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The story
A thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board (aka “nanG”) sparked a wave of responses after it brought up words like “tsunbo” (deaf), “oshi” (mute), and “mekura” (blind) — terms once used for disabilities that have largely fallen out of use today. Similar terms came up too, like “gicchо” for left-handedness and “hage” for baldness. Opinions in the thread split between those who see these word swaps as necessary consideration for eliminating discrimination, and those who argue that changing the word means nothing if the underlying concept doesn’t disappear. The thread also noted how everyday language and technical jargon are treated differently — for instance, the spider once called “mekura-gumo” was renamed “zatōmushi” (harvestman), while the construction term “mekura cap” (blind/blank cap) is still in common use today.
What people said
It's "oshi" (唖) — means someone who can't speak, like a speech or vocal disability.
Such a nanG thing to know
Calling left-handed people "gicchо" is apparently off-limits now too
Though I have zero idea what's actually wrong with it
My grandparents used to say it with zero malice when I was a kid, so it never bothered me much
Something like, Grandma and Grandpa going, "This one's a gicchо, so get him the left-handed one"
Just a matter of time before the censoring circle "◯" itself starts meaning "kill" too
The edition I have was titled "The Woman of Love Who Overcame a Triple Disability" (referring to Helen Keller's deaf-blind-mute condition)
Probably a slightly later edition, then
It's construction jargon, so of course people still use it
I think it's weird to even call it "brutal"
It only got branded a slur after the fact, arbitrarily
"Zatōmushi" might still be risky though
Is that the same "zatō" as in Zatoichi, the blind swordsman?
Wait, is "baka-ana" (dummy hole) off-limits too then?
No idea about the "Chōsen" part, but apparently "mekura chibi gomimushi" won't be changed since it's a direct translation of the scientific name
These days even "Nguyen" has basically become a slur
It's literally just a common Vietnamese name though
That's like discriminating against Japanese people by calling them "Sato"
Idiot
Shorty
Baldy
Ugly
These are still fine, right?
Aren't they worse than "bikko" or "gicchо"?
"Baldy" is already off-limits now
So even guys too far gone to even qualify as "thinning" just get called "thinning" too?
AGA (male pattern hair loss)
FAGA (female pattern hair loss)
"Concerned about hair volume"
"Hair's gotten thinner"
"Scalp showing through"
"Changes at the hairline / crown"
Shaved head
These are the ultra-extremists who get triggered even by the word "manhole"
At this rate even "visually impaired" will probably get branded discriminatory someday and get replaced too
"Nutaunagi" (hagfish), "kuro-nutaunagi" (black hagfish)
So is "Kozo Sushi" (the restaurant chain) not allowed either?
Guess they can't air Princess Mononoke on Kinyo Roadshow anymore, huh
In the Hajime no Ippo manga, Coach Kamogawa calls the main character "kozō," but does the anime just call him "Ippo" instead?
Background and Key Points of This Debate
Words like “mekura” (blind), “tsunbo” (deaf), and “oshi” (mute) were once simply terms for visual, hearing, and speech disabilities, but from the 1970s–80s onward, self-imposed broadcast-industry restrictions and advocacy by disability groups led to their use being avoided in public settings. Opinions in the thread split over whether to see these word swaps as “natural consideration toward eliminating discrimination,” or as “meaningless word-changing that doesn’t erase the underlying concept.” On top of that, things like the biological name change from “mekura-gumo” to “zatōmushi,” or technical terms in construction and machinery like “mekura cap” and “baka-ana” (dummy hole), don’t refer to people, so they remain in use even now — and the fact that everyday language and technical jargon change at different paces is easy to misunderstand. This very distinction is behind the thread’s recurring question of “why does this one still survive?”
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Tsunbo, Oshi, Mekura… Disability Terms Vanishing from Japanese.”
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