Gaijin

is a Japanese word meaning "foreigner" or "non-Japanese". [Cite encyclopedia|url=http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E5%A4%96%E4%BA%BA&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=00657500|title=がいじん【外人】(translation: "Gaijin")|accessdate=2008-09-12] The word is composed of "gai" (外, outside) and "jin" (人, person), so the word could be translated literally as "outside (foreign) person." The word can refer to nationality, race, or ethnicity.

Some modern commentators feel that that the word is now primarily negative or derogatory in connotation and thus offensive. [citation
last = De Mente
first = Boye Lafayette
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Japanese Etiquette & Ethics In Business

publisher = McGraw-Hill Professional
date = 1994
location =
pages = 159
url= http://books.google.ca/books?id=r6obHAmRKesC&pg=PA159&dq=Gaijin+superior&lr=&sig=R1BIrB0WgVebnPLHbAov338lx6A | doi =
id =
isbn = 0844285307] [citation
last = Hsu
first = Robert
title = The MIT Encyclopedia of the Japanese Economy

publisher = MIT Press
date =
location =
pages = 195
url= http://books.google.com/books?id=0RS0CGUaef8C&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=gaijin+derogatory&source=web&ots=sP3I1XewPk&sig=eGmSGURurXMqRfBZRrzb9u-0OmU | doi =
id =
isbn = 0844285307] [Citation
last = Wetherall
first = William
author-link =
last2 = de Vos
first2 = George A
author2-link =
year =1976
date =
publication-date =1976
contribution = Ethnic Minorities in Japan
contribution-url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=wh3ZUWExDEcC&pg=PA364&dq=Gaijin+offensive&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=l1Ma9GglEYYFvNe1eup2lVkgusA#PPA364,M1
editor-last = Veenhoven

editor-first = Willem Adriaan

editor2-last = Crum Ewing
editor2-first = Winifred
editor2-link =
title = Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey
publisher = Stichting Plurale
volume =
pages =384
id =
isbn = ISBN 9024717795
doi =
oclc =
url =] Other observers indicate that the word can also be used neutrally or even as a compliment.cite book
last = Kitahara
first = Michio
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Children of the Sun: the Japanese and the Outside World
publisher = Paul Norbury Publications
date = 1989
location = Sandgate, Folkestone, England
pages = p.117, 516
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = "For example, gaijin literally means a "person from outside," namely a foreigner, and that means "Caucasian." To describe a Japanese in this manner is a compliment to him or her. To be "similar to a foreigner" (gaijin-no youna) means to be similar to a westerner, and this too, is a compliment."] [cite book
last = Koshiro
first = Yukiko
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Trans-Pacific Racisms and the U.S. Occupation of Japan
publisher = Columbia University Press
date = 1999
location =
pages = 114
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=uRogiEX4SXgC&pg=PA114&dq=Gaijin+euphemism&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U0-o3gVL2PskZyRDBLFE1jjm6VFBw
isbn = 023111348X ] The term has become politically incorrect and is avoided now by most Japanese television broadcasters.

Etymology and history

Gaijin and nihongo|gaikokujin|外国人| are Japanese words meaning "foreigner." "Gaikokujin" (外国人) is composed of "gaikoku" (外国, foreign country) and "jin" (人, person), so the word literally means "foreign-country person."

