In the above examples it is the degree of "closeness versus distance" that decides which room the guest are invited into.The neighbor is gauged to be "close" because she lives next door, so she is invited into the most informal room, Parlor 1.The otoosan's colleagues (his uchi from work) are also "close", but farther than the neighbor. They go into the more formal Parlor 2 (or 3). The relative-who-is-also-a-neighbor is "close" in two ways, which makes him the "closest" guest. So he goes into Parlor 1. The cousins are relatives, but they live far away, which weakens the tie. They are invited into the more formal Parlor 3. The university professor is a distant guest, with neither neighbor nor kinship ties with the family. He is invited into Parlor 4, the most formal room. The most distant guests are the son's fiancée's parents, visiting the house for the first time. Because the marriage has not yet taken place, they are not yet among the household's relationships. So they are invited into Parlor 4 too. Afterwards they will move to a "close" position, and enter a much more informal room.