The five-type overview on /guide explains what kenjō I *is*. This note is different: it is a troubleshooting guide for business email, focused on the verb 伺う — the form learners overuse as a “polite go / ask.” Wrong wiring sounds empty or odd; the live Business rewrites below show the fix.
The wiring rule (one sentence)
Kenjō I humbles *your* action when it is aimed at someone you should elevate. Sonkeigo lifts *their* action. If there is no elevated “toward,” forcing 伺う is usually the wrong tool — use 参る (kenjō II / careful tone to the listener) or ordinary wording instead.
Email win: visit aimed at the professor
Input
I will visit the professor's office tomorrow.
Natural Japanese
明日、教授の研究室へ伺います。
伺う works because the visit is toward an elevated person/place. In client email, the same pattern is 御社に伺います.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: client (live API).
Email win: ask aimed at the client
Input
I would like to ask the client about the schedule.
Natural Japanese
スケジュールにつきまして、お伺いしたく存じます。
Here 伺う means “ask,” still kenjō I: your inquiry aims at the client. Soften further with 〜したく存じます when the ask is delicate.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: client (live API).
Email fail: no elevated toward — don’t force 伺う
Input
Tomorrow I will go to the station.
Natural Japanese
明日、駅へ参ります。
A station is not an elevated person. 「駅に伺います」 often reads as empty self-lowering in email. Business rewrite → 参ります (kenjō II / teichō toward the listener).
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: colleague (live API).
Same wiring, different verb: send toward a manager
Input
I will send the report to the manager.
Natural Japanese
マネージャーに報告書を送付いたします。
送付いたします humbles your sending toward the manager — same “my action → elevated recipient” wiring as successful 伺う.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: client (live API).
Before you hit send
1) Is this action aimed at a specific elevated person or their place? → kenjō I (伺う, 申し上げる, 差し上げる, いただく…). 2) No clear “toward,” only a careful tone to the reader? → often kenjō II (参る, 申す, いたす). 3) Need the short five-type map? → /guide. Need teineigo weight + 伺う vs 参る side-by-side? → the teineigo note on this blog.