The kanji term 外人 is of ancient provenance and can be traced in writing back to "Heike Monogatari", written early in the 13th century. At this time, the kanji characters "gaijin" pronouced as "guwaijin" meant outsider or enemy. : 外人もなき所に兵具をとゝのへ cite book | last =高木 | first =市之助 | coauthors =小沢正夫, 渥美かをる, 金田一春彦 | title=日本古典文学大系: 平家物語 | publisher=岩波書店 |date=1959 | pages=123 | id= ISBN 4-00-060032-X | language=Japanese] : "Assembling arms where there are no guwaijin"However, this is a historical usage and are not current in modern Japanese. [ 大辞林第二版凡例 "歴史的かなづかい(1)歴史的かなづかいが見出しのかなづかいと異なるものについては、見出しのすぐ横に細字の平仮名で示した。示し方は、見出しの語構成を目安とし、異ならない部分については「―」で示した。(2)漢字表記が二種以上あって歴史的かなづかいが異なる場合は次のように示した。いちおう 0 ―わう 【一往】/ ―おう 【一応】(3)小見出しとなる慣用句・ことわざなどの句項目は、行を改めて漢字仮名交じりの太字で示した。"] Here, "guwaijin" is used to refer to outsiders [A. Matsumura (ed.), "Daijirin" (大辞林), (p. 397, 9th ed., vol. 1). (1989). Tokyo: Sanseido. "がいじん　ぐわい― 【外人】②　そのことに関係のない人。第三者。「外人もなき所に兵具をととのへ／平家一」"] [A. Matsumura (ed.), "Daijisen" (大辞泉), (p. 437, 1st ed., vol. 1). (1998). Tokyo: Shogakukan. "がいじん。　ぐわい― 【外人】②　仲間以外の人。他人。「外人もなき所に兵具をととのへ」〈平家・一〉"] and potential enemies.cite encyclopedia | title =外人 | encyclopedia =Kōjien | publisher =Iwanami |date=1998 | id =ISBN 4000801112 | edition=5 |quote= がいじん　ぐわい― 【外人】①　仲間以外の人。疎遠の人。連理秘抄「外人など上手多からむ座にては」②　敵視すべきな人。平家一「外人もなき所に兵具をととのへ」] Another early reference is in "Renri Hishō" (c. 1349) by Nijō Yoshimoto, where it is used to refer to a (Japanese) person who is a stranger, not a friend. Noh, "Kurama tengu" [ja icon [http://www.noh-kyogen.com/story/ka/kuramatengu.html 鞍馬天狗] , Ohtsuki Noh Theatre. See also .] also has a dialog, where a servant objects to the appearance of a traveling monk:

: 源平両家の童形たちのおのおのござ候ふに、かやうの外人は然るべからず候: "A guwaijin doesn't belong here, where children from the Genji and Heike families are playing."

Here, "guwaijin" means an outsider/stranger or an unknown/unfamiliar person. [M. Yamaguchi et al. (eds.), Shinkango jiten (新漢語辞典), (p. 282, 2nd ed., vol. 1). (2000). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten Publishing. 　がいじん　ぐわい―"【外人】②　局外者。他人。「源平両家の童形たちのおのおのござ候ふに、かやうの外人は然るべからず候」 "]

In modern Japanese, however, the term is not used as a general reference to outsider or enemy and are exclusively used as a reference to foreigner. [see above reference on Daijisen]

Historically, the Portuguese, the first Europeans to visit Japan, were known as "nanbanjin" (, "southern barbarians")WWWJDIC (edict) entry for 南蛮人, [http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MDJ%CC%D3%C5%E2] ] . 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" (, "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.Fact|date=May 2007 "Keto" ( _ja. 毛唐), literally meaning "hairy Tang", was (and is) used as a pejorative for Chinese and Westerners.cite encyclopedia | title =毛唐人 | encyclopedia =Kōjien | publisher =Iwanami |date=1998 | id =ISBN 4000801112 | edition=5]

