The Japanese Way

Gaijin-sama
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Outside insiders or pernicious intruders

As a foreigner in Japan it is nearly impossible to avoid at least some discussion about the appropriateness of the terms with which Japanese refer to foreigners. This discussion often hinges around the word gaijin ­ a term that can be interpreted differently by the intent and attitude of those who employ and hear it. In its most innocuous form, it means little more than "outsider" -- an abbreviation for the word gaigokujin, which translates directly as "person outside of Japan" or "person from a foreign country".⁵²

A more pernicious connotation is associated with the word gaichû or "harmful insect". The play on words suggests that the gai (harmful) in gaichû is to an insect (chû) what the word gai in gaijin is to a person (jin). Of course, the Sino-japanese character for gai (outside) in the word gaijin is fundamentally different from the gai in gaichû, but when spoken, these written differences are easily overlooked.⁵³

As a simple abbreviation of the word gaikoku-jin, a derogative epithet⁵⁴ invented by an angry Japanese driver, a humorous -- or perhaps not so humorous -- play on words comparing foreigners with damaging insects, or part of a concept with profound cultural meaning⁵⁵; it is difficult to know how the term gai-jin originated. No matter its origin this simple expression consumes an enormous amount of time and energy in both literature and dialogue among Japanese and foreigners living in Japan. Whereas many foreign residents are either content with, or indifferent to, the term gaijin, others actively seek to ban the word from public use. Although most Japanese find nothing wrong with the word, some who realize that it can be used in a derogative manner, also shun its public use.

In the end, whether one uses the word gaijin or gaikoku-jin makes little difference, as the root of the argument is far more profound and hardly a unique feature of Japanese society. For example, the German word Ausländer translates into English nearly identically with the Japanese word gaikokujin. Terms like alien and foreigner in the English language, and étranger and extranjero in the French and Spanish languages, respectively, are hardly less exclusionary in their use and application. In short, no matter the country, until non-native residents have mastered the language, customs, behavioral codes, and thought patterns of their host countries sufficiently well, they will remain foreign in the eyes of their host society.

Nevertheless, the psychological damage to which foreigners and others are made subject, when national differences are abused and ridiculed rather than celebrated and understood, can be enormous. Local residents, who judge foreigeners based on their differences, but fail to take into account their similarities and net contribution to their host societies, deny both sides the profound understanding that each requires to make valid international comparisons, establish enduring diplomatic, social, and political ties, and thereby enable both societies to advance together in an international context of mutual benefit and growth. By forever insisting on national differences these purests drive collective national wedges between host country citizens and their foreign guests and thus inhibit the development of the interpersonal relationships required to form lasting bonds between peoples. Such relationships can be established only through long term sustained association -- association that is best achieved when foreigners actively seek to become members of their host society, and members of their host society make every effort to help them do so. For it is this exercise of becoming what one never was that makes both sides best aware of what the other is.

The human mind, human social relationships, and society in general are far more complicated than the artificial border lines drawn between countries by national governments and national flag wavers. Moreover, the extent to which a nation's history can be said to be one's own, is largely determined by the effort that the individual puts forth into making that history a part of his or her own awareness. The individual alone is hardly sufficient, however. One must be recognized as part of the culture by others who identify closely with it.

Finally, differences within a particular culture are often more varied than those between cultures, and few can understand their own culture well enough to claim complete familiarity. Moreover, learning about another's culture necessarily helps one to understand one's own. Those who think they can understand another's culture by simply being told about it are deluding both themselves and others about the nature of human habit, social organization, and thought. Indeed, there is much more to understanding another's culture than simply making friends with people from that culture and reading what others have to say about it. It is a good way to start, however!

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⁵² The Sino-Japanese characters for gaigoku-jin and gaijin are 外国人 and 外人, respectively. By dropping the character koku (国), which is read kuni when written by itself, the emphasis is shifted from the individual's affiliation with another culture (gaikoku or 外国) to his foreigness with respect to Japanese society (gai or 外). (text)

⁵³ The Sino-Japanese characters for gaichû are 害虫. The character gai (害) translates into English as damaging, pernicious, harmful, bad, calamitous, or polluted.  One finds it in expressions like 害悪 (gaiaku or bale, evil, and harm), 害毒 (gaidoku or poison, canker, and verminous), and 害意 (gaii or baleful and mischief). Thus, gaichû translates as pernicious bug. If this parallel is not convincing, consider once again the new notion of jikochû (自己虫) -- the self-seeking bug (individual) that infests Japanese communities and reeks havoc with his friends. Surely, it is these and other semantic parallels that suggest a hidden derogatory character about the word gaikoku-jin (外国人). (text)

⁵⁴ Vehicles registered with the Japanese government by foreign embassies and other foreign government bodies bear the character gai (外) on their license plates. Thus, the drivers and occupants of these vehicles are gaijin (外人) -- the people (人) who ride in the cars labelled 外. It is generally assumed that the drivers and occupants of these vehicles enjoy special privileges not accorded to other Japanese and non-Japanese drivers resident in Japan. Tôkyô traffic condtions are notoriously poor. (text)

⁵⁵ The reference here is, of course, to the notion uchi-soto (うちそと). Although nai (内) and gai (外) are Sino-Japanese character-equivalents of uchi (内) and soto (外), when employed together as 内外, they refer to things domestic (内国 or naikoku) and things foreign (外国 or gaikoku). Thus, うちそと and 内外 are false equivalents. Nevertheless, the term naigai (内外) can be thought of as a special case of うちそと -- namely, the relationship between things Japanese (domestic in-group) and things non-Japanese (foreign out-group). (text)