Japanese "goods" | Chinese "guzi"
« previous post |
The pathways of word borrowings can be absolutely mind boggling. The modern English word "goods" derives from the plural of one of six different roots that resulted in "good". I will not touch upon the five other etyma that resulted in "good" with other meanings, but only on the one that culminated in a countable noun signifying "an item of merchandise", often fixed in the plural form "goods", e.g.,:
-
-
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
-
Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.
-
-
√Inherited from Middle English good, god, from Old English gōd (“a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good, goodness, welfare; virtue, ability, doughtiness; goods, property, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdą (“goods, belongings”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-, *gʰodʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit”). Compare German Gut (“item of merchandise; estate; property”).
For two mercantile nations such as England and Japan, it is inevitable that "goods" would be borrowed from English into Japanese. It has its own entry in the Japanese Wiktionary: guzzu グッズ and has found its way into Korean as well: gutjeu 굿즈.
When anime merch meets luxury: China’s ‘guzi’ boom:
From mall culture to fashion, China’s ‘guzi’ economy signals a major shift in how Gen Z and Alpha consumers approach shopping, collecting and investing."
Jiaqi Luo, Jing Daily (2/19/25)
This is a long, substantial article that shows how much Chinese aficionados are invested in guzu culture and how much they invest in it. I will give but a few examples.
In a viral Bilibili video titled “Unboxing a 26K RMB ($3,022) Seaview Guzi With Me,” Keyi Liang (@kkeylc
), a 22-year-old Beijing-based psychology student, carefully unveils a miniature acrylic figure of Tooru Oikawa, a beloved character from the Japanese manga Haikyu!!.
Wearing latex gloves, she delicately places her latest acquisition on her “pain table” (痛桌), a meticulously arranged shrine to her ever-growing collection of anime merchandise.
For those unfamiliar with China’s surging anime merch economy, “guzi” (谷子) is a transliteration of the Japanese word “goods.” It refers to all licensed merchandise from anime, comics, and games (ACG), including posters, badges, keychains, and collectible figurines. A “seaview guzi,” a term borrowed from the high-end real estate market, signifies an ultra-rare, premium-priced collectible. For Liang, these pieces are not just purchases — they are emotional investments.
“The moment I receive a rare guzi is when I’m the happiest,” she tells Jing Daily.
Billion-dollar ‘guzi’ boom
China’s so-called “guzi economy” is expanding at an explosive pace. In 2024, the market hit 168.9 billion RMB ($23 billion), up 40% YoY, according to iiMedia Research. By 2029, it is projected to surpass 300 billion RMB ($41 billion).
Young women from middle and high-income groups make up 61% of the guzi shopper demographic. Over half reside in top-tier cities, where access to ACG merchandise shops and culture hubs is highest.
Not just part of youth culture
For those who believe the guzi craze is confined to youth subcultures, think again. While primarily embraced by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the trend also has a strong grasp on older millennials engaged with luxury fashion. Not only are they transforming designer handbags into guzi-displaying ita-bags, they often select new designer handbags based on how well they showcase their guzi collections.
Under the #ItabagSharing hashtag on the social media platform Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), over 78,000 users proudly display their guzi-infused luxury bags, featuring labels from Hermès, Chanel and Gucci. Models with PVC exteriors and transparent compartments — such as Chanel’s Aquarium Backpack, Miu Miu’s Plexi Bucket Bag, and Tory Burch’s Lee Radziwill Raincoat Bag — have emerged as top choices for fans integrating fashion with fandom.
Where does all of this flood of lucre for luxury GOODS / BADS come from in communist China?
Selected readings
- "The new, enhanced / advanced quiet luxury language of pèihuò 配货" (8/14/23)
- "Veracious" (5/12/10)
[Thanks to June Teufel Dreyer]