As Japan's contact with the West increased, especially during the Meiji Restoration, the application of the term shifted:
Refers to the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), which was the pinnacle of Chinese influence in Japan. Over time, "Tō" became a metonym for China itself and, eventually, a broad term for "foreign" or "overseas". hairy chinese
In contemporary scholarship, the term is studied to understand how ethnic identities and stereotypes are constructed. For instance, in literature, authors like Haruki Murakami have been analyzed through the lens of how they navigate these traditional Japanese views of the "hairy" foreign world versus the "domestic" self. As Japan's contact with the West increased, especially