Why is tokoya (barber) and other words like yao (green grocer) considered discriminatory, and are therefore censored, in Japanese media?
Is there some relationship between the role a barber played in the red-light district or his role as a gossip?
Is it merely impolite to describe someone as having a job that wasn't considered the most honorable in the Edo period?
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It's just because of the expression "... 屋."
"Yao-ya" 八百屋 isn't good.
"... 屋" just means "... shop," but historically, this implies a "daily laborer," and is considered insulting.
In daily conversation, however, it doesn't matter if you use such expressions.
When Japanese people say such words nowadays, they don't mean to insult others at all.
It's just word-hunting.