Chinese Origins

China has been using chopsticks since 1200 BC, maybe even earlier. The first known sets were made of bronze and were mainly used for cooking as they were handy for reaching into boiling pots of oil or water. It wasn’t until 400 AD that people started eating with the things and then by 500 AD or so, chopsticks had spread all over Asia.

China also experienced a population boom around this time which forced folks to start pinching pennies (or yuan, if you prefer). Chinese people started using chopsticks because with more people there was less fuel, and with less fuel there was less fire. In order to cook things more quickly, people would cut their food up into smaller pieces to cook them faster. Can you guess what was just perfect for picking up smaller pieces of food? That’s right – the chopstick.

Since food was more or less already bite sized at this point, knives started to serve much less of a purpose at the dinner table. Confucius also played a part in the popularization of chopsticks as an eating utensil in China. Confucius believed that sharp utensils like knives had no place at the dinner table. He thought that knives represented things like violence and warfare which did not go along with the feeling of joy and contentment he believed should be present at every meal.

Chopsticks In Japan

So chopsticks in China really got popular around 500 AD. How long did the chopstick craze take to get to Japan? Well, the oldest official records of chopsticks being used in Japan is from the Kojiki, written in 712AD, but they probably made it over there even sooner than that. Chinese culture made its way over to Japan through Korea earlier than that, and the chopsticks were sure to have been one of the things that made it over.

In the beginning, chopsticks were only used in Japanese ceremonies. These early Japanese chopsticks were made from bamboo and were joined at the top, kind of like those “trainer” chopsticks you see today.

Gradually these chopsticks made their way into the home and became used for eating on a regular basis. The first recorded instances of separated chopsticks being used for normal eating don’t show up until 10th century Japan, but like before, people were probably doing this for a long time in some areas before someone thought it was a good idea to actually write down “Hey guys, we’re using chopsticks to eat with now, k?”

Japanese Chopsticks Vs. The World’s

From top to bottom: Plastic chopsticks from Taiwan, porcelain chopsticks from mainland China, bamboo chopsticks from Tibet, Vietnamese style palmwood chopsticks from Indonesia, stainless flat chopsticks from Korea with spoon, a Japanese couple’s set, Japanese child’s chopsticks, and disposables

Did you know that not all chopsticks are alike? There are distinct differences between Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese chopsticks.

Japanese chopsticks are usually shorter than other chopsticks and taper to a fine point. They are traditionally made of bamboo or wood and are often lacquered. Japanese chopsticks also come in kid sizes and woman sizes which are even shorter than standard sizes. Bento sized chopsticks, which fit inside of bento boxes, can also be quite short and sometimes made of colorful plastic.

In Korea, chopsticks are a medium length with a flat rectangular shape. They are traditionally made from brass or silver and are used simultaneously with a spoon.

Chinese chopsticks are longer and thicker than both Japanese and Korean chopsticks. They have squared or rounded sides and end in blunt, flat tips. They can be made from many materials but are most commonly made from melamine plastic or lacquered bamboo.

Vietnamese chopsticks are usually longer than most. These chopsticks taper to a blunt point like Chinese ones and are traditionally made from lacquered wood or bamboo.

In Japan, the lacquered wood tradition started in the 17th century. The extravagant had their chopsticks made from jade, gold, ivory, or silver. Speaking of fancy, if you want a nice set of chopsticks to go with your fine tableware, Kyoto is considered the center of chopstick design. In terms of production, 85% of the country’s chopsticks are made in nearby Obama, Fukui Prefecture.

But it’s not all fancy pants chopsticks in Japan. In 1878, Japan produced the world’s first disposable chopsticks, and today China and Japan use the majority of them. China is responsible for using 45 billion disposable chopsticks a year. Japan is about half of that at 24 billion.

A lot of deforestation has been linked to disposable chopsticks, so hopefully something here changes soon. You do see a lot more “bring your own chopsticks” holders on sale in Japan these days. They’re kind of like travel toothbrush holders, but instead of a toothbrush, you have chopsticks. Still, that might not be enough so I hope people become more aware. Tell all your friends!

How to Use Chopsticks in Japan

Different countries have different rules for chopstick etiquette, so if you want to impress people with your chopstick skills and knowledge in Japan, here’s what you need to know.

