Translation guide
Goods that are illegal to import, export, or possess. In Japanese, the concept is expressed through specific terms for smuggled goods, prohibited items, and the act of smuggling itself.
Referring to items that are brought into or out of a country illegally, or goods that are banned.
The most direct and common term for smuggled goods. Used in legal, news, and everyday contexts.
Contraband was found at customs.
He was in possession of contraband.
Refers to prohibited goods in general, not necessarily smuggled. Often used in legal or official contexts.
Control of contraband is strict at this port.
Similar to 密輸品 but slightly more formal or literary. Less common in everyday speech.
The police succeeded in seizing the contraband.
Referring to the illegal transportation of goods, rather than the goods themselves.
The general term for smuggling. Can be used as a noun or combined with other words (e.g., 密輸する 'to smuggle').
He was arrested for drug smuggling.
Smuggling is a serious crime.
Specifically refers to illegal trade or smuggling as a commercial activity. Often used in historical or economic contexts.
Items that are banned by law or regulation, not necessarily involving smuggling.
密輸品 (mitsuyuhin) specifically means smuggled goods, emphasizing the illegal transportation. 禁制品 (kinseihin) means prohibited goods, focusing on the ban itself, regardless of how they were obtained. In many contexts they overlap, but 密輸品 is more common for contraband found at borders.
English 'contraband' is often used as a mass noun, but Japanese terms like 密輸品 are countable. Avoid directly translating 'contraband' as a single word in all contexts; choose the term that fits the specific nuance.
Smuggling was rampant in the Edo period.
Please check the website for items prohibited from being brought into the venue.