The word "gaikokujin" was only introduced and popularized by the Meiji government who united the feudal states in Japan as one nation, 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 of Japan.Fact|date=May 2007 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" or "outsider", in practice "gaikokujin" and "gaijin" are commonly used to refer to racially non-Japanese groups, [cite book
last = Lee
first = Soo im
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Japan's Diversity Dilemmas: Ethnicity, Citizenship, and Education
publisher = iUniverse
date = 2006
location =
pages = 102
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=Nz4PwYOgtzgC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=gaijin+racially+different+groups&source=web&ots=vjZZFjDs0T&sig=8jFqp3l1QirlS1yEY2w8F05YYXA
doi =
id =
isbn =0595362575 ] principally Caucasians.cite book
last = Reischauer
first = Edwin O.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Japan: the Story of a Nation
publisher = Alfred A. Knopf
date = 1981
location =
pages = 255
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ] cite book
last = Wilkinson
first = Endymion
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Japan versus Europe: a History of Misunderstanding
publisher = Penguin Books
date = 1980
location = London
pages = 126
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = ] [cite book
last = Koshiro
first = Yukiko
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Trans-Pacific Racisms and the U.S. Occupation of Japan
publisher = Columbia University Press
date = 1999
location =
pages = 254
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=CaeyOTMMjPYC&pg=PA254&dq=Gaijin+definition&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=uRLUvXH3um-6oN6ucTBQFFUxI7Q
isbn = 023111348X ] [Citation
last = Creighton
first = Millie
publication-date =1997
contribution = Soto Others and Uchi Others: Imaging racial diversity, imagining homogeneous Japan
contribution-url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=rfncuTnJVwgC&pg=RA1-PA211&dq=and+Uchi+Others:+Imaging+racial+diversity&lr=&sig=fb9xunoXzxuHqEPTRzjHxNo8H_g
editor-last = Weiner
editor-first = Michael
title = Japan's Minorities: The Illusion of Homogeneity
publisher = Routledge
volume =
pages =212
id =
isbn = 0415130085] cite book
last = Befu
first = Harumi
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Hegemony of Homogeneity: An Anthropological Analysis of Nihonjinron
publisher = Trans Pacific Press
date = 2001
location =
pages = 76
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=91s4n07d4p4C&pg=PA76&dq=Gaijin+racial&lr=&sig=ymy0W16ItBXasqqXM9BHpeJyf9A
isbn = 1876843055"In the generic sense, [Gaijin] refers to all foreigners; but in a more restricted sense it designates only Caucasians - that is, those foreigners who are worthy of admiration in some respects"] However the term is also sometimes applied to ethnic Japanese born and raised in other countries.cite book
last = Tsuda
first = Takeyuki
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Strangers in the Ethnic Homeland: Japanese Brazilian Return | publisher = Columbia UniversityPress
date = 2003
location =
pages =
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=vag8SDzg4iQC&pg=RA1-PA372&dq=Designated+majority+Brazilians+as+Gaijin&lr=&sig=EbePoyzND8kp3-Y37S1LUAxbmSU
doi =
id =
isbn = 023112838X ] [cite book
last = Koshiro
first = Yukiko
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Trans-Pacific Racisms and the U.S. Occupation of Japan
publisher = Columbia University Press
date = 1999
location =
pages = 254
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=CaeyOTMMjPYC&pg=PA254&dq=Gaijin+definition&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=uRLUvXH3um-6oN6ucTBQFFUxI7Q
isbn = 023111348X ] "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.Fact|date=February 2008 Interestingly, a Japanese-English dictionary also state that "Beware. Use of (English word) "foreinger" to refer to someone could be offensive." [Cite encyclopedia|url=http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E5%A4%96%E4%BA%BA&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=00657500|title=がいじん【外人】(translation: "Gaijin")|accessdate=2008-09-12] Interestingly, a Japanese-English dictionary also state that "Beware. Use of (English word) "foreinger" to refer to someone could be offensive.", with accompanying example, "I'm not a foreigner. I'm an American." [Cite encyclopedia|url=http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E5%A4%96%E4%BA%BA&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=00657500|title=がいじん【外人】(translation: "Gaijin")|accessdate=2008-09-12foreignerと言われるのをいやがる人が多いので注意]

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". Historically, some usage of the word "gaijin" referred respectfully to the prestige and wealth of Caucasians or the power of western businesses.Citation
last = Lie
first = John
publication-date = 2000
contribution = The Discourse of Japaneseness
contribution-url = http://books.google.com/books?id=foRpFBUtl3YC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=The+Discourse+of+Japaneseness+and+Foreign+Workers&source=web&ots=ytgO6oo95c&sig=Ksz5HfKYRv2gRe8OfQg-6BBwMck#PPA75,M1
editor-last = Douglass,
editor-first = Mike
editor2-last =Roberts
editor2-first =Glenda Susan
title = Japan and Global Migration: Foreign Workers and the advent of a multicultural society | publisher = Routledge
pages =75
isbn = 0415191106] [Citation
last = Suzuki
first = Jiro
author-link =
last2 = Sakamoto
first2 = Mickey
author2-link =
year =1976
date =
publication-date =1976
contribution = Discrimination against foreigners of Japanese descent in Japan
contribution-url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=3up_wO0Hzu8C&pg=PA275&dq=gaijin+prestige&sig=KhFOQR1kzRkVVDmOGrNMyUMLBQw#PPA273,M1
editor-last = Veenhoven