• You should hold your chopsticks towards their back end, not in the middle or the front third. “Choking up” on your chopsticks is a surefire way to look like a noob.
• You also shouldn’t spear food with your chopsticks, point or wave them around, or move bowls around with them. I feel like lots of people do this anyway though, even native Japanese people.
• To separate a larger piece of food, you’d exert controlled pressure on the chopsticks while moving them apart from each other. Controlled pressure is the important part. You don’t want to end up flicking your food halfway across the room.
• Food should not be directly transferred from your chopsticks to someone else’s. Transferring directly with chopsticks is how bones are passed as part of Japanese funeral rites, so it’s not viewed as good practice at the dinner table. Unless you’re a cannibal, then maybe it’s okay. Maybe.
• Chopsticks also shouldn’t be crossed on a table, as this symbolizes death, or vertically stuck in the rice, which is another funeral practice. See how these manners relate back to chopsticks that were originally only used in Japanese ceremonies?
• The pointed ends of the chopsticks should be placed on a chopstick rest when they’re not being used. If a chopstick rest is not available and you’re using disposable chopsticks, you can make a chopstick rest by folding the paper sleeve they came in. You could also rest it on a plate or lay it on top of a bowl. Just don’t stab it into anything!
• Chopsticks should be placed horizontally with the tips on the left. Any other orientation would make you look like a hooligan.

If you’ve been to Japan before, I’m sure you will have noticed that not everyone commonly adheres to all of these chopstick rules (I’ve seen it happen plenty of times), but I think they’re good to be aware of just in case you find yourself in a super formal chopstick using situation. Wouldn’t want to embarrass yourself!

Speaking of embarrassing yourself, for some good tips on how not to do this, I’d recommend checking out our guide on How to Save Yourself from Embarrassment in Japan and How to be a Baka Gaijin while Eating. You’ll learn a lot, I promise.

Modern Iterations

Chopsticks have had quite the journey. But it’s not over yet! Chopsticks are always evolving and changing even though the basic purpose remains the same. Check out some of these modern iterations.

Always find yourself needing chopsticks when there are none to be found? Store some in your glasses! Problem solved!

Don’t wear glasses? No problem! Store these collapsible chopsticks in your bag or pocket!

Remember those “trainer” chopsticks that were mentioned before? Well here’s an example of what some of those look like. Cute, huh?

So, are you a chopstick master? Do you remember what it was like the first time you used chopsticks? When I was growing up I used to always eat rice and pasta dishes with chopsticks because I thought it was cool. Luckily this helped me not embarrass myself while at Asian restaurants and while studying abroad in Japan. I was prepared.

Have any interesting chopstick related stories? Share them in the comments!

Bonus Wallpapers!

[2560x1600] • [1280x800] • [1280x800 Animated] • [700x438 Animated]

Sites Referenced:
Wikipedia.com
History.com

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Japan PM: Women, advanced technology key to restoring economy: Japan’s economy has been in the doldrums for decades, but prime minister Shinzo Abe’s set of economic policies known as “Abenomics” has been trying to fix all of that. Part of Abe’s plan to jump start Japan’s economy includes accomodating mothers in the work place, encouraging shorter working hours and on-site daycare centers for workplaces. While it all sounds good in theory, whether or not Japanese companies will implement these practices remains unclear. [via Reddit]

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Revisiting a Constitution Crafted ‘in a Week’: It’s always struck me as odd that while the US has amended its constitution a whopping 17 times, the modern-day Japanese constitution has remained exactly the same since its inception in the postwar years. But now, Japanese Prime Minister and his LDP are considering changing the cornerstone of Japanese law for the first time in more than seven decades. First amendment planned? “Soft subs only.”

Majority oppose 24 hour buses and trains: Even though the newly-proposed later bus hours have been getting a lot of favorable press in the West, Japanese people aren’t as keen on the prospect. In fact, a majority of Japanese people polled in an online survey say that 24 hour public transit is unnecessary. What makes them say that? Noise, traffic, or price, nobody knows for sure; all we know if that you may still have to catch that early bus home from your nomihodia.

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Live Action Kiki’s Delivery Service: Studio Ghibli has been known for decades as an animation powerhouse, but now the house that Miyazaki built is trying its hand at something new—live action. For its first foray into the live action, Ghibli is revisiting an old classic, Kiki’s Delivery Service. What comes after live action movies for Ghibli? Maybe a 4DX version of My Neighbor Totoro where you can feel like you’re actually riding the cat bus. One can only hope.

