Using Japanese Slang. Anne Kasschau
of the BLL have gone a bit too far in many people's opinions. As a result, it is not gaining the whole-hearted support of the Japanese people. Nevertheless, the mass media in Japan have been overwhelmed by the BLL's strident campaign and now refrain from using many words that have been identified by the organization as being discriminatory.
In September of 1990, The Enigma of Japanese Power by well-known journalist Karel van Wolferen was censured; subsequently, van Wolferen appeared in a public debate with the BLL at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. In his book, van Wolferen wrote that the BLL preferred to threaten the mass media rather than undertake legal procedures, and that this strategy had proven effective.
He was correct. While the media overall had been sympathetic to the plight of the burakumin (those suffering discrimination), the BLL still claimed that "nobody except the person whose own foot was stepped on could really feel the pain." In so doing, they wrung out further concessions. More recently, as a result of "self-censorship" on the part of the publisher, a portion related to buraku was cut from the Japanese translation of the best-selling book Rising Sun written by Michael Crichton.
In less enlightened days, burakumin were simply ignored by the rest of Japan. Their plight was very much like the untouchables of India. Their residential areas were confined to the worst parts of the village or town, and only occupations regarded as mean or filthy were allocated to them. Marriage with other villagers outside the buraku group was forbidden, and there were many other similar regulations imposed to keep burakumin "in their place."
Other derogatory expressions for burakumin included eta (untouchables), hinin (literally, not human beings; this refers to people who were engaged in the cremation and burial of the dead), and yotsu (four). Yotsu came from the fact that it was burakumin who butchered four-footed animals such as cattle and pigs and processed their various components into meat, leather, and so on. Japanese Buddhism has traditionally regarded the killing of animals as unclean.
In 1969 the "Special Measures on Enterprises Regarding Dōwa" was enacted by the Japanese government (dōwa is an acceptable term for buraku). Since then the term dōwa mondai (mondai is problem) instead of buraku mondai has been used. A large amount of tax money has been put into aid for the dōwa, helping them with affordable housing, financial aid for education, and job opportunities. As a result, institutionalized discrimination against them has just about disappeared, but prejudice still strongly lingers in the minds of many Japanese.
In addition to the BLL, organizations representing the handicapped and lowly-regarded occupations have also participated in kotoba-gari. This has resulted in self-censorship by the mass media, through the use of iikaeshū (literally, glossary of word-changing; here, a style book that lists forbidden expressions). Thus, most of the words introduced below cannot be used by the media any more and should be used very carefully by individuals.
Mental and Physical Handicaps
(shinshōsha kanren)
In 1981, the International Year of the Handicapped, the Japanese government replaced the words mekura (blind), tsunbo (deaf), oshi (deaf-mute), katawa and fugu (deformed), and bikko and chinba (lame) with expressions that were more acceptable to those affected. The trend to ban discriminatory words comes from the desire of the handicapped, who have long been victims of prejudice, to have a chance at normal lives and equal opportunities.
When this kind of word-hunting goes to excess, however, it can have absurd results. Some years ago, for example, a Japanese record company wanted to release a song titled "Love Is Blind." The only suitable Japanese equivalent they could find for this title was the direct translation Koi no Mekura. Because mekura had been deemed inappropriate, the firm withheld its release for several years.
Mekura comes from the simple expression me ga kurai (the eyes are dark). As it is now considered contemptuous and discriminatory, new expressions have been coined, such as me no fujiyū-na hito (a person with impaired vision), me ga mienai hito (a person whose eyes cannot see), and mōjin and mōmoku, which come from blind person and blindness, respectively. Mekuraban (literally, blind approval; figuratively, to rubber stamp) has also become unacceptable.
