The Metamorphosis of Language

Inoue Fumio (1999) discussed a phenomenon of linguistic inflation (インフレ). Originally, the Japanese term for "toilet" was 「厠」(kawaya). As this word was used over time, people began to find it inelegant. Consequently, they created the terms 「はばかり」 (habakari) and 「手水」 (chōzu), which sounded more refined to replace it. However, as these words became more commonly used, they too started to sound less elegant. Thus, the term 「ゴフジョ」 (御不浄) was introduced to replace them. As this word also began to lose its refined impression, post-war Japan saw the emergence of the terms 「お手洗い」 (otearai) and the borrowed word 「トイレ」 (toire) to replace 「御不浄」.

On the distant Ogasawara Islands, the term 「御不浄」 was retained, but even there, people began to perceive it as inelegant. Consequently, a newly coined "beautiful and polite language" term, 「陥没穴」 (kambotsu ana), started to be used. After the islands were returned to Japan in 1968, the people who came back to the mainland noticed distinct differences in basic vocabulary. Using Furukawa Nagisa's words, "they felt like Urashima Tarō," the legendary character who experienced a different flow of time.

The usage of vocabulary is akin to metabolism: old words are discarded, and new ones are created. Especially with words related to filth and impurity, the metabolic rate is often higher. Profanity and vulgar terms are frequently used, easily giving rise to new words; often, before one term cools down, a new one emerges. The observer noted the process of new word creation and has already begun to feel weary of it. In the future, when these terms fall out of use, new words will emerge to fill the void. Profanity remains a constant through the ages.