AKB48′s Tomomi Kasai in fling with president of AKS management agency: Japanese idol groups sometimes forbid its members from any sort of romantic relationship, as was made extremely clear last year when an AKB48 starlet was demoted for a relationship with Koichi an unknown man. But it seems when the relationship involves a group’s manager, the rules can be bent a bit. Somehow , I’m unsurprised that idol group management plays fast and loose with the rules.[via ]

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Scientist Says Pollution From China Is Killing a Japanese Island’s Trees: As China’s air slowly turns into a toxic grey soup, Japan might be beginning to feel real consequences from its neighbor’s pollution. Ancient trees are dying off in the southern islands of Japan and some scientists are beginning to believe that China’s industrial waste is to blame. It’s chilling to think that what’s happening to trees hundreds of miles away must pale in comparison to what’s happening in China.

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I check my Instagram and it’s the same story. Picture after picture shows me a Tokyo that’s radically different from the city with clear skies I saw the week before. It looks more like LA in the summer than Tokyo in the spring.

What’s happening? Has residual radiation from Fukushima finally soured the atmosphere? Has Chinese air made of pure pollution finally made it to Japan? Is it the robot apocalypse?!

The Official Explanation

No need to fear folks, the Japan Meteorological Agency has said that it’s simply haze.

How did it happen? The story is that an unusually hot day in Tokyo coupled with a cold weather front and a strong wind helped kick up dust from the ground.

A little unusual, but certainly not anything too dangerous.

The Plausible Alternative

Or maybe it wasn’t just haze. Maybe it did, in fact, come from China.

Many people suspect that the yellow skies over Tokyo were due to a natural phenomenon called “Asian Dust,” (黄砂 in Japanese). The basic gist of Asian Dust is that windstorms carry dust, sand, and dirt from deserts in mainland Asia to Japan. Surviving in Japan has a good write up about Asian Dust.

But while Asian Dust is a natural, regular occurence, that’s not to say that it’s completely harmless. Besides the obvious problem of reduced visibility, there’s lots of other problems with Asian Dust.

Not only can strong winds from Asian Dust disrupt handshake events with your favorite idol group, it can also carry pollutants over from China and other countries on the Asian mainland. Asian Dust isn’t incredibly harmful, but it’s still a bit of a menace.

But Asian Dust isn’t even the worst possibility out there.

The Frightening Conspiracy

Assuming that these first two explanations are wrong, the only remaining possibility is that the phenomenon affecting Tokyo was entirely pollution from China. Giant clouds full of lead, asbestos, and Chinese toothpaste float over Japan, turning the country into a nightmarish hellscape.

It’s not that hard to imagine; China has had a pretty bad track record on environmental issues since Mao. The government’s philosophy has largely been “let the environment serve the people,” regardless of the cost.

And it’s really shown. Air pollution in China has literally been off the charts recently, causing Japanese people to worry about PM 2.5, or pollution that’s 2.5µm or less in diameter. PM 2.5 is dangerous because it’s small enough to penetrate deep into the body.

But why would the Japan Meteorological Agency hide all of this and say that the phenomenon was just “haze?” That’s entirely up to speculation.

Maybe China offered every JMA employee a free iPhone from Foxconn. Maybe Japan is keeping its silence in exchange for the Senkaku islands. Or maybe Japan is using China’s giant pollution clouds to turn its people into a new, mutated super race.

I’m no meteorologist, but I know one thing for sure: I have no idea what I’m talking about.

Keep asking questions. The truth is out there!

Luckily for you, I’ve done extensive research, cracked the case, and can say with utmost certainty who has the rights to lay claim to the islands.

The Senkaku Islands and How it All Began

Before this whole deal made its way into the media, I didn’t really know much about the Senkaku Island debate, let alone where these islands were. The Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu as they are known in China, are a group of five uninhabited islands and three barren rocks located in the East China Sea between Japan, Taiwan, and China, with all three countries laying claim to them.

Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government formally annexed what was known as the Ryukyu Kingdom as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. The Senkaku Islands, which lay between the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Chinese Qing Empire, became the boundary between the two nations.

In 1885, Japan considered taking formal control of the Senkaku Islands. However, the islands had been given Chinese names, Chinese newspapers were claiming that Japan was occupying islands off of China’s coast, and Japan just didn’t really want to make the Qing Empire suspicious of anything by annexing the islands. As such, the request to initiate formal control over the islands was rejected.

In 1895, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan decided to incorporate the islands under the administration of Okinawa, stating that it had been conducting surveys there since 1884 and that the islands effectively didn’t belong to anyone, with there being no evidence to suggest that they had ever been under the Qing Empire’s control.