In the early 70s, the former governor of Tokyo, Ryokichi Minobe, coined the word o-mekura-san (literally, my poor dear blind people). Even though Minobe was known for his compassion and welfare policies, the term was taken by the people it describes as patronizing. Thus he was forced to resort to more acceptable expressions, such as shiryoku shōgaisha (eyesight-handicapped person). The most acceptable terms and those commonly used today in the mass media are me no mienai hito and me ga fujiyū-na hito.
A related term is akimekura (illiterate), now banned from media usage as well. An earlier substitute, monmō (mon is literature or text, and mō is blindness or ignorance) has been abandoned in favor of the less offensive and very difficult to pronounce hi-shikijisha (a person unable to decipher words).
As for deafness, tsunbo has been replaced by rōsha (deaf person) and chōryoku shōgaisha (listening impaired person). But again, the most acceptable expressions are mimi no kikoenai hito (a person whose ears cannot hear) and mimi ga fujiyū-na hito (a person with impaired hearing).
For speech-impairment, oshi was replaced by asha (deaf-mute), and then by kuchi ga kikenai hito (kikenai is the negative form of the verb kiku, meaning to work or be effective). Kuchi no fujiyū-na hito is also acceptable. Oshi de tsunbo (deaf and mute) was replaced by the slightly more acceptable ro-asha (deaf and dumb person), and then by mimi to kuchi ga fujiyū-na hito.
Domori is stutter or, by extension, a stutterer. Some feel that domori is a discriminatory word, and Japanese newspapers often prefer the terms kitsuonsha (stammering person) and shita (tongue) no fujiyū-na hito. Since domori is not definitely discriminatory, however, it is often used as is. There is no substitute for the verb domoru (to stutter). But some people prefer the expression shita ga nameraka de nai (the tongue is not smooth).
Katawa and fugu, in the war of words, first became shintai shōgaisha (literally, bodily-handicapped person), which can be shortened to shinshōsha, and then the more acceptable karada no fujiyū-na hito. Also in this group, the words chinba (cripple), bikko (lame person), and izari (someone crippled in both legs) have all become ashi ga fujiyū-na hito.
Tenashi and tenbō (handless) became katate (one-handed), then te ga fujiyū-na hito and te ga nai hito. The term katateochi (partiality or one-sidedness) has also come to mean missing one arm. But this is gradually being replaced by the terms ippō-teki (one-sided) and fukōhei (unfairness).
Kichigai (insane) has also been deemed unacceptable. This is a frequently used word, as in kichigai ja nai no? (are you crazy?) or mattaku kichigaijimite iru (it's totally insane). But expressions such as kuruma kichigai (car crazy), otokichi (abbreviation for ōtobai kichigai, or motorcycle maniac), tenikichi (abbreviation for tenisu kichigai, or tennis nut), tsurikichi (abbreviation for tsuri kichigai, or fishing freak), and kyōjin (lunatic, madman) have all disappeared from mass media usage. Kichigai has become seishin shōgaisha (mentally handicapped).
Finally, chie okure (slow-witted) and hakuchi (idiot) have been replaced by chiteki shōgaisha and chino shōgaisha (both meaning intellectually or mentally handicapped).
Profession-Related (shokugyō kanren)
In Japan, as elsewhere, certain occupations are the objects of ridicule and derision.
Hyakushō, inakappe, and tagosaku, for example, all are used to mean farmer, boor, hayseed, hick, or country bumpkin. In English there are many such words, but in Japanese there are only a few. We're not sure of the reason for this discrepancy. It may be, though, that farmers in Japan have long formed a fairly large and powerful bloc and, thus, they're a group that's best not offended. In the Tokugawa era, for example, farmers were nominally given the second highest of the four social ranks, after the samurai. The truth of the matter is that they were the poorest, as they were always prime targets for heavy taxation.
Hyakushō literally means a hundred names. Originally it was used to refer to individuals without any rank and, over time, it came to mean farmer. Now it is used rather disdainfully, as are tagosaku or inakappe, when speaking of someone who is uneducated, boorish, or rude, regardless of his native place or