Gaijin

This article is about a Japanese word for "foreigner". For the James Clavell novel, see Gai-Jin. For the video game developer, see Gaijin Entertainment.

Gaijin (外人, [ɡai(d)ʑiɴ]; "outsider", "alien") is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens.[1] The word is composed of two kanji: gai (外, "outside") and jin (人, "person"). Similarly composed words that refer to foreign things include gaikoku (外国, "foreign country") and gaisha (外車, "foreign car"). Though the term can be applied to all foreigners of non-Japanese citizenship and ethnicity, some non-Japanese East Asians may have specific terminology used instead.[2][3][4][5][6][1]

Some feel the word has come to have a negative or pejorative connotation,[7][8][9][10][11][12] while other observers maintain it is neutral.[13] Gaikokujin (外国人, [ɡaikokɯꜜ(d)ʑiɴ]; "foreign-country person") is a more neutral and somewhat more formal term widely used in the Japanese government and in media. Gaijin does not specifically mean a foreigner that is also a white person; instead, the term hakujin (白人, "white person") can be considered as a type of foreigner, and kokujin (黒人, "black person") would be the black equivalent.

  1. ^ a b Suzuki, David (1990). Metamorphosis: Stages in a Life. Toronto: Stoddart. pp. 282-283&#91, dead link&#93, . To people in Japan, all non‐Japanese—black, white or yellow— are gaijin or foreigners. While gaijin is not derogatory, I find that its use is harsh because I sense doors clanging shut on me when I'm called one. The Japanese do have a hell of a time with me because I look like them and can say in perfect Japanese, 'I'm a foreigner and I can't speak Japanese.' Their reactions are usually complete incomprehension followed by a sputtering, 'What do you mean? You're speaking Japanese.' And finally a pejorative, 'Oh, a gaijin!'
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference TROE98 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ March, Robert M. (1992). Working for a Japanese company. Tokyo: Kodansha International. p. 41. Today, gaijin has a more truly international meaning, including blacks as well as whites
  4. ^ Ferguson, John (1988). The Berkeley Undergraduate Journal. Berkeley: University of Berkeley Press. p. 33. The 'gaijin,' or the foreigners who have either white, brown, or black skin, are often considered separate from the Oriental
  5. ^ Satoshi, Ishii (2001). "The Japanese Welcome-Nonwelcome Ambivalence Syndrome toward "Marebito/Ijin/Gaijin" Strangers: Its Implications for Intercultural Communication Research". Vol. 13. Japan Review. pp. 145–170. whites and blacks are socially categorized as gaijin
  6. ^ Onoda, Natsu (2009). God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 167. There are categories such as hakujin (literally 'white people') and kokujin ('black people') within the gaijin category
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference kodansha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Buckley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Itoh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ De Mente, Boye Lafayette (1994). Japanese Etiquette & Ethics In Business. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 159. ISBN 0-8442-8530-7. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  11. ^ Hsu, Robert (1993). The MIT Encyclopedia of the Japanese Economy. MIT Press. p. 195. ISBN 0-8442-8530-7. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  12. ^ Wetherall, William; de Vos, George A (1976). "Ethnic Minorities in Japan". In Veenhoven, Willem Adriaan; Crum Ewing, Winifred (eds.). Case Studies on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A World Survey. Stichting Plurale. p. 384. ISBN 90-247-1779-5. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
  13. ^ Koshiro, Yukiko (1999). Trans-Pacific Racisms and the U.S. Occupation of Japan. Columbia University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0-231-11348-X. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2016-09-23.