editor-first = Willem Adriaan

editor2-last = Crum Ewing
editor2-first = Winifred
editor2-link =
title = Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey
publisher = Stichting Plurale
volume =
pages =274
id =
isbn = ISBN 9024717795
doi =
oclc =
url =] [cite book
last = Meredith Stuart
first = Paul
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Nihonsense
publisher = The Japan Times, Ltd.
date = 1987
location = Tokyo
pages =3-5
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = "Not all foreigners are gaijin to Japanese and quite a few natives of Japan are gaijin. There is a logic to this mess, but it is hardly logical. It is true that 'American' (Amerikajin) is a synonym for gaijin for many Japanese. At one time, at least when the U.S. auto industry was undisputed leader of world autodom, the term connoted awe and respect."] This interpretation of the term as positive or neutral in tone continues for some.cite book
last = Kitahara
first = Michio
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Children of the Sun: the Japanese and the Outside World
publisher = Paul Norbury Publications
date = 1989
location = Sandgate, Folkestone, England
pages = p.117
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = "For example, gaijin literally means a "person from outside," namely a foreigner, and that means "Caucasian." To describe a Japanese in this manner is a compliment to him or her. To be "similar to a foreigner" (gaijin-no youna) means to be similar to a westerner, and this too, is a compliment."] cite journal
last = Itoh
first = Mayumi
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Japan's abiding sakoku mentality - seclusion from other countries - Economic Myths Explained
journal = Orbis
volume = 40
issue = 3
pages =
publisher = Foreign Policy Research Institute / JAI Press Inc.
location =
date = Summer 1996
url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0365/is_n2_v40/ai_18338848
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] cite journal
last = Wada
first = Minoru
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Education behind the scenes
journal = The Daily Yomiuri
volume =
issue =
pages = 9
publisher =
location =
date = 20 June 1994
url =
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] [cite book
last = Koshiro
first = Yukiko
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Trans-Pacific Racisms and the U.S. Occupation of Japan
publisher = Columbia University Press
date = 1999
location =
pages = 114
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=uRogiEX4SXgC&pg=PA114&dq=Gaijin+euphemism&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U0-o3gVL2PskZyRDBLFE1jjm6VFBw
isbn = 023111348X ] However, though the term may be used without negative intent by many Japanese speakers, it is seen as derogatory by some [citation
last = De Mente
first = Boye Lafayette
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Japanese Etiquette & Ethics In Business

publisher = McGraw-Hill Professional
date = 1994
location =
pages = 159
url= http://books.google.ca/books?id=r6obHAmRKesC&pg=PA159&dq=Gaijin+superior&lr=&sig=R1BIrB0WgVebnPLHbAov338lx6A | doi =
id =
isbn = 0844285307] [citation
last = Hsu
first = Robert
title = The MIT Encyclopedia of the Japanese Economy

publisher = MIT Press
date =
location =
pages = 195
url= http://books.google.com/books?id=0RS0CGUaef8C&pg=PA195&lpg=PA195&dq=gaijin+derogatory&source=web&ots=sP3I1XewPk&sig=eGmSGURurXMqRfBZRrzb9u-0OmU | doi =
id =
isbn = 0844285307] [Citation
last = Wetherall
first = William
author-link =
last2 = de Vos
first2 = George A
author2-link =
year =1976
date =
publication-date =1976
contribution = Ethnic Minorities in Japan
contribution-url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=wh3ZUWExDEcC&pg=PA364&dq=Gaijin+offensive&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=l1Ma9GglEYYFvNe1eup2lVkgusA#PPA364,M1
editor-last = Veenhoven

