GAIJIN

{{nihongo|'Gaijin'|外人||extra= or are Japanese words meaning "foreigner." The words can refer to nationality or ethnicity. The word is often the subject of debate as to its appropriateness, particularly in its shortened form. The word ''gaikokujin'' (外国人) is composed of ''gaikoku'' (外国, foreign country) and ''hito''/''jin'' (人, person), so the word literally means "foreign person." ''Gaijin'' (外人) is a common abbreviation of ''gaikokujin''.

Contents

Etymology and history

Usage

See also

Notes

References

Etymology and history

The word ''gaijin'' is of ancient provenance and can be traced in writing back to ''Heike Monogatari'', written early in the 13th century:
: '外人'もなき所に兵具をとゝのへ ^[1]
: ''Assembling arms where there are no 'gaijin'''
Here, according to ''Kōjien'', ''gaijin'' is used to refer to potential spies or people who should be regarded as enemies^[2]. Another early reference is in ''Renri Hishō'' (連理秘抄, c. 1349) by Nijo Yoshimoto (二条良基), where it is used to refer to a (Japanese) person who is a stranger, not a friend.
The word was initially not applied to foreigners, and historically, the Portuguese, the first Europeans to visit Japan, were known as ''nanbanjin'' (南蛮人, "southern barbarians")^[3]. When British and Dutch adventurers such as William Adams arrived in Japan fifty years later in the early 17th century, they were usually known as ''kōmōjin'' (紅毛人, "red-haired people"), a term still used in the Min Nan (Taiwanese) dialect of Chinese today.
When the Tokugawa shogunate was forced to open Japan to foreign contact, Westerners were commonly referred to as ''ijin'' (異人, "different people"), a shortened form of ikokujin (異国人, "different country people") or ''ihōjin'' (異邦人, "different motherland people"), terms previously used for Japanese from different feudal (that is, foreign) states. ''Keto'' (毛唐), literally meaning "hairy", was (and is) used as a pejorative for Chinese and Westerners.^[4]
The word ''gaikokujin'' was only introduced and popularized by the Meiji government, and this gradually replaced ''ijin'', ''ikokujin'' and ''ihōjin''. As the empire of Japan extended to Korea and Taiwan, the term ''naikokujin'' (内国人, "inside country people") was used to refer to nationals of other territories of the Empire. While other terms fell out of use after World War II, ''gaikokujin'' remained as the official government term for non-Japanese people.

Usage

While all forms of the word mean "foreigner," in practice ''gaikokujin'' and ''gaijin'' are mainly used to refer to non-East Asians, but can also refer to anyone of non-asian descent. People from China are ''Chūgokujin'' (中国人, "Chinese person") or Korea are ''Kankokujin'' (韓国人, "South Korean person")—usually referred to by their country of origin. Similar practice can be seen in most countries where the closer the ethnicity (such as Irish in Britain), the more likely it is to use country specific-reference than to use an all-encompassing expression for non-natives. Now that ''gaijin'' has become somewhat politically incorrect, it is common to refer to non-East Asian non-Japanese as ''gaikokujin'' while more culturally similar Chinese, Taiwanese, and South and North Koreans are referred to as ''Chugokujin, Taiwanjin, and Kankokujin'' and ''(Kita) Chosenjin'', respectively.
People of Japanese descent living or born overseas are known as ''Nikkei-jin'' (persons of Japanese descent), while children of mixed (Japanese and non-Japanese) parentage are known as ''hāfu'' ("half").
The term ''gaijin'' is also used as a form of address in some situations, in which case it is commonly combined with the routine honorific ''-san,'' roughly translated as "Mr" or "Ms." ''Gaijin-san'' may also be used as a politer alternative to ''gaijin'' or ''gaikokujin.''
The use of ''gaijin'' is not limited to non-Japanese in Japan; Japanese speakers commonly refer to non-Japanese as ''gaijin'' even while they are overseas. Also, people of Japanese descent native to other countries (especially those countries with large Japanese communities) might also call non-descendants ''gaijin'', as a counterpart to ''nikkei''. Interestingly, second (''nisei'') or third (''sansei'') generation ethnic Japanese outside Japan may be referred to as ''gaijin'' if it is intended to emphasise the fact that they are culturally foreign.
''Gaijin'' also appears frequently in Western literature and pop culture. It is the title of a novel by James Clavell, as well as a song by Nick Lowe. The meaning of ''gaijin'' in Japanese society—and the question of who constitutes a ''gaijin''—is lightly touched upon by the 2006 movie, ''.
''Gaijin'' is also commonly used within Japanese professional wrestling to collectively refer to the visiting performers from the west who will frequently tour the country.

See also

★ Ethnic issues in Japan

★ Ethnocentrism

★ Japanese abbreviated and contracted words

★ Sangokujin

★ Tension between social groups in ''sento'' bathhouses

★ Zainichi Korean

★ Chinese people in Japan

★ Japanese Brazilian

★ Filipinos in Japan

★ O-yatoi gaikokujin

★ Muzungu

★ Kyōgaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura File - Gaijin Hanzai Hakusho 2007

Notes

1. Takagi, ''Heike Monogatari'', page 123
2. Entry for 「外人」. Kōjien, fifth edition, 1998, [ISBN 4000801112].
3. WWWJDIC (edict) entry for 南蛮人, [1]
4. Entry for 「毛唐人」. Kōjien, fifth edition, 1998, [ISBN 4-00-080111-2]

References

★ ：日本古典文学大系: 平家物語, , 市之助, 高木, 岩波書店, , ISBN 4-00-060032-X