japayuki is a filipino slang which means a pinoy working as an "entertainer" in japan. if you are from the philippines, then you would know what the word "entertainer" really entails and how derogatory it is to be called one! philippine society, more or less, looks down on you while your neighbors gossip about you and your family . i should know, there are a few japayukis in my hometown. but how did this term come about?yuki [行き or ゆき] in english means "going". i guess there was a time in the philippine history that majority, if not all, of those japan-bound were entertainers. thus, japayuki = entertainer. but things have changed now. pinoys flock to the land of the rising sun not only to "entertain" japanese men (and women), but also to do other sorts of things. thus, a new breed of japayukis include students, engineers, farmers, factory workers, english teachers, and soon, nurses.
i first came to japan to pursue higher studies. after graduation, i went home shortly and then came back to join my husband. (no, no, no, he's not japanese). now, i work part-time as an english instructor. i have been here for more than 3 years and i am enjoying my life in tokyo as a japayuki.
haha, never in my wildest dreams have i imagined that i would become a proud japayuki one day! :P
8 comments:
Leah,
Your picture brings back soooo many good memories. Hope you and your hubby are fine.
Miss you,
:-)
I know not all japayukis are bad persons but I know of a terrible japauki. I had a girlfriend who, without my knowledge, took my money to go to Japan and be a Japayuki. She told me she just needed to go to another place to find a job and “stand on her own” (she couldn’t find a job in the Philippines). When she arrived in Japan she told me through a telephone conversation that she used my money, I forgave her. I even provided for her family while she was in Japan, she said she’d pay me back once she’s earned enough. I didn’t know that she was a prostitute in Japan. She had several Japanese boyfriends who were giving her material things like monetary allowance, digicams, cellphones, etc. When she went back to the Philippines after six months (having all the money she has from prostituting) she broke up with me and then she told me about what she did in Japan. She didn’t even bother to pay me back everything that she owed me, from the her travel expenses to Japan and the financial support I’ve been giving her family. Her money eventually ran out, but she can’t go back to Japan because her Japanese “boyfriends” are looking for her because of the money and things that she also took from them. Now she has a live-in partner (whom she houses in her family’s home) and has a child out of wedlock and is constantly bugging me, trying to reconnect with me. Hope other japayukis do not follow this bad example.
Japayuki is a bad word being called by our working women in Japan and many seems to accept it as it is a good sounding name. I hope the real meaning be understood.
Japayuki or Japayuki-san are foreign prostitutes in Japan.
It comes from the word Karayuki. From the Edo Period to
the end of WW2 when Japan was poor, there were many
Japanese women who were “going = yuki” mainly for
prostitution in foreign land in particular southeast
Asia which was a land of “Chinese influence = Kara”,
and they were called Karayuki/Karayuki-san.
by Uco
Go to this link:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+4773
japayuki (from urban dictionary)
Prostitute in japan of usually foreign extraction, mainly filipinas.
Go to link:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=japayuki
http://www.articlearchives.com/labor-employment/human-resources-personnel-management/732212-1.html
Years back (I dont know now), being called as "Japayuki" by our family, friends, and community was a good thing. For them it means you are an entertainer in Japan and make lots of money. A respectable kind of entertainers like you see in different shows in TV or when you see an entertainer in a club where they dance and sing wearing colourful costumes. My cousin showed me a photo of her performing on stage with other girls. We never thought of them being a prostitute. But I remember her mentioning that some of the girls in the club "date" clients so they can make extra money. I was so naive. Even my mom wanted me to become a "Japayuki" at that time. It only showed that she also didn't have a clue that "Japayuki" can also mean prostitute in Japan because if she knew that, I don't think she will push me to be one. I did not ended up going to Japan. It was only my husband explained and opened my eyes to the reality of being an entertainer in Japan at that time. It made me understand now why my cousin was so eager to get out of her job and marry a Japanese...
30 years ago (1988) I met a young girl in a beerhouse in Makati. She said she was only 14 years old and she was very pretty and mature looking. She said she is forced to work because her father was a drunkard and had no job. That her greatest dream was to be able to go to Japan (if even only for six months). She talk of nothing but going to Japan. She thought that going to Japan will solve many of her problems. To be a Japayuki was her dream !!!
I never knew what happened to her. Hope she is ok !!!
LEAVING PHILS. TO VENTURE TO ANY COUNTRY AND FORSAKING ONE'S PERSONAL SAFETY IN EXCHANGE FOR FINANCIAL AID TO SUPPORT THEIR LOVE ONES IN THE DIREST NEED OF EXISTENCE AND TO BETTER THEIR LIVES ARE A HEROIC ACT . I tip my hat on them . These people are alone in a very far and strangest place with no support whatsoever. This venture is indeed an opportunity especially for the naive with thier main objectives is to be economically self supporting and we should not be rushing judgement to them instead try to put ourselves to their predicament. Exceptions are those so called veterans who know the ins and outs of their "Professions"and able to cope the demands and risks entail. Phil Govet therefore should be more strictier and thoroughly investigate how valid, refutable and decent any typical jobs offered to Filipinos who are seeking employment abroad. These illegal job traffickers and employment agencies should be stringently fined and even be given harsh punishment because of their insensitivity and money hunger just to fill their pockets and without regards to the families suffering .
Its a shame that the Phil govt is too weaK , NO BACKBONES TO INVESTIGATE,STRICT SCRUTINY OF THESE SCUMBAGS ARE THEY SCARED TO REINFORCE THE LAWS , STIPULATIONS BECAUSE OF REPRISAL OR MAYBE THE FACT THAT MONETARY EXCHANGE OR QUID PRO QUO WILL BE DIMINISHED AND OR BECOME NIL?
Japayuki=Japan+yuki(to go, going)=
Going to Japan. Women who goes to Japan to work are japayuki, regardless of nationality.
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