editor-first = Willem Adriaan

editor2-last = Crum Ewing
editor2-first = Winifred
editor2-link =
title = Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey
publisher = Stichting Plurale
volume =
pages =384
id =
isbn = ISBN 9024717795
doi =
oclc =
url =] and reflective of exclusionary attitudes.cite book|last=Buckley|first=Sandra|title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture|publisher=Taylor and Francis|date=2002|pages=161-2|chapter=Gaijin|isbn=0415143446|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=tOaHI25bn-kC&pg=PA161&dq=Gaijin&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U2efoklkqLF6u9mUEuSAhNiEOD8kQ#PPA161,M1] Citation
last = Wetherall
first = William
contribution =Foreigners in Japan
year = 1983
title = Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan
editor-last =
editor-first =
volume = 2
pages = 313–4
place = Tokyo
publisher = Kodansha
id =
url =http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/yosha/minorities/Foreigners_in_Japan.html] cite book
last = Lie
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Multiethnic Japan

publisher = Harvard University Press
date = 1999
location =
pages = 20
url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=3aGeH0keCGUC&pg=PA173&dq=Gaijin+racist&lr=&sig=0xpH7a8R_wqnZRT3bHBi7YFN6IU#PPA20,M1
doi =
id =
isbn = 0674013581 ] [cite book
last = Sugihara
first = Kaoru
authorlink =
coauthors = Allan, John Anthony
title = Japan in the Contemporary Middle East

publisher = Routledge
date = 1993
location =
pages = 150
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=nLDnxdGuN4sC&pg=PA150&dq=Gaijin+Xenophobia&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=9W56py-ywn6EfhAJdw2sricf_3Q
doi =
id =
isbn = 0415075211] Thomas Dillon, [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20051224td.html "Born and raised a 'gaijin'] , "Japan Times", December 24, 2005]

"While the term itself has no derogatory meaning, it emphasizes the exclusiveness of Japanese attitude and has therefore picked up pejorative connotations that many Westerners resent." Mayumi Itoh (1995)

The term is avoided by mainstream Japanese media whenever possible.Citation
last = Gottlieb
first = Nanette
contribution =
year = 2005
title = Language and Society in Japan
editor-last =
editor-first =
pages = 117–8
place =
publisher = Cambridge University Press
id =
isbn= 9780521532846 "Gaikokujin is uncontroversial and simply means a person who does not hold Japanese citizenship; it is the more common contracted version that has been the subject of irritated complaint: people may be pointed at by children and have the word gaijin either shouted or whispered though this is much less common in Japan today than it was thirty years ago. At a deeper level, though, it is the connotation of exclusion and oddity that irks, particularly when the term is combined with the adjective hen na to mean 'peculiar foreigner,' a term once often heard on Japanese television shows. The term gaijin itself is included these days by most broadcasters on their list of terms best avoided"] Citation
last = Whiting
first = Robert
year = 2004
title = The Meaning of Ichiro
editor-last =
editor-first =
pages = 152
place =
publisher = Warner Books
id =
url= http://books.google.ca/books?id=9X3Pw_gKqPQC&pg=PA152&dq=gaijin+second+world+war&sig=Awimkc-3tMbmjFqEvHNn9LRABxw
isbn= 0446531928] Now that "gaijin" has become somewhat politically incorrect, it is common to refer to non-Japanese as "gaikokujin".

"Gaijin" also appears frequently in Western literature and pop culture. It forms the title of such novels as Marc Olden's "Gaijin" (New York: Arbor House, 1986), James Melville's "Go gently, gaijin" (New York : St. Martin's Press, 1986), James Kirkup's "Gaijin on the Ginza" (London: Chester Springs, 1991) and James Clavell's , as well as a song by Nick Lowe. It is the title of feature films such as Tizuka Yamazaki's "Gaijin - Os Caminhos da Liberdade" (1980) and "Gaijin - Ama-me Como Sou" (2005), as well as animation shorts such as Fumi Inoue's "Gaijin" (2003). It is a recurring word in (2006), where it is used to refer to both the main character, an American, and his love interest.

Foreign residents in Japan

References

ee also

* Japanese diaspora
* Ethnic issues in Japan
* Ethnocentrism
* Japanese abbreviated and contracted words
* Sangokujin
* Tension between social groups in "sentō" 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
* [http://www.dailygaijin.com/ The Daily Gaijin]
* [http://jasgp.org/content/view/680/179/ Gaijin Geisha & Co.] Article - Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia