お局

• 読み: おつぼね
• ローマ字: otsubone
• 漢字の分解: お (honorific prefix) + 局 (bureau/office, historically a lady's private chamber in a palace)
• 発音: /o.tsɯ.bo.ne/

意味

A senior female employee who acts bossy or bullies younger colleagues, especially other women.

お局 refers to a woman who has been at a company for a long time and wields informal power to intimidate newer employees. The stereotype includes being critical of younger women's clothing, relationships, or work habits, and creating a hostile work environment through passive-aggressive behavior. While the term highlights a real workplace dynamic, it's considered sexist by many as it specifically targets women and ignores similar behavior by men.

例文

1. うちの部署のお局がめっちゃ怖くて毎日憂鬱。
2. 新人がお局に目をつけられて、もう泣きそうになってた。
3. お局に気に入られるかどうかで職場の居心地が全然違う。

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, workplace gossip, social media

トーン: gossipy, complaining

正しい言い方

• お局がいない日は職場の空気が全然違う。 (The office atmosphere is completely different when the お局 isn't there.)
• どこの会社にもお局っているよね。 (Every company has that one bossy senior woman, right?)

避ける言い方

• 本人の前で「お局」は絶対NG (Never call someone お局 to their face — it's extremely insulting)
• 男性の上司にはお局と言わない (The term isn't used for male bosses who bully — it's specifically gendered)

よくある間違い

• Using お局 for any senior woman — it specifically implies someone who bullies or intimidates, not just someone who's been there long
• Not recognizing the term's sexist implications — it's increasingly criticized for unfairly targeting women

起源と歴史

From 御局 (otsubone), a title for senior ladies-in-waiting in the Edo-period imperial court or shogun's household. Applied to modern workplaces to describe veteran female employees who dominate their department. The drama 大奥 (Ōoku) reinforced the image.

文化的背景

時代: Edo-period origin, modern workplace usage from 1990s onward

世代: All working-age adults

社会的背景: Office workers

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. Increasingly seen as problematic and sexist, though still widely used in casual conversation.