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("outside person") is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese. The word is composed of two kanji: and . Similarly composed words that refer to foreign things include and . The word can refer to nationality, race, or ethnicity, concepts generally conflated in Japan. Some feel the word has come to have a negative or pejorative connotation,〔〔〔 while other observers maintain it is neutral or even positive.〔〔"For example, gaijin literally means a "person from outside", namely a foreigner, and that means "Caucasian"."〕〔〔 is a more neutral and somewhat more formal term widely used in the Japanese government and in media. ==Etymology and history== The word ''gaijin'' can be traced in writing to the 13th-century ''Heike Monogatari'': : 外人もなき所に兵具をとゝのへ : ''Assembling arms where there are no gaijin''〔The 13th-century pronunciation of the characters 外人 is debated; it may have been ''kotobito'' (ことびと), ''udokihito'' (うどきひと) or ''gwaijin'' (ぐわいじん). The spelling ''gaijin'' is used here for continuity.〕 Here, ''gaijin'' refers to outsiders〔A. Matsumura (ed.), ''Daijirin'' (大辞林), (p. 397, 9th ed., vol. 1). (1989). Tokyo: Sanseido. "がいじん【外人】② そのことに関係のない人。第三者。「外人もなき所に兵具をととのへ／平家一」"〕〔A. Matsumura (ed.), ''Daijisen'' (大辞泉), (p. 437, 1st ed., vol. 1). (1998). Tokyo: Shogakukan. "がいじん。【外人】② 仲間以外の人。他人。「外人もなき所に兵具をととのへ」〈平家・一〉"〕 and potential enemies. Another early reference is in ''Renri Hishō'' () by Nijō Yoshimoto, where it is used to refer to a Japanese person who is a stranger, not a friend.〔 The Noh play, ''Kurama tengu''〔 (鞍馬天狗 ), Ohtsuki Noh Theatre.〕 has a scene where a servant objects to the appearance of a traveling monk: : 源平両家の童形たちのおのおのござ候ふに、かやうの外人は然るべからず候 : ''A gaijin doesn't belong here, where children from the Genji and Heike families are playing.'' Here, ''gaijin'' also means an outsider or unfamiliar person.〔M. Yamaguchi et al. (eds.), Shinkango jiten (新漢語辞典), (p. 282, 2nd ed., vol. 1). (2000). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten Publishing. "【外人】② 局外者。他人。「源平両家の童形たちのおのおのござ候ふに、かやうの外人は然るべからず候」 "〕 The word ''gaikokujin'' (外国人) is composed of ''gaikoku'' (foreign country) and ''jin'' (person). The Meiji government (1868–1912) introduced and popularized the term, which came to replace ''ijin'', ''ikokujin'' and ''ihōjin''. As the Empire of Japan extended to Korea and to Taiwan, the term ''naikokujin'' ("inside country people") came to refer to nationals of other imperial territories. While other terms fell out of use after World War II, ''gaikokujin'' remained the official term for non-Japanese people. Some hold that the modern ''gaijin'' is a contraction of ''gaikokujin''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「gaijin」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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