interesting. In ours, we do a gesture similar to what the Japanese does, sometimes with a slightly downward arm movement while flicking the fingers when it's something urgent.  
---