After China lost the Sino-Japanese War, both countries signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki which stated that China would surrender the island of Taiwan together with all islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Taiwan.

The tricky part here is that there was no agreement as to who had control over the Senkaku Islands prior to this, so it is debatable as to whether or not the Senkaku Islands were actually included as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. This detail is important because the treaty was rendered moot when Japan lost World War II in 1945. The Treaty of San Francisco nullified prior treaties concerning the area.

Like I said, there is a disagreement between the Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese governments as to whether or not the islands are implied to be part of the “islands appertaining or belonging to said island of Taiwan” in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. China and Taiwan both dispute the Japanese claim to the island by citing Japan’s abovementioned reasons to turn down the request to incorporate the islands in 1885. Both China and Taiwan assert sovereignty over the islands.

The Coverup

Unfortunately for Japan and China, the abovementioned history means absolutely nothing. Through my extensively painstaking research on the topic, I uncovered the greatest government conspiracy coverup fiasco known to man. Neither Japan, China, or Taiwan have the right to claim the Senkaku Islands as their own.

I discovered that shortly after Lithuania’s personal union with Poland in 1386, a brave and handsome Lithuanian man set out on a sailing expedition from the port city of Klaipėda in search of fame and fortune. Tragically, the ships did not return for they had become irreparably damaged and moored on a rocky, uninhabited archipelago in a strange and distant sea.

The captain of the ship detailed the landscape and surroundings in his journal as he slowly passed away from starvation. He wrote of his dreams and aspirations, his love for his country, and claimed the archipelago in the name of his family.

This man was my ancestor. I traced back the lineage and I found that I am the true heir to the Senkaku Islands. Both the Chinese and Japanese governments know this and they’ve tried to hide the fact that the islands belong to me and my family with their made up histories and elaborate fairy tales. I profess that I am the only one who may rightfully lay claim to these lands. I declare myself high king of the Senkaku Islands.

But just for fun, let’s explore why China and Japan think that they have the right to claim the area and not me.

The Current State of Affairs

The Senkaku Islands are currently administered by Japan, but Taiwan and China both lay claim to them as well. The United States occupied the islands after World War II from 1945 to 1972 and even though they do not have an official position on the validity of the competing sovereignty claims, the islands are included within the U.S. Japan Security Treaty. This means that if Japan needed to defend the islands, it would be likely to compel action by the United States military.

Both China and Japan indicated their sovereignty claims with respect to the islands to the United Nations Security Council at the time of the US transfer of its administrative powers to Japan after its occupation in 1972. Sovereignty over the islands would give Japan exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in surrounding waters.

Basically what happened was that the US handed the islands over to Japan, and China wasn’t too happy about it because they believed it should be placed in their hands, not Japan’s.

China’s Claim to the Islands

It seems that China really didn’t put up too much of a fuss about these islands until after it was discovered that there might be oil reserves under the sea surrounding the islands. The study was conducted in 1968, and the Chinese started getting really adamant over their claims to the region shortly thereafter, especially with the US choice to hand control of the region over to Japan. From the Chinese perspective, this is what it looks like for the Senkaku Islands.

1. China claims the discovery of the islands for themselves, citing early recordings of such in old maps and travelogues.

2. The islands were China’s frontier off-shore defense against wakou (Japanese pirates) during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) and an old Chinese map of Asia as well as a map compiled by a Japanese cartographer in the 18th century show the islands as being a part of China.

3. As mentioned above, Japan took control of the islands during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 by means of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. But a letter from the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1885 warning against annexing the islands due to anxiety about China’s response, shows, in China’s opinion, that Japan knew the islands were not actually “up for grabs.”

4. The Potsdam Declaration stated that “Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such minor islands as we determine,” with “we” being the victors of the Second World War, including the Republic of China. Japan accepted the terms of the Declaration when it surrendered and China sees this as a reason for stating they have rights to the islands in question.

5. Both China and Taiwan never endorsed the US transfer of the islands to Japan in 1970s.

Japan’s Claim to the Islands

The Japanese stance on the issue is that there isn’t even an issue at all. Japan believes that there is no territorial issue that needs to be resolved over the Senkaku Islands whatsoever. In a counter to the abovementioned Chinese points, Japan has stated the following.

1. According to Japan, the islands have been uninhabited and have showed no trace of being under Chinese control prior to 1895.

2. The islands were neither part of Taiwan nor part of the Pescadores Islands, which were ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Therefore, the Japanese believe their claim to the islands was not affected by the San Francisco Peace Treaty.

