MovieChat Forums > Rising Sun (1993) Discussion > 'Kokujin' is not a racist term.

'Kokujin' is not a racist term.


It just means "black person". While that may be politically incorrect, it is not in itself an offensive term, as was implied in this not-too-well-made movie.

The Kytes call, as rainwater flows to the sea.

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well put. it's certainly less racist than the term 'gaijin'.

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Neither kokujin nor gaijin are racist slurs, but their casual use implies a mindset that is probably less than progressive.

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OMG there was nearly NO Japanese people in this film... They spoke Japanese with a chinese accent lol.. and when Sean Connery kept calling Snipes "kouhai", that word's used at high school in Japan when a Senior student calles a younger student "Junior"

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[deleted]

well, thats all true except that gai = outside and jin = person, koko = black, so kokojin means black person not black outside person, but of course thats implied because japanese people aren't black, duh.

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"well, thats all true except that gai = outside and jin = person, koko = black, so kokojin means black person not black outside person, but of course thats implied because japanese people aren't black, duh."

Wrong.

Jin = human / human being
Hito = person
Koko = here
Kokojin = Here-human

You definitely should learn more before you start teaching others.

Kokujin = black human

But the kanji for "koku" is read as "kuro", when used alone. And that does mean 'black'. So there is no "koku" (let alone "koko") that would mean 'black' by itself - only in context, and sometimes it doesn't even mean black, like in 'daikokubashira' (breadwinner).

Interestingly, "gaikokujin" also has a "koku" in it, but it's a different kanji - this means of course "foreigner" - literally, 'outside country human'.

Japanese has so many words for a certain meaning, that english has to resort to twisting the meanings, destroying the subtleties and using 'nearest equivalent' words.

Gaijin is not a racistic term in any way. It's neutral. Of course any neutral term can be used in praise and in insult, this is true in all languages. Same goes with kokujin. It's neutral - reminds me of 'mokujin' in the Tekken video games - literally, "wood human" or "wooden human".

It's just a way to classify and categorize human beings so they can be more easily talked about. People have a tendency to make a huge thing out of nothing, the racist-cards and other similar things are hysterically over-used these days.

If you watch some japanese TV, you will see that these words are used in a completely friendly and non-insulting way, and are no cause for a racism-hysteria.

As for the implication that you claim - I doubt that's true, either. Are you saying a black human cannot be born in Japan?

Are you saying halfies do not exist?

The japanese certainly know these things can happen and do exist, so your claim would really need to be substanciated a little better, or perhaps proven somehow - otherwise, give it up - there is no such implication.





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OMFG! I just learned that Jin Kuzama from Tekken is really just "HUMAN" WTF!!!!! MIND=BLOWN

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If anything, the term the Japanese can use to be demeaning would be Nanban. Yet, as subtle a culture they're, they have refined tools to be in your face without appear offensive, like advertising apartments in tatami sizes, so mostly only Asians familiar with tatami size would understand, how big it is.

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