Questions about the term "gaijin"

[stunning_grover]

I've got a few questions. "Gaijin" means foreigner in Japanese. But I believe there is also a nicer way of saying foreigner by using the term "gakokojin." Is that right? But why do the Japanese use "gaijin" in pro-wrestling all the time then? Is it because originally the foreigners were all supposed to be evil heels? And is the term "gakokojin" used at all in pro-wrestling?

[Tradewynd]

Here's an easy way to think about it. Gaijin can be like the N word. It can simply refer to someone who is black, and is commonly used among black people, but when a white person says it it can be a racial slur. Gaijins can call each other gaijins, but if a Japanese person calls a gaijin gaijin, it may imply more than identifying the individual as not Japanese. Gaijin isn't always used in puroresu either. I don't think I've heard an announcer refer to a gaijin as gaijin on any recent AJ or NJ DVDs I have. Even someone like Takada-soto, who refers to his own men as kisama (which is about as far from nice as you can get, to say the least) refers to gaijins as gaikokujins (which is the word I'm assuming you meant, unless there's a third Japanese word for foreigner I don't know about).

Possible reasons that it would still be used in wrestling today is that someone specifically does not like foreigners, although Misawa is the only guy who is up front about not liking people because they aren't Japanese. Japan, just like everyplace else, is becoming more politically correct, so you'll probably hear it used less and less in puroresu, although the term is still widely used on English puro message boards. Personally, I don't care if people call me gaijin, as long as it's not supposed to be an insult. Example of it not being bad: One of my friends introducing me as a gaijin otaku to one of her friends. Which was actually completely reversed, since we were in the states at the time, and I'm nowhere near bad enough to be called otaku, but that's another story. Example of it being bad: the verbal beating I took from World Japan when I called them on the number they sent to ZACH to have gaijins who wanted to work there call. They offended so many people that Don Frye had to find his own tag team partner for the first tour, because the office burned bridges with every person who called looking for work. That's how Dan Bobish got into wrestling oddly enough. The office PO'd so many guys that they gave Frye 12 hours notice to find his own tag partner, and he called Bobish.

[Sofa Kingdom]

Wow.. Misawa doesn't like non Japanese people.. and here I was thinking that Scorpio was his homie...

[Tradewynd]

You think so? It's news to Scorpio. He alludes to why Misawa doesn't like him in his recent shoot interviews, and if you ask him directly he'll tell you all about it. Hint: it isn't because he knows Scorpio would punk him out like he did Hawk in a shoot. Vader has stories too. In his recent shoot he mentions it like it's common sense, and identifies it as the only reason why he never had the GHC, because from a business standpoint, it was pretty obvious there was money to be made there. He's only the biggest gaijin draw in history (my words, not his). Pretty much every gaijin that ever worked for Misawa will tell you the same thing about him, assuming it's off the record.

Burying Vader is really strange, because Misawa convenitely put a claus in his AJ deal that would allow him to leave AJ at the same time Misawa dumped AJ and formed NOAH, and he was the only gaijin to have that claus in his deal. You would think that would be because he wanted Vader, but it almost seemed like a way to trick Vader into leaving with him so Misawa could bury him. After all, if he stayed in AJ they would still have a strong top draw, and then you have to explain to the network that the only reason one of AJ's top ratings draws isn't there is because he's white. Personally, I can't think of a better way to repay the loyalty of the only gaijin that left All Japan during the split.

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

Believe me, "gaijin" isn't as bad as the N word Trade mentioned.

Of course, depending on the context of the comment, the word can be used to discriminate the foreigners, but it's not always used for that purpose.

Also, the term is/was very often used in puroresu, whether or not the wrestlers or the announcers like the foreigners.

[Tradewynd]

I didn't mean to imply that it was as bad of a word, only show that it can be used in a bad way. Historically, there was a time when the N word did not have a negative connatation, but was simply a way of identifying someone. That's what I was trying to get at. That it can be used with bad intention, although does not have to be.