'Burakumin' (部落民: ''buraku'', community or hamlet + ''min'', people), are a
Japanese social
minority group. The burakumin are one of the main
minority groups in Japan, along with the
Ainu of
Hokkaidō and
residents of Korean and
Chinese descent.
They are communities of descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered "tainted" with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers or leather workers) and traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos. They were legally liberated in 1871 with the abolition of the feudal caste system; however, this did not put a stop to social discrimination and their lower living standards. In certain areas of Japan, there is still a stigma attached to being a resident of such areas, who sometimes face lingering discrimination in matters such as marriage.
The long history of
taboos and myths of the ''buraku'' left a continuous legacy of social desolation. Since the 1980s, more and more young ''buraku'' started to organize and protest against social misfortunes of the ''buraku''. Movements with objectives ranging from "liberation" to encouraging integration have tried over the years to put a stop to this problem.
Current numbers
The number of burakumin asserted to be living in modern Japan varies from source to source. A
1993 investigation report by the
Japanese Government counted 4,533 ''dōwa chiku'' (同和地区 "assimilation districts" - buraku communities officially designated for assimilation projects), mostly in western Japan, comprising 298,385 households with 892,751 residents. The size of each community ranged from under 5 households to over 1000, with 155 households being the average size. About three quarters of settlements are in rural areas. The distribution of discriminated communities varied greatly from region to region. No discriminated communities were identified in the following prefectures:
Hokkaidō,
Aomori,
Iwate,
Miyagi,
Akita,
Yamagata,
Fukushima,
Tōkyō,
Toyama,
Ishikawa and
Okinawa. (
[1]in Japanese).
The
Buraku Liberation League (BLL), on the other hand, extrapolates Meiji-era figures to arrive at an estimate of nearly three million burakumin.
[2] A
1999 source indicates the presence of some 2 million burakumin, living in approximately 5,000 settlements.
[3] In some areas, burakumin hold a majority; they account for over 70 percent of all residents of
Yoshikawa in
Kochi Prefecture. In
Ōtō in
Fukuoka Prefecture, they account for over 60 percent.
Japanese government statistics show the number of residents of assimilation districts who claim buraku ancestry, whereas BLL figures are estimates of the total number of descendants of all former and current buraku residents, including current residents with no buraku ancestry.
Notable burakumin
★
Hiromu Nonaka, chief cabinet secretary (1998-1999)
[1]
Terminology
The term 部落 'buraku' literally refers to a small, generally
rural,
commune or a
hamlet. People from regions of Japan where "discriminated communities" do not exist any more (e.g., anywhere north of Tokyo) may normally refer to any hamlet as a ''buraku'', indicating that the word's usage is not necessarily pejorative.
'Hisabetsu-buraku' (被差別部落 "discriminated community/hamlet") is a commonly used, politically correct term, with people from them called ''hisabetsu-burakumin'' (被差別部落民 "discriminated community (hamlet) people") or
''hisabetsu buraku shusshin-sha'' (被差別部落出身者 "person from a discriminated community / hamlet").
'Burakumin' (部落民 "hamlet people") is actually an abbreviation and its use in the Japanese language is sometimes frowned upon, although it is by far the most commonly used term in English.
'Mikaihō-buraku' (未解放部落 "unliberated communities" ) is a term sometimes used by human rights pressure groups and the one which has a degree of political ring to it.
A widely used term for buraku settlements is 'dōwa chiku' ( "assimilation districts"), an official term for districts designated for government and local authority assimilation projects .
The social issue surrounding "discriminated communities" is usually referred to as 'dōwa mondai' ("assimilation issues") or less commonly, 'buraku mondai' ("hamlet issues").
'Tokushu buraku' (特殊部落 "special hamlets") was used in the early 20th Century but is now considered inappropriate.
In the feudal era, the outcast caste were called 'eta' (穢多, literally, "full of filth"), a term now obviously considered derogatory.
Some burakumin refer to their own communities as "mura" (村 "villages") and themselves as "mura-no-mono" (村の者 "village people").
