Summary
TheOxford English Dictionary(OED) is the most widely accepted authority on the English language, and is updated quarterly with revised meanings and new words as our language continues to evolve. Sometimes these words are entirely new creations, and sometimes they are words from other languages that have been adopted for common use in English. This past quarter, 23new Japanese wordswere officially added to theOED, showing how much of an impact Japanese culture has even outside of Japan.
One of these new words in particular is of major interest to otaku, because it is a word that was created entirely for anime, manga, and light novels - “isekai.” These days, it is impossible to be an otaku without knowing the word isekai, considering it is one of themost popular genresfor new works. But now, the word has also been officially added to theOED, making it not just a Japanese word that otaku throw around, but an addition to the English language itself, thanks to the influence it has had around the world in recent years.
The Origins and Impact of Isekai
The word isekai is written in Japanese as 異世界, and can be translated as “different world,” “other world,” or “another world.” For a story to be in the isekai genre, the main character has to be transported from our world into another world (usually a fantasy one), where they must learn to survive, typically without any hope of returning to our world. Usually, the protagonist has to fight to survive, and common tropes in the genre are that they are either extremely powerful in their new world, or extremely weak. Isekai as a concept startedlong ago in Japanese folklore, particularly in the story of Urashima Tarou, a fisherman who is transported to a magical undersea world after saving a turtle.
Isekai has been around for a while now in the anime world, and started to really gain popularity in the 2010s, but has now been brought to the forefront by the recent success ofStudio Ghibli’sThe Boy and the Heron. The movie tells the story of a boy who is pulled into a magical world through a tower, and he has to figure out how to get back to his home. While many otaku may first think of popular titles likeThat Time I Got Reincarnated as a SlimeorKonosuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World, it is likely thanks to movies likeThe Boy and the HeronandSpirited Awaythat isekai as a genre has been introduced to the wider world. Keep in mind that both of those movies by Studio Ghibli won Academy Awards.
Why Is Isekai’s Inclusion in theOEDImportant?
WithThe Boy and the Heron’s best picture win creating a stir in the world of both anime and Western cinema, isekai has moved from something only anime fans know about to something that other people are learning about, too. The genre hasexisted for many years in international media, including famous stories likeAlice in Wonderland,The Wizard of Oz, andPeter Panall havnig the same concepts. But of course, the Japanese word was never used to describe them. Now, though, isekai has chosen to be added to theOEDthis quarter, showing that it is important enough that people are talking about it in English around the world.
Any word being added to theOEDis significant, considering the authority that is placed in theOxford English Dictionary. According to theOED’swebsite;
More than a historical dictionary… over 500,000 entries… 3.5 million quotations … over 1000 years of English…The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 500,000 words and phrases, past and present, from across the English-speaking world.
This means any word that is added to theOEDhas had enough impact on the English-speaking world to warrant being added to the language officially. Isekai has officially become that important, moving from something only otaku know about, to something that other people are discussing as well. The reach of thegenre will likely not stop there, either, and will continue to spread and grow popular as stories continue to be successful.
You may be interested to know that some other Japanese words added to the OED with this update include “katsu,” a form of frying food, “omotenashi,” a word used to describe superior hospitality, “kintsugi,” the art of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver, or platinum to highlight the imperfection, and more. The words were chosen by the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies along with the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary, and are now officially part of the English language.
