Why does Japan seem to be so exclusive toward foreigners?

By Greg McCulley

Drafted 16 February 1998

              The word gaijin in Japanese is commonly accepted to mean "foreigner".� Its actual, more literal translation is "alien" or "barbarian  outsider".� The Western perception of Japan-- more to the point, the American perception of Japan-- is that Japan and the Japanese way of life are exclusive toward outsiders.� This is a highly subjective claim, but I believe it is a true one.� There are several supporting elements to this claim, but this paper will address three specific ones: the geography and demographics, the writing system, and the history of Japan.

����������� One very practical reason Japan seems exclusive to outsiders is the fact that it is geographically isolated.� Being a physically insular state mitigates the chances for �invasion by other groups, and migration of outside groups.� Japan is composed of four main islands, and its nearest mainland-Asia neighbor is the Korean peninsula.� Japan and Korea are separated by the Strait of Tsushima, which is about 120 miles wide (Murphey, 129).� This natural defense protected Japan from two blatant Mongol attempts at invasion, is helped prevent the area from becoming a crossroads for passing armies that Korea and many southwestern Asian countries became. Being at the end of the land mass helps keep a lot of incidental passersby from happening across your lands and picking them over.� The same factor contributed to Japan's limited migration, and she is now, and has been to a large extent., a homogenous people.� In stark contrast to the "melting pot" of the United States, Japan is largely, odd as it sounds to say, made up of Japanese.� Most Japanese are descended from Korean immigrants and indigenous Ainu groups.�

����������� Another reason Japan seems exclusive to outsiders, especially within Asia, is the language, more specifically, the written language. The Japanese language and the Korean language are derivatives of the Chinese language, but there are differences.� For example, while much of the kanji is taken from the Chinese unchanged, there are many differences in the kanji that are largely noticed only by a visiting Chinese.� Evidence of this is the Chinese reaction to many common signs in kanji in Japan.� Some visiting Chinese have been known to have photographs taken next to department store signs in Japan because of the literal translation of the kanji in Chinese.� Also, Japan has added two additional twists:� the Hiragana and the Katakana writing forms, which are phonetic versions of the Japanese writing system. Japanese used this derived language to incorporate outside phrases and words into their own vernacular.� These attempts to individualize the language further contributed to a regional delineation from China because Japanese is so difficult to learn compared to some other languages of the world.� For example, an American can go to France and be able to at least pronounce some of the words he sees there, because the basic medium of letters is the same.�� In Japan, visitors from China, Korea, and other countries cannot do this because of the many changes that have been made.� If it is difficult to learn the language of a people, that could go a long ways toward an outsider feeling unwelcome, or at least awkward.� However, I feel one of the biggest reasons for this is her history.

����������� During the Tokugawa rule, Japan was ruled with a strict hand, and social change was repressed by the centrally controlled political system.� Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) and his successors were very successful in establishing social stability over other daimyos for over 250 years (Murphey, 246)� In the sixteenth century, western traders arrived in Japan (the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch), along with their missionaries.� The Tokugawa was eager to trade with them, but missionaries required allegiance to a faith that was thousands of miles away, and this soon came to disturb the calm that had been established in society.� Soon missionary/trade agents began to conflict, and this led to factional struggles for power.� This threatened the central government, so in 1587, all missionaries were banned in Japan.� A decade later, continued foreign religion activity was repressed through public executions and crucifixions of Christians as a deterrent.� In the years of the early seventeenth century, all remaining missionaries were killed or deported and the converts they had won were killed or forced to renounce their new beliefs.� This was followed by a cessation of trade with the expulsion of traders from the West.� Japan was sealed from the rest of the world (with few exceptions with the Dutch and Koreans), and Japanese were forbidden to leave the country or even build ships that would be capable of making such a voyage.� This attitude led to an era of peace in Japan that fostered her internal development, both economically and culturally.� The isolationist period began to wane in the nineteenth century, due to both internal political changes, and pressure from the outside world to open trade.� More and more outsiders arrived in Japan demanding trade rights, and these outsiders carried big guns, particularly the US Navy.� Outnumbered and out-armed, the Japanese, perhaps mindful of the Chinese experience with England during the Opium Wars, began to permit trade.� In my mind, this is really the strongest factor supporting the idea that Japan is a "members only club".� ��It is no wonder why, in the relative short time that has passed since, many outsiders feel they are really outsiders.

����������� Where does all this leave Japan today?� I believe the remnants of the older policies and ways of thinking are still around, but as the world continues to interact culturally and economically, many once-closed countries are open to outsiders. �Japan, however, because of her homogenous people, insular location, and difficult to learn language, makes her still seem exclusive to foreigners.