Japanese etymology: What does -sama and -san mean?

Why do Japanese people put a -san after your name when they call you? And why do service people call you with a -sama? Actually, Japanese people feel uncomfortable calling you by your name as is. In ancient Japan, there was a belief system called “Kotodama” in which people believed that words carried magical powers, and that by knowing another person’s name, you could take control of the person. So it was considered very rude to call others by their names, and when they had to, they put an honorific like -sama at the end. 様 -sama used to mean “in that direction/area” so if you were called Steve-sama, it kind of means “The person in the Steve-ish direction/area” 😂. You are being adressed vaguely. But -sama was used to address counterparts in a higher class or rank, and especially now that there is no classism, its use has become limited to emails, letters, and addressing customers. At one point, Japan needed an indirect way to address people of equal social status indirectly, and so -san came to be used as a moderated version of -sama. That’s only a part of the whole story of honorifics, but I hope that clarifies some long-standing question marks ☺️! Vintage Yukata Koikuchi shirt made by: @ Check out her store for one-of-a-kind up-cycled Japanese kimono apparel 🤩✨! Hi, I’m Kyota, the author of Amazon Best Sellers [Folk Tales of Japan] and [Underdogs of Japanese History]. Please check out my books at ☺️: @themetroclassic