Reconsidering the Use of the Term “Sensei”

While I was still a salaried employee I seldom dealt with such people, but in the 20 years since I launched and have run my own company I’ve found myself working with lawyers, tax accountants, social-insurance consultants and even politicians. It seems standard to address these people as “sensei.” Yet every time I use “So-and-so-sensei,” a coolheaded part of me wonders, “I’m not actually learning from this person, so why am I calling them sensei?” I suspect many others feel the same discomfort. That’s why I’d like to reconsider when and how we use the honorific “sensei.”

What, after all, does “sensei” actually mean?

sensei【先生】 (from the macOS standard dictionary)

1. A person who teaches scholarship, arts, or skills; someone from whom one is receiving instruction; a teacher or master. Especially a schoolteacher. “My flower-arranging sensei,” “my calligraphy sensei.”
2. A person accomplished in scholarship or the arts. “The Sundai Sensei (i.e., Muro Kyūsō).”
3. A respectful form of address for masters, teachers, physicians, lawyers, members of parliament, etc. Also used pronominally or added after a name as an honorific. “Sensei, thank you for everything,” “Nakamura-sensei.”
4. A word referring to someone else with affection or irony, similar to “boss” or “buddy.” “So, Sensei, you seem quite taken with it.”
5. A person born before oneself; an elder. ↔ kōsei (junior)

Its original meaning is the fifth one:“a person born earlier.”The term became common in the late Edo period for terakoya teachers and Dutch-style doctors, then spread rapidly after the Meiji era to modern intellectual professions such as physicians, lawyers and politicians. Today it is a uniquely Japanese honorific used broadly even for people with whom one has no teacher–student relationship.

It seems my discomfort came from the fact that I emphasized meanings 1, 2 and 5 and took little notice of meaning 3. Meaning 4 is sometimes written in katakana as “センセイ,” but I almost never use it; if I want that nuance I tend to say “senpai” instead.

Why “sensei” can feel awkward

1. It locks the hierarchy in placeBecause it implies someone born earlier and someone you learn from, I can’t help feeling it sets up an up-down relationship. For instance, a tax accountant might be younger than I am and I’m not studying under them. So I call them “So-and-so, the tax accountant.”
2. No consistency among professionsDoctors are especially tricky. You’d never say “So-and-so the dentist” or “So-and-so the surgeon,” yet you do say “So-and-so the tax accountant” or “So-and-so the lawyer.” Applying the rules evenly is hard.
3. Distance from the service providerLicensed professionals are supposed to be partners to their clients, yet calling them “sensei” can plant the idea that they are “doing something for us.” In the hierarchy I instinctively feel, lawyers and tax accountants seem especially prone to this. I’m not looking down on anyone, but I’m not sure people always call patent attorneys or social-insurance consultants “sensei” (just my impression).
4. It can sound ironic or mockingAs the comic poem “I’m not such a fool as to be called sensei” shows, the word’s ability to be both praise and sarcasm is tricky. As noted earlier, in writing I might use katakana “センセイ” for a teasing nuance, but in speech you can’t hear that distinction.

Checking the preferred forms of address by profession

When I write them out I notice written language (e-mails, etc.) and spoken language differ quite a bit. In writing I can usually avoid “sensei,” but face-to-face I end up saying it—probably because of society’s silent pressure (lol).

1. Medical field
   1. Written: Dr. ○○
   2. Spoken: ○○-sensei
      1. Here the atmosphere practically forces you to say “sensei.” I know several doctors personally, and because everyone around them calls them “○○-sensei,” I end up doing the same.
2. Legal & licensed professions
   1. Written: Attorney ○○ / Tax Accountant ○○ / Labor & Social-Security Consultant ○○
   2. Spoken: Mr./Ms. ○○
      1. With professionals I regularly work with, I always say “Mr./Ms. ○○,” but on a first meeting or when we’ve had little contact I might still slip into “sensei.”
3. Politicians
   1. Written: Representative ○○ / Diet Member ○○
   2. Spoken: ○○-sensei
      1. I don’t interact with them much, so “Representative ○○” might be fine. Still, I wonder what they think when someone doesn’t call them “sensei,” since they’re so used to it.
4. Education
   1. Written: Professor ○○ / Associate Professor ○○
   2. Spoken:
      1. University: Professor/Associate Professor ○○
      2. High school & below: ○○-sensei
         1. At university you can simply say “professor,” but for teachers in high school and below, would “kyōyu” be correct in speech? It feels awkward. Of course, for teachers who actually taught me I still say “sensei.”
5. Cultural figures (authors, manga artists, shogi players)
   1. Written: Mr./Ms. ○○ (regardless of author or manga artist)
   2. Spoken: ○○-sensei
      1. It’s hard to know what to call writers or manga artists, so on a first meeting I may default to “sensei.” Why are writers and manga artists called sensei anyway? With pro shogi players you can call a titleholder “Meijin ○○,” but once they lose the title you suddenly have to switch to their rank, like “9-Dan ○○,” so it’s easy to trip up.
6. Religious figures
   1. Written: Chief Priest ○○ / Reverend ○○
   2. Spoken: Chief Priest ○○ / Reverend ○○
      1. Interestingly, we don’t call religious figures “sensei.” By the dictionary definition they would fit—after all they teach doctrine—but different sects have their own terms and “sensei” isn’t one of them.

What about overseas?

The information below is what I had an AI check, so native speakers may say something different, but it does align with my limited knowledge.

In the English-speaking world there is no “universal honorific,”so using the job title + nameor a generic honorific appears to be the global norm. This underscores how uniquely cross-professional Japan’s “sensei” is.

So what should we do as a result?

Personally, I’d like to standardize on “-san” if possible. Maybe we should just bite the bullet and go with it. Surprisingly, there are even doctors online who say they don’t want to be called “sensei.”

Trinity

Don’t Call Me President. | TrinityI may have mentioned it somewhere, but at our company we have a system where every new hire is given a nickname.

I myself once wrote a blog post titled “Don’t Call Me President.” Basically, when people address you by your title, they’re seeing you as the position rather than the person. For that reason too, I think calling everyone “-san” regardless of title is best.

If anyone reading this has a better solution, please post it in the comments.

★

What started as a quick note turned into quite a long piece. I wonder if those of you reading can relate. It’s certainly easier to default to “sensei,” but once I put into words why it feels off, I’m once again convinced to use “-san.” Please keep that in mind when we meet in the future.