社用族

Japanese

FWOTD – 21 February 2019

Kanji in this term
社	用	族
しゃ Grade: 2	よう Grade: 2	ぞく Grade: 3
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
社用族 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From 社(しゃ)用(よう) (shayō, “company business”) by comparison with 斜(しゃ)陽(よう)族(ぞく) (shayōzoku, “declining aristocracy”). Popularized in the 1940s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɕa̠jo̞ːzo̞kɯ̟]

Noun

社(しゃ)用(よう)族(ぞく) • (shayōzoku) 

1. (slang, dated) one who wines and dines on company expense, one who dissipates an expense account
   • 1948, Ken Shiozaki, “Rōdō-sha to zeikin [Workers and taxation]”, in Rōdō jihō [Labor newsletter]‎^[1], volume 9, number 10, page 5:

     酒(しゅ)税(ぜい)は、これらの者(もの)の負(ふ)担(たん)となり、特(とっ)級(きゅう)ウイスキーや特(とっ)級(きゅう)清(せい)酒(しゅ)は、社(しゃ)用(よう)族(ぞく)が飲(の)むからその高(たか)い酒(しゅ)税(ぜい)は、主(しゅ)として企(き)業(ぎょう)家(か)あるいは株(かぶ)主(ぬし)の負(ふ)債(さい)となる

     Shuzei wa, korera no mono no futan to nari, tokkyū uisukī ya tokkyū seishu wa, shayōzoku ga nomu kara sono takai shuzei wa, shu to shite kigyōka arui wa kabunushi no fusai to naru

     As for the liquor tax, since top shelf whisky or high-quality sake is drunk by shayōzoku the burden of those high taxes falls mainly on the owners or the shareholders

See also

• 斜(しゃ)陽(よう) (shayō, “decline”, literally “setting sun”)