7．Racism and Buraku Discrimination (Discriminated Hamlet) in Japan

KUROKAWA, Midori (Faculty of Education, Shizuoka University, Japan, mikurokawa@aol.com)

In Japan there is a caste-like minority population known as the Buraku people or “Burakumin” in Japanese. They were generally recognized as the descendents of outcaste groups that existed during the feudal period of the Tokugawa era (1600-1868). They are ethnically Japanese, indistinguishable physically, religiously, and culturally from other Japanese, but they are still discriminated against, especially in their opportunities for marriage. Even in this day and age, if one is discovered to be of Buraku background, he or she may face discrimination from some Japanese due to common misconceptions of filth, tainted blood, or racial difference. Those Japanese who harbor such prejudices would hope that the Buraku people remain forever in a state of inequality. I believe that this discrimination resembles racism. During the Meiji era (1868-1912) some anthropologists claimed that the Buraku people were different from Japanese in terms of race and that most of them came from Korea.  Stereotypes were attached to them, indicating that they were dirty, afflicted with disease, and of a different race. This racist view spread throughout the populace by the end of the Meiji era. Later the ethnologist Sadakichi Kita debunked the pseudo-scientific rationale for such racial distinctions, but for most Japanese the justification for discrimination against the Buraku people continued to derive from racist notions. The Suiheisha Movement, which aimed for Buraku liberation and democratization of post-World War One Japan, failed to overcome this discrimination. Since “races” are believed by most people to be biologically determined and distinct from one another, most majority Japanese have felt content to continue viewing the Buraku people as belonging to a separate race from themselves, and viewed avoiding them as justifiable under such circumstances. I believe that what is called Buraku discrimination falls under the general category of racism. Through a historical examination into the consciousness of the Buraku problem by society at large, I wish to consider the relationship between racism and Buraku-oriented discrimination.

KUROKAWA , Midori Professor, Faculty of Education of Shizuoka University, Japan My major is Modern Japanese History, particularly Buraku discrimination in modern society, and the thoughts of intellectuals, such as OYAMA Ikuo. Through an examination of their concepts, I want to consider problems in modern Japanese society which demonstrate not enough civil liberty . Between Assimilation and Dissimilation: the“Hisabettsu Buraku”(Discriminated Hamlet) (Aoki Shoten, 1999, in Japanese); The Restitution of Community: A Study on OYAMA Ikuo (Sinzansha, 2000, in Japanese), etc.

 

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