Historical origins
The word burakumin is used to describe descendants of outcaste communities in feudal Japan, most of them being ''eta'' (穢多) who worked in occupations relating to death, such as
executioners,
undertakers or
leather workers. Severe social stigma was attached to these occupations, influenced by
Buddhist prohibitions against killing and
Shinto notions of ''kegare'' (穢れ "taint"). Other outcast groups included the ''hinin'' (非人). The definition of ''hinin'', as well as their social status and typical occupations varied over time, but typically included ex-convicts and vagrants who worked as town guards, street cleaners or entertainers.
According to ''Japan, a Modern History, 2002:'' (cited here
[4]),
Fundamental Shinto beliefs equated goodness and godliness with purity and cleanliness, and they further held that impurities could cling to things and persons, making them evil or sinful...But a person could become seriously contaminated by habitually killing animals or committing some hideous misdeed that ripped at the fabric of the community, such as engaging in incest or bestiality. Such persons, custom decreed, had to be cast out from the rest of society, condemned to wander from place to place, surviving as best they could by begging or by earning a few coins as itinerant singers, dancers, mimes, and acrobats.
There are many theories as to how and in which era the outcaste communities came into existence. For example, whether society started ostracising those who worked in tainted occupations, or if those who originally dropped out of society were forced to work in tainted occupations, is disputed. The social status and typical occupations of outcaste communities also varied considerably according to region and over time.
At the start of the
Edo period (1603-1867), the caste system was officially established as a means of designating social hierarchy, and ''eta'' were placed at the lowest level, outside of the
four main divisions of society. Like the rest of the population, they were bound by
sumptuary laws based on the inheritance of their
social class, The ''eta'' lived in
segregated settlements, and were generally avoided by the rest of Japanese society. Segregation and discrimination were encouraged by the authorities as a means of government control. For example, they typically had their own temples and were not allowed to visit other religious sites. Japanese Buddhists were given posthumous religious names (戒名 ''
kaimyo'') when they were deceased; ''eta'' were often given names that included the
kanji characters for beast, humble, ignoble, servant, and other derogatory expressions.
[5] When dealing with members of other castes, they were expected to display signs of subservience, such as the removal of
headwear. In an
1859 court case described by author
Shimazaki Toson, a magistrate declared that "An ''eta'' is worth 1/7 of an ordinary person."
Historically, ''eta'' were not liable for taxation in feudal times, including the
Tokugawa period, because the taxation system was based on rice yields, which they were not permitted to possess. Some outcastes were also called ''kawaramono'' (河原者, "dried-up riverbed people") because they lived along river banks that could not be turned into rice fields. Since their undesirable status afforded them an effective monopoly in their trades, some succeeded economically and even occasionally obtained
samurai status through marrying or the outright purchase of troubled houses. Some historians point out that such exclusive rights originated in ancient times, granted by shrines, temples,
kuge, or the imperial court, which held authority before the
Shogunate system was established.
End of feudal era
The feudal caste system in Japan ended in
1869 with the
Meiji restoration, and in
1871 the newly formed
Meiji government issued a decree called ''kaihōrei'' ( "Emancipation Edict") giving outcastes equal legal status. However, the elimination of economic monopolies which they had over certain occupations actually led to a decline in their general living standards, while social discrimination simply continued. For example, the ban on consumption of meat from livestock was lifted in 1871 in order to "westernise" the country, and many former ''eta'' moved on to work in
abbatoirs and as
butchers. However, slow-changing social attitudes, especially in the countryside, meant that abbatoirs and workers were met with hostility from local residents. Continued ostracism as well as the decline in living standards led to former ''eta'' communities turning into slum areas.
There were many terms used to indicate former outcasts, their communities or settlements at the time. Official documents at the time referred to them as ''kyu-eta'' (旧穢多 "former eta"), while the newly liberated outcastes called themselves ''shin-heimin'' (新平民"new citizens"), amongst others. The term ''tokushu buraku'' (特殊部落 "special hamlets", now considered inappropriate) started being used by officials in 1900's, leading to the meaning of the word ''buraku'' ("hamlet") coming to imply former ''eta'' villages in certain parts of Japan.
Movements to resolve the problem in the early 20th century were divided into two camps: the "assimilation" movement which encouraged improvements in living standards of ''buraku'' communities and integration with the mainstream Japanese society, and the "suiheisha (levellers)" movement which concentrated on confronting and criticising alleged perpetrators of discrimination.
