"It was a malicious crime that cleverly took advantage of a mentality for revering the imperial court and imperial family," Kyodo news agency quoted judge Takaaki Oshima as saying.
A prayer or 'blessing' may be customary in some households, and the guests may join in or be respectfully silent. Most prayers are made by the host before the meal is eaten.
I wanted to be angry at him and his colleague, who was now shredding my girlfriend's Marlboros one pack at a time, but I felt a grudging respect for his integrity.
In an academic analysis just published in the profoundly-respected Journal of Management, researchers have looked at the concept of "indifferent relationships".
He seems to have had a lot of respect for older people, and even though he lived over two thousand years' ago, some of his opinions are still meaningful.