Fiery Jack Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 TypicalAnonym said:"Kara" does not mean China by any stretch of the imagination. "Kara" means empty, as in "kara-oke" (empty orchestra) or "kara-te" (empty hand). The Japanese word for China is "Chu-goku". Sorry dude, but you are wrong here. Go look up Kanji JIS code 4562 (Nelson 1516, Halpern 3115). It means T'ang (as in T'ang dynasty) or China. Its kun-yomi is "kara". "Karayuki" means something like "China bound" (as in "headed for China"). It definitely has to do with girls going off to foreign countries to be prostitutes. Google it for more info. Ah, the kanji to which you refer, having the kun-yomi "kara", is normally pronounced "tou"? I've never heard the "kara" reading applied to it by a Japanese person, though there may be applicable modern compounds. That kanji does not mean China, though it might be used as an umbrrella-term to refer to the region to the (north) west of Japan, and had this use over 100 years ago, i.e. it could equally [/i]mean[/i] 'Arab(ia)' or 'Mongol(ia)' or possibly 'Russia'. As to the "kara-yuki" tarts, :hubba: I looked on Google, erm, dude: I stand corrected though, again, nobody here in the office (= 15 Jap natives and good old moi ) has ever heard the term. Nor has anyone heard of "japayuki". By the way, I ought to make it absolutely clear that I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about here. jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAL875 Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Sorry dude, but I will take Jack's (or mine) first hand experience as we are on the ground here in Japan. FJ's nailed many points nicely in this thread. Day-to-day Japan and Google are two very different animals... karayuki - never heard of her... now excuse me while I ask one of the office ladies to heat me up a bento. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 UAL875 said:Sorry dude, but I will take Jack's (or mine) first hand experience as we are on the ground here in Japan. FJ's nailed many points nicely in this thread. Day-to-day Japan and Google are two very different animals... karayuki - never heard of her... now excuse me while I ask one of the office ladies to heat me up a bento. I asked around my office, all as FJ said. In addition, "kara" means "spicy" too. China is definitely Chuugoku. Maybe the author coined the words knowing only how to use Google? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Between my two posts I had my Japanese class and asked the teacher. She said, yes, Japayuki word was widely used 10 years ago during the economic bubble when well paid men were willing to spend anything pursuing their pleasures. That time, many Asian prostitutes came to Japan to service the demand. "Japa" part comes as a mockery of how foreigners call Japan, also labelling distictivelly those prostitutes as foreigners. The term is exclusivelly used to describe Asian women coming to Japan for the sole purpose of prostituting themselves. As the demand for their services vanished or significantly slowed down, the word is rarely heard these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted October 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Hi, I am glad you guys got the word straight. The document is from the Thai Embassy in Japan, I think words do change and not all native speakers are aware of certain words. Back to the subject, educating people of the situation their daughters in Japan may help, but the greed can be unbelivable. Monitor, I have to put the next sentence in. IMO, this government seems to promote money is everything attitude also. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 Ah, the kanji to which you refer, having the kun-yomi "kara", is normally pronounced "tou"? I've never heard the "kara" reading applied to it by a Japanese person, though there may be applicable modern compounds. That kanji does not mean China, though it might be used as an umbrrella-term to refer to the region to the (north) west of Japan, and had this use over 100 years ago, i.e. it could equally [/i]mean[/i] 'Arab(ia)' or 'Mongol(ia)' or possibly 'Russia'. That character comes from classical Chinese and specifically means the T'ang Dynasty. I'd say that means Chinese. It's true that in its Japanese adaptation, it more broadly may mean Korean, or foreign . In fact this is exactly how karayuki was used, to refer to girls that were sent 'round Asia (most became prostitutes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 Sorry dude, but I will take Jack's (or mine) first hand experience as we are on the ground here in Japan. Being in Japan does not change the fact that statements like Nice try, sweetheart, but, again, I'm afraid it's a load of bollocks invented by an ill-informed, non Japanese speaking journalist. and "Kara" does not mean China by any stretch of the imagination. are simply indefensible. I worked in Japan for several years myself. I found that even my closest friends and co-workers would sometimes profess ignorance about Japanese things they find embarassing. Ask them about "baraku-min" or the Ainu sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted October 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 [color:"red"] worked in Japan for several years myself. I found that even my closest friends and co-workers would sometimes profess ignorance about Japanese things they find embarassing. Ask them about "baraku-min" or the Ainu sometime. [/color] I have never worked in Japan but worked with a couple Japanese here. I tend to agree with you that they they do profess ignorance at times. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
follies Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 Really enjoyable posts, everybody. I actually learned something... (although I'm not quite sure what..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 TypicalAnonym said:I worked in Japan for several years myself. I found that even my closest friends and co-workers would sometimes profess ignorance about Japanese things they find embarassing. Ask them about "baraku-min" or the Ainu sometime. That'll be "burakumin" you mean there, dude? :: Google it for more info. How many years ago was it you were in Japan, chief? There was a programme on national NHK last week about "burakumin", and I visited the Ainu museum at Hakodate on Monday. I do agree with your general point, though, about Japs professing ignorance in the face of embarrassment, but times are a-changing (slowly ). The statement to which you refer as "indefensible", I would defend by saying that a word's meaning is socially constructed and thus changeable according to time and place. Since Japan, 2004, appears to be largely unaware of (in fact completely ignorant of) the "kara = China" connection, then it doesn't currently pertain here thus not true to say that "'kara' means China". If you said, as I believe I did, that 'kara' can or may or might mean China, or might have meant so in another historical period, then we'd all be happy as pigs in shite. Probably. But if what you call the "indefensible" part of the quotation is my reference to Jasmine as "sweetheart", then you may well be correct. :: It's true I've never met the gal (but I can be PM-ed at any time, if you're reading Jaz ). She let slip in a recent post that she's in her 50s, so she could well be a right clapped-out old banger to whom the appellation "sweetheart" ought rightly not to be appended. Let us know how you get on with the Googling. jack PS. Did you shag many Thai hookers while you were in Japan, :hubba: or were you stationed out in the boonies somewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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