Post-war situation
While in many parts of the country ''buraku'' settlements, built on the site of former ''eta'' villages, ceased to exist by the 1960s, either due to urban development or due to integration into mainstream society; in other regions many continued to suffer from slum-like housing and infrastructure, and lower economic status, illiteracy, and lower general educational standards amongst residents. In 1969, the government passed the Special Measures Law for Assimilation Projects to provide funding to these communities. Communities deemed to be in need of funding were designated for various Assimilation Projects (同和対策事業 ''dōwa taisaku jigyō''), such as construction of new housing and community facilities such as health centres, libraries and swimming pools. The projects were terminated in 2002 with a total funding of an estimated 12 trillion yen over 33 years, with the living standards issue effectively resolved.
However, cases of social discrimination against residents of ''buraku'' areas is still an issue in certain regions. Outside of the
Kansai region, people in general are often not even aware of the issue, and if they are, usually only as part of feudal history. Due to the taboo nature of the topic it is rarely covered by the media, and people from eastern Japan, for example, are often shocked when they learn that it is a continuing issue.
Cases of continuing social discrimination are known to occur mainly in western Japan, particularly
Osaka,
Kyōto,
Hyōgo and
Hiroshima regions, where many people, especially the older generation, stereotype ''buraku'' residents (whatever their ancestry ) with associations with squalor, unemployment and criminality.
[6]. (According to
David E. Kaplan and
Alec Dubro in ''Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan's Criminal Underworld'' (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1986), burakumin account for about 70 percent of the members of
Yamaguchi-gumi, the biggest
yakuza syndicate in Japan.
Mitsuhiro Suganuma, the ex-member of Public Security Intelligence Agency, testified that burakumin account for about 60 percent of the members of the entire yakuza
[7].) The prejudice most often manifests itself in the form of marriage discrimination, and less often, in employment. Traditionalist families have been known to check on the backgrounds of potential in-laws to identify people of ''buraku'' background. These checks are now illegal, and marriage discrimination is diminishing; Nadamoto Masahisa of the Buraku History Institute estimates that between 60 and 80% of burakumin marry a non-burakumin, whereas for people in their sixties, the rate was 10%
[8].
The "Tokushu Buraku Chimei Soukan" Incident
In November 1975, the Osaka branch of the Buraku Liberation League were tipped off about an existence of a book called "A Comprehensive List of Buraku Area Names" (特殊部落地名総鑑 ''Tokushu Buraku Chimei Soukan''). Investigations revealed that copies of the hand-written 330-page book were being secretly sold by an Osaka based firm to numerous firms and individuals throughout Japan by a mail order service called Cablenet, at between ¥5,000 and ¥50,000 per copy. The book contains a nationwide list of all the names and locations of ''buraku'' settlements (as well as the primary means of employment of their inhabitants) which could be compared against an individual's address to determine if they are ''buraku'' residents.
The preface contained the following message: "At this time, we have decided to go against public opinion and create this book [for] personnel managers grappling with employment issues, and families pained by problems with their children's marriages." More than 200 large Japanese firms, including (according to the Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Centre of Osaka) Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Daihatsu, and thousands of individuals, purchased copies of the book.
In 1985, partially in response to the popularity of this book, and an increase in ''mimoto chōsa'' (身元調査, private investigation into one's background) the Osaka prefectural government introduced "An Ordinance to Regulate Personal Background Investigation Conducive to Buraku Discrimination".
Although the production and sale of the book has been banned, numerous copies of it are still in existence, and in 1997, an Osaka private investigation firm was the first to be charged with violation of the 1985 statute for using the text. It is not unlikely that more of Japan's highly-lucrative private investigation market still enjoys ownership of the book.
Burakumin rights movement
As early as
1922, leaders of the hisabetsu buraku organized a movement, the "Levelers Association of Japan" (''Suiheisha''), to advance their rights. The Declaration of the Suiheisha encouraged the Burakumin to unite in resistance to discrimination, and sought to frame a positive identity for the victims of discrimination, insisting that the time had come to be "proud of being ''eta''.
The declaration portrayed the Burakumin ancestors as "manly martyrs of industry." To submit meekly to oppression would be to insult and profane these ancestors. Despite internal divisions among anarchist, Bolshevik, and social democratic factions, and despite the Japanese government's establishment of an alternate organization Yūma movement, designed to undercut the influence of the Suheisha, