Refers to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), which was the pinnacle of Chinese influence in Japan. Over time, "Tō" became a metonym for China itself and, eventually, a broad term for "foreign" or "overseas".
Historically, ke-tō was used by the Japanese to describe foreigners. The "hairy" prefix was not necessarily a commentary on facial hair, but rather a way to distinguish "barbarians" or outsiders from the perceived "civilized" norms of the Japanese court, which heavily modeled itself after the Tang Dynasty. Evolution of the Term hairy chinese
By the 19th century, the term began to be applied more frequently to Europeans and Americans. In this context, it referred to the perceived physical differences of Caucasians (who often had more body hair than East Asians) and their status as the "new" foreigners who were displacing China's traditional role as the primary "other". Refers to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), which
In contemporary scholarship, the term is studied to understand how ethnic identities and stereotypes are constructed. For instance, in literature, authors like Haruki Murakami have been analyzed through the lens of how they navigate these traditional Japanese views of the "hairy" foreign world versus the "domestic" self. The "hairy" prefix was not necessarily a commentary
As Japan's contact with the West increased, especially during the Meiji Restoration, the application of the term shifted: