Comments on: The ‘Gaijin’ Debate

By: Vicky_slakoth

Vicky_slakoth — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:39:00 +0000

Isn’t gaijin just a Japanese equivalent to half cast.
I mean, I know many half cast and they do not get offended by this despite it being a massive generalization.
And it could be used as a racial slur but it isn’t meant to be used that way.

I feel ok with gaijin because it’s a way of describing someone you know nothing about.
In the West we’re exposed to other nationalities on a daily basis so can identify them without much trouble.
Except when you see someone who is half cast. Would you really make the guess that they were Cuban-American or British-Portuguese or so many other combinations they might be?
I wouldn’t, I’d save the embarrassment and describe them as half cast.

By: Foreign delicacies in the inaka « madeinmatsue

Foreign delicacies in the inaka « madeinmatsue — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:48:19 +0000

[...] can’t help but be taken aback by the sheer numbers of non-Japanese (I try to avoid using the word foreigners, because it just reminds of that really annoying guy working at customs in the airport who yells [...]

By: Gakuranman

Gakuranman — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:37:00 +0000

Hah! Well spotted. I can’t believe I tripped up on that :p

By: Ruth

Ruth — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:26:00 +0000

Nit-pick: it’s “for all intents and purposes”, not “for all intensive purposes”.

By: Gaijin Fobia | GustavoDore.com

Gaijin Fobia | GustavoDore.com — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:52:54 +0000

[...] Quem quiser saber mais? Dá uma sacada nesse site que explica bem a situação. The ‘Gaijin’ Debate. [...]

By: Tokcso

Tokcso — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:08:00 +0000

「外人」でも「foreigner」でも一緒。うまく使用できる場合がごく限られている気がする。どんどん国際化していく世の中では「うち」と「外」とは何か、また「異なる人」ってどこまで異なって意味があるのか、こういった所がポイントではないかと思う。英語の「foreigner」という言葉に「分からない」「面倒見てあげないといけない」と言ったニューアンスもある。従ってなるべく観光客以外には使わないようにしている（これはまず皆がそうしているとはとても言えないが）。昔だったら見て判断してもほとんどそれで正しかったかもしれないが、現代の日本は違って日本語、日本文化などをよく勉強し日本社会になじみ、完全に「外」とは言い切れない外人たくさんいる。日本にとって、その変化が良いことで大切にしたいのならもっと効果的な表現を探しても良いのではないか？

但し書き：書き言葉が苦手で耳に障る言い方、無礼な言い方でもあったらお許し下さい。

By: PazutteMi

PazutteMi — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:07:00 +0000

Forgive me for diving in in the middle here. But this response is dead on. Gaijin is a description of what we appear NOT to be. In a sea of black, three blond heads, only one of which is a natural blond -gaijin is the obvious choice. Those times when the designation is no more or less than “NOT one of us” …then I think it is counterproductive. Inherent to the word ‘outsider’ is an assumption of lack of understanding which therefore necessitates extra care. (Really if you were one of us you would understand…) Yes, I believe the word takes away status. More than. This is utterly misleading. Japan is very much a group focused society. And any manner of thinking which is exclusive (in this instance exclusive of the non-Japanese world) cannot but have a significant impact.

I don’t consider non-Japanese a race, nor do I really feel Other is a group so I have never really seen Gaijin as a racist term. But describing people in terms of what they are not is of extremely limited use. And when those people constitute the rest of the world, of which one wants to be and integral part, well…I cannot help thinking that the biggest issue with the term ‘Gaijin’ is that Japan loses out by its use.

Drawing on my good ol’ US inaka background where we have ‘come-heres’ and locals, I’d say 来人 (cover your navel!! ahem) or some similarly derived word might be useful.

＊＊I will say: twice I remember being offended by the term -the first time was in Arizona and a group of Japanese tourists delicately pointed to me and said “あの外人に聞いてみる？” …that rather irked, even if I did understand, lol. The second -I was in my favorite bar visiting with the owner/bartender and the young woman beside me said “外人がああやって日本語喋ってると気持ちわる〜イ！I confess I did not like being ‘kimochiwarui’ But I think both of these point to the inherent mental pitfalls in designating presumed non-Japanese as ‘Other’. It’s simply not effective grouping.