3. Though the islands were controlled by the United States as an occupying power between 1945 and 1972, Japan was given and has exercised administration over the islands ever since.

4. Taiwan and China only started claiming ownership of the islands in 1971, following a May 1969 United Nations report that a large oil and gas reserve may exist under the seabed near the islands.

So, as one can see – they are simply bickering over lands that they have no legitimate stake in. Those islands are mine and I’m considering submitting a formal complaint of sorts, but I fear that without widespread worldwide support, I will fall victim to the same fate as many Japanese businesses and establishments in China as I’m sure the validity of my claim will be questioned.

The Anti-Japanese Demonstrations

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcmv63j6vPA']

Over the years there have been plenty of demonstrations concerning the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. Lately, there’s been a resurgence of them in China, mostly due to Shintaro Ishihara’s decision to let Tokyo Municipality purchase three of the Senkaku islands from their current Japanese owners (the Kurihara family), placing them under state control. The Chinese government angrily protested, stating, “No one will ever be permitted to buy and sell China’s sacred territory.”

On August 15th, activists from Hong Kong sailed to and landed on one of the disputed islands, but were stopped by the Japan Coast Guard. The activists and their ship were detained by Japanese authorities and were deported two days later.

China wasn’t happy about this either.

In Beijing, citizens of began protesting in front of the Japanese embassy and protestors called for the return of the Diaoyu Islands and for Japan to confess her crimes. Chinese protestors marched down the streets chanting slogans such as “Defend the Diaoyu Islands” and “Smash Japanese Imperialism.” They called for the boycott of Japanese goods and for the government to retake the islands. Japanese flags were defaced, Japanese cars were smashed, and shops selling Japanese goods were vandalized.

According to Sing Tao Daily, the Chinese government sent in large numbers of armed police, who called for an end to the violent protests, drove the protesters away, and detained a handful of them.

The riots are also being condemned by a great amount of Chinese citizens and many are hoping for a soon to be realized peaceful solution as can be seen from posts on Sina Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, used by well over 30% of Internet users in China with more than 300 million registered users).

When I first saw the horrific scenes, I was so ashamed of my own race, seeming so barbaric and outrageous through the lens, that at one point, I felt that such a lawless nation will never have any hope of becoming a peace-loving superpower that is deserving of respect, and that there is no point of staying in a country that can come to Armageddon so easily.

But after reading posts that have flooded Sina Weibo, most of which vehemently condemned such violence, I realize that while the rabble and the crimes they’ve committed in the name of love for China have irreversibly smeared the image of Chinese people, there are much more people who have utter contempt for them.

-Jing Gao – MinistryOfTofu.com

Currently, the official stance of the involved parties is as follows: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging people to express thoughts “rationally and within the law,” Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda wants China to prevent anti-Japan violence, Taiwan is annoyed but being ignored by pretty much everyone, and the United States just wants everybody to calm down.

As one can see, there’s a lot of stuff going on and the people and the governments are trying to figure out the best way to proceed with everything. Normally, I wouldn’t take a stance on these sorts of situations as they’re usually not entirely black and white cases, but these islands are obviously mine to claim. This I know for sure. Another thing I know for sure is that it’s a bad time to be the owner of Japanese goods in China with all the riots going on. Yikes.

Actually, this Happens a Lot

Unfortunately, territorial disputes are a pretty common thing between Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries. Koichi actually wrote about this a while ago in his post about all the current land disputes Japan is involved in.

Just recently at the London Olympic games a South Korean player got in big trouble for displaying a sign with a slogan supporting South Korean sovereignty over disputed islets that are claimed by both South Korea and Japan (called Dokdo in South Korean and Takeshima in Japan). There’s a small chance that these islets belong to my family as well, but I won’t get into that here.

And then of course there’s the whole China/Taiwan deal along with a slew of countless other issues plaguing the region. It would seem that territorial disputes are more rampant in the Asia Pacific are than any other, a full list of which can be found here. I’m sure there will always be plenty of disputes regarding the lands in the area, especially when they’re uninhabited islands such as the Senkaku. My only hope is that the issues can be resolved peacefully.

I’m not even going to get into all the other supposed stakes my family has in distant lands that are currently up for dispute, but here’s where you come in. I need you to help rally support for the cause and get the Senkaku Islands back into their rightful hands. Mine.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on the whole Senkaku Island dispute? Any important details I forgot to touch on? Who do you think has the most valid claim to the islands – Japan, China, Taiwan, or yours truly? What do you think should be done to resolve the issue at hand? Let us know in the comments!

Sites Referenced:
Senkaku Islands Wikipedia
2012 China Anti-Japanese Demonstrations Wikipedia

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Cat from Putin to Akita gov. quarantined at Narita: President of Russia Vladmir Putin, when he’s not practicing sketchy politics, has been exchanging gifts with various Japanese political figures. This year, he exchanged judo uniforms with the prime minister of Japan and received an akita from the governor of the eponymous region. Now, Putin is returning the favor to the governor with a cat which, unfortunately has to be quarantined until it’s deemed to be safe. There’s a Pussy Riot joke in here somewhere, I just know it! [via News On Japan][/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Japanese man shows off world’s tallest Mohawk hairstyle: Even though I’m not really a fan of Guinness’s dark, almost syrupy beer, I have a soft spot for its Book of World Records. Carnival sideshows are largely a thing of the past, but Guinness still provides a glimpse into some of the wackiest things imaginable, like this Japanese guy with a mohawk that’s almost four feet tall. Sure, he can’t walk around indoors, but that’s a price worth paying. [via News On Japan]

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[threecol_one]In China, anti-Japan protests over disputed islands get some zing: People in China have been holding anti-Japan protests for weeks now over disputed territory in the Sea of Japan, but the same ol’ methods of protesting, like burning flags and flipping cars, just aren’t doing it anymore. Now protestors are getting more creative with their protests by illegally downloading Japanese porn in an effort to deprive smut peddlers of profits. Evidently, I’ve been protesting Japan for while and haven’t even known it. Go figure.

Tsunami “Miracle Pine” Destroyed to be Preserved: When the 3/11 tsunami wiped away a forest of 70,000 trees, people were astonished to see that one “Miracle Pine” still standing. Now, the pine is ironically being destroyed so it can be better preserved; the tree will be cut down in segments, then treated and reassembled so that it might stand stronger than ever. [via Japan Realtime, News On Japan][/threecol_two_last]

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So, kanji hates women. Sure. But, perhaps the kanji-creators of old were victims of their very misogynistic time. I can’t say that sexism and misogyny in kanji is “right,” but I can see how it ended up happening. Want to see for yourself?

Kanji Made By Men, For Men

Nowadays a lot of these kanji are just words. It’s kind of like how the English word “Woman” has the word “Man” in it. Most people don’t actually care about it that much. That being said, I went through a lot of kanji today in order to bring you this ultimate list of misogynistic kanji. They will surely be a bit controversial, so please don’t get angry (aka “woman slave heart”), noisy (aka “woman woman woman”) or hateful (aka “woman concurrently”) at me. I didn’t create these kanji, and the people who did are long dead, probably because of their recklessness (aka “dead woman”).

女: Woman

This kanji isn’t particularly interesting on its own, but it’s important to look at first, because it always plays a role in the misogynistic kanji to come, appearing over and over again. Although I’m not putting every 女 kanji in this list (there’s a lot of them), I would like to tell you about a pattern I noticed: Kanji that have 女 in them tend to be about something negative, about getting married, about being a female of some kind (daughter, niece, etc) or about looking pretty. Already a bad start, I’d say. Let’s see what those sexist Chinese monks came up with.

奴: Manservant, Slave

This kanji consists of a woman (女) and the “again” radical (又). I suppose when you’re a woman again, you’re a slave (man or lady). It’s like a demotion to a slave level, aka the level of women. Strangely, this kanji’s meaning also extends to the words “dude” or “guy.” Now we know why it has a slight derogatory meaning.

妄: Reckless, Delusion

This kanji is made of “dying” (亡) and woman (女). So, when women who die are being reckless and delusional. They need to be safe and calm so that they can take care of the children. Much better to keep them safe in the house, right? Right? *segue!!*

安: Cheap, Contented, Relax, Safe

This is a woman inside of a roof. A woman safe inside the house. When a woman is safe within a house, she costs a lot less and you (the man) can go out and do your manly things while feeling relaxed and contented that there’ll always be a meal ready for you when you get home.

好: Pleasing, Like

While she’s at home being safe, it’s good if the woman (女) has a child (子). Us men like (好) this. It helps us to feel 安 that you won’t go out and do anything 妄.

奸: Mischief, Rudeness

I’m not sure I can bring myself to believe that the parts of this kanji mean what I think they might mean… but I guess I can’t put it past a couple of horny old monks whose job it is to come up with new kanji. This is a “dry woman” … I’ll let you come up with your own interpretation on why a “dry woman” would cause mischief and/or be rude.

妓: Geisha, Prostitute

This kanji is woman (女) plus support (支). A “support woman” is, apparently, a prostitute. So, thank you prostitutes. Thank you for all your support, support women.

妬: Envy, Jealous

The kanji for woman (女) and stone (石) combined into one. Perhaps this means a “strong woman?” Ha! No, of course not. “Stone woman” instead means “envy” or “jealousy.” Stay away from them stone women.

姓: Surname

Woman (女) and life (生) combine together to mean “surname.” Since women don’t get to carry on their surname (that’s the family name), it becomes apparent that this kanji is suggesting that a woman’s life is to the surname of her husband. She’s kind of a lifelong 奴 (servant) to the surname, if you will, whether it’s her father’s or her husband’s.

孥: Slave, Servant, Wife And Children

You remember slave right? Now it’s a slave (奴) to the child (子). This still means “slave” or “servant,” but a third meaning has been added in to this kanjis as well: “Wife and Children.” So, a woman is a slave to her child. When you think about the relationship between Asian moms and their children, this kanji actually starts to make sense…

帑: Money Repository

Your lady slave (奴) now has a cloth (巾). This is your money repository. At best, this could mean a safe place to store your money (Japanese wives traditionally take care of all the money stuff at home). At worst this could mean your lady is super expensive, and she’s like a black hole where your yen never sees the light of day again once it gets past the event horizon of her money bag. I’ll let you decide this one.

姑: Mother-In-Law

In Asian dramas, the mother-in-law is almost always an evil hag (don’t worry, sometimes they come around after the protagonist good-for-nothing son-in-law does something right). In this kanji, it’s not quite that bad, though. This is a woman (女) plus “old” (古). Just an “old woman”… though you’d think they could have come up with something a little nicer. I don’t think mother-in-laws like being called “old women.” I’m pretty sure the creator of this kanji had a mother-in-law he didn’t really like…

怒: Angry

A slave lady (奴) plus a heart (心). Obviously the men weren’t totally clueless. They could tell the ladies get pretty angry when you treat them like slaves.

姻: Marry, Matrimony

Speaking of slavery, when you combine the kanji for woman (女) and “be associated with” (因) you get a word that means marriage. My theory is that someone wanted to use 囚 (captured) instead 因, but then the wife saw so he got in trouble and then had to switch it to 因. Anyways, marriage is “being associated with a woman.”

姦: Noisy, Wicked, Rape

Not one woman. Not two women. No. There are three women. What happens when you have three women together? They get really noisy. C’mon ladies.

Secondly, this kanji means “wicked” too. I guess when a few women get together, it’s time to get suspicious of their actions?

Lastly, this kanji also means rape too… which is absolutely terrible and probably makes this the worst kanji of all time. Seriously, though. There were some sick kanji-creators out there.

倭: Yamato People (Submissive People)

I wrote about the naming of the Yamato People (Japanese people) a while back. Basically, China used this kanji to name the Japanese a long time ago. It pretty much means “submissive ladylike dwarf people,” though you’ll have to read the whole history to find out why.

恕: Excuse

What’s in a woman’s (女) mouth’s (口) heart (心)? It’s to make excuses. The true words that come from a woman’s heart are just excuses. “So that’s why dinner isn’t ready, Natsumi??? What a terrible ‘woman’s mouth heart!’” Really kanji? C’mon.

案: Expectation, Suggestion, Worry

You have a woman in her house (安) standing on top of a tree (木) looking down on everyone telling them their suggestions and worries. Sounds familiar? This is basically the kanji for “helicopter mother,” if you ask me. They just didn’t have helicopters back then, so she’s standing on a tree instead.

娶: Arrange A Marriage

You’re taking (取) a woman (女). Could be worse, I suppose. Still, you don’t see anyone “taking a man” instead. It’s always the ladies that get the short end of the stick when it comes to kanji.

婬: Lewdness

The woman (女) is clawing (爪) the king (王). Perhaps this is talking about all those misbehaving queens that you hear about in stories. No good comes from nasty queens in folklore stories, Japanese or Chinese. I suppose this is why this kanji means “lewdness.”

嫌: Hate

When you have a woman (女) concurrently (兼) with anything (apparently), you get hate. It’s a mystery as to what you can have at the same time as a woman that will make this hate, but I’m sure someone had something in mind way back in the day.

嫉: Envy, Jealous

Wow, another kanji that means “envy” or “jealous.” Instead of being a stone lady (妬), this time it’s just a “rapid lady” (女=woman, 疾=rapidly). I’m guessing this is suggesting that women get envious or jealous very quickly… sounds like every jdrama / kdrama / cdrama I’ve ever seen.

楼: Watchtower

This kanji has a woman (女) carrying rice (米) on her back. There’s a tree (木) there too, which I’m guessing is the watchtower. I’m thinking you can guess who is in the watchtower by now, right?

媼: Grandma

This woman (女) has captured (囚) someone with a plate (皿). Perhaps this is a relatively nice kanji, actually. Maybe grandma’s cooking is so good that she’s captured you. Good ol’ grandma’s cooking! All she’s good for is cooking now, though. Too old to carry rice around the fields under the watchful watchtower eye of the man.

嫐: Flirt

Two ladies (女), one dude between them (男). Why not add three or four more ladies while you’re at it, wishful-thinking-monk?

嬲: Ridicule, Tease

So, when there are two guys (男) around one lady (女) it’s no longer flirting. Now it’s ridiculing and teasing… at least they got the “apparently most guys were jerks during the kanji-creation period” thing down right in this kanji.

餒: Hunger, Spoil

When a woman (女) has clawed (爪) at the food (食), everyone hungers and/or the food spoils. Sure, blame the food problems on the ladies.

孀: Widow

The women (女) who rain (雨) on each other (相) are the widows. I suppose they’re just crying so much that their really nice husbands have died in battle… or, perhaps they’re crying buckets of joy because apparently every man alive during this time was a complete jerk. I’ll let you decide.

男: Man

Now it’s high time to look at “man” (because, men are #1 in the kanji world, duh!). This kanji consists of a rice paddy (田) and power (力). Who’s the power on the rice field? That’s the dudes, of course. Look at our big muscles. *flex flex*

勇: Courage

Courage consists of the kanji for man (男) and the マ radical, which is an obsolete radical that means “person.” Basically, the kanji for “courage” is “person that is a man.” Because, uh, we’re not afraid of anything… that’s right. We’re MAN PEOPLE.

金玉: Testicles

Golden (金) balls (玉). That’s what testicles are made out of. GOLD. I guess a dude’s reproductive organs are so valuable that they’re being compared to a very expensive metal. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a “Cash For Balls” program going on during the Meiji Era. As everyone’s favorite super villain loved to say: “I like… teeeesticles gooooolllld.”

There’s not as many interesting kanji that have to do with dudes (especially when you compare it with 女), but even with just these two you can see the difference in how they’re treated. Generally, men-related kanji are awesome (or neutral), and women get the shaft. It’s obvious who was coming up with these kanji, though you’d think they’d actually try a little bit more… then again, maybe not.

What Dogs We Were!

I imagine that almost every language has plenty of examples of sexism (prolly against the ladies… sorry ladies!) in them, just because things weren’t particularly fair thousands of years ago when languages and writing were developing. Japanese / Chinese just so happens to have an extremely easy way to look up the etymology of the kanji, making it easy to pick all these out and lay them out for you, probably making it seem worse than it actually is (at least when comparing with other languages out there).

But, like most languages, these words have been around a long time. Now they’re just words, and their original misogynistic meaning is very diluted and unimportant, meaning you’re not a horrible person if you use the word 安い (cheap) in your day-to-day life.

Besides how terrible some of the meanings of these kanji are, I’m also hoping you can take away something else. See how easy it is to figure out the meanings of kanji by breaking them up into radicals? I just looked up one radical (女), and was able to find out so much about how ancient China / Japan thought about women. You could do similar research on other radicals/kanji, for example 田 (rice paddy), 中 (middle) or 力 (power). There’s a lot that can be learned about via kanji radicals – they’re not only a tool for remembering and learning kanji (which is what we’re doing with our work on WaniKani). They give you a peek into the culture and history of China / Japanese as well.

So, I hope you learned something other than “getting three women together means ‘noisy’ in Japanese.” Are any of these your particular favorite? Does something make you “a slave woman’s heart”? No “woman mouth hearts” not to speak up and get “triple woman” if there’s something you want to say in the comments. Oh, but please be nice and don’t “two guys around one girl” anyone. That’s just “a woman clawing at a king” if you ask me. I “woman with a child” nice comments.