Henna gaijin literally means “strange foreigner” but it’s got a somewhat more derogatory sense than just strange.
A henna gaijin is someone who has a deep knowledge of some Japanese arcana–the esoteric details of the tea ceremony or karate or Japanese food or kanji–but fails to understand the daily basics. In other words, someone who can create an exquisite flower arrangement in the ikebana-morimoto style, but who buys sushi to grill it.
I worry sometimes that the longer I stay here, the more I am becoming a henna gaijin. I am concerned when a Japanese person expresses astonishment at some bit of Japanese trivia that I know. “Oh really? I didn’t know that!” sends shivers of dread down my spine.
But what can I do, really? I love to learn and it’s details that interest me. Fortunately, I don’t focus my study in any one area, but drink in whatever comes my way.
For example, did you know that most Japanese people didn’t have surnames until the Meiji Restoration (1870)? Ironically, when they selected their new family names, they borrowed from the powerful shoguns that had recently been deposed.
Or that if you keep a bit of iron in your nuka pot (for pickling) the eggplants will keep their color? Iron is a mordant for cloth dye as well.
Or that the genkan entryway where you take off your shoes, was originally in farmhouses where the animals and people shared the same structure? It was a practical way to keep mud and dirt from getting into the living quarters and was much higher than the small step commonly found today.
I hope these bits of knowledge aren’t enough to make me a henna giajin but all this talk of henna makes me think I need to dye my hair.
