What Japanese Culture and Being an Outsider Can Teach You about Writing
All writers are gaijin
As far back as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a gaijin. Gangster, I meant Gangster. But, you see, I’m gaijin. I’ve always been gaijin. And I think it’s about time that all writers claimed the word gaijin as their own.
Gaijin is a Japanese word that literally means ‘outside person.’ According to my Japanese tutor Gaijin is the polite and proper way to refer to a foreigner. In truth the polite way is gaikokujin; which has the connotations of ‘welcome guest’ or ‘welcome foreigner’ — literally ‘polite form’ ‘outside person.’ And according to my Japanese speaking friends Gaijin is often used as a racist slur against non-Japanese and has many negative connotations. Don’t believe me? Call a Japanese person gaijin and see how they react.
In Japan being labeled as gaijin puts you in your place — it reminds you that you’re an outsider and confers lower status; which is very important in a class based society such as Japan. Don’t get me wrong — most of the people who I met in Japan were lovely, and some were incredibly kind to me; but gaijin was always used as an insult or a stick to beat you with. I got so sick of it that when someone was rude to me in Japanese, I’d smile at them, and in my politest tone of voice speak to them in Welsh…
