Sempai-Kōhai

In Japanese dōjō there are many relationships that come into play.  One such relationship is the sempai (先輩) and kōhai (後輩) relationship.  Understanding the true nature and the cultural underpinnings of this relationship will be beneficial to the student in their quest for knowledge within a traditional dōjō. 

The term sempai (先輩) is a compound word comprised of two characters.  The first character (先) has the Japanese kun reading of saki or mazu with a meaning of 'before' or ‘first;’ and, the Japanese ON pronunciation is sen (Goldsbury, N.D.).  The second character (輩) has the Japanese kun reading of tomogara or yakara  (Goldsbury, N.D.) with a meaning of ‘fellow’ or ‘colleague’ such as ‘a member of a group;’ and, the Japanese ON pronunciation is hai.  When hai is added to sen, hai becomes pai to technically make senpai; however, it is pronounced sempai due to the way the Japanese phoenetic system works (Charalambous, 2015).  In fact, this is not too different in other languages.  The easy way to remember this rule is that n always changes to m in front of P, B, and M (Bragalone, 2015).  The combination of these two characters gives the word the meaning of ‘a member of a group who came before or joined first’ and is therefore considered senior in status.

The term kōhai (後輩) is also a compound word comprised of two characters.  The first character (後) has the Japanese kun reading of nochi, ushiro, ato, or oku(reru) with a meaning of 'after,' 'behind,' 'subsequent,' or 'late' (Goldsbury, N.D.); and, the Japanese ON pronunciation is kō (後, 2015).  The second character is the same as the second character described above in the term sempai.  When combined together these two characters become kōhai with a meaning of ‘a member of a group who came after or joined later’ and is therefore considered junior in status.

In the Japanese culture these relationships have their basis in Confucianism and therefore derive a lot of influence from this connection.  Confucianism describes five relationships: ruler to ruled, father to son, husband to wife, elder brother to younger brother, friend to friend.  These relationships define a hierarchy where one is subordinate to the other; however, implied in this hierarchy is a responsibility of the superordinate to the subordinate.  “Harmony was maintained by a reciprocal relationship of justice between a superior, who was urged to be benevolent, and a subordinate, who was urged to be obedient and to observe propriety” (Confucianism in the Edo (Tokugawa) Period, N.D.). 

This same sense of responsibility shows up in the sempai-kōhai relationship and is known in Japanese as on-giri (恩義理) which cannot be translated directly into English but roughly means duty, debt of gratitude, social obligation, or burden of obligation.  This reciprocal obligation is similar to what we in the West would describe as a mentor-mentee relationship but obviously goes much deeper in Japanese society.  Interestingly, in this relationship many of the rituals that developed are not too different than those you would find in the modern day military organizations or military academies in the West. There is a pragmatic benefit to this relationship.  A sempai usually has more experience than their kōhai and can therefore guide the kōhai.  In fact, as described above there is an obligation for this to happen.  This also frees up the sensei by delegating certain teaching tasks to the sempai of the dōjō.

So now that we know how this relationship is historically defined, how does one become a sempai or kōhai?  Essentially, when you join a dōjō those who are already students are your sempai and those who join after you will become your kōhai. This relationship will remain in place even if you become technically more proficient that someone who began training before you. This holds true even if you surpass your sempai in rank. This is the same for those who begin training after you. They will always be your kōhai, regardless of skill or rank.  Another important point is that the context of this relationship is important. This means that someone can be your sempai in one context but you can be their kōhai in a different context. For example, in the dōjō you may have a sempai who in a different class or social setting may be your kōhai. While this too has its basis in Confucian relationships, it can become quite confusing if you are not cognizant of the context. 

Lastly, how are these terms used?  Both of these terms belong to a group called honorifics which, while not a part of basic Japanese grammar, are essential to becoming proficient in Japanese speech and culture.  Also, it is important to note that these terms are used as suffixes where the term is attached at the end of the family name of the person to which you are referring.  The term sempai is generally used when referring to the person one is talking to or when referring to another person in conversation.  However, you would never use this term to refer to yourself.  In addition, the dropping of an honorific such as sempai when referring to someone “implies a high degree of intimacy and is generally reserved for one’s spouse, younger family members, social inferiors (as in a teacher addressing students in traditional arts), and very close friends” (Honorific Suffixes, 2011).  Unlike the term sempai, kōhai is seldom used as an honorific as it would sound very condescending.  However, it can be used as a descriptor such as when introducing someone who is your junior to a group.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the terms sempai and kōhai, and the relationship that these terms imply, you should have a better understanding of some of the relationships found within the Japanese dōjō.  This knowledge should enable you to operate both outside and inside the dōjō with the proper respect, attitude, and etiquette.  This will enable you to become a valued member of the dōjō.

Bibliography

Bragalone, M. (2015). Is It Senpai or Sempai? – Writing Japanese with Roman Letters. Retrieved 2015, from Nihongo Shark: http://nihongoshark.com/is-it-senpai-or-sempai/

Charalambous, A. (2015). Japanese Honorifics 101. Retrieved 2015, from Japanista: http://japanistas.com/en/archives/43226

Confucianism in the Edo (Tokugawa) Period. (N.D.). Retrieved 2015, from Willamette University: http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/neoconfucianism.html

Goldsbury, P. (N.D.). Sensei / Shihan as "Teacher" in Japanese. Retrieved September 26, 2015, from Aikiweb: http://www.aikiweb.com/language/goldsbury1.html

Honorific Suffixes. (2011, October 27). Retrieved 2015, from Japan Reference: http://www.jref.com/articles/honorific-suffixes.24/

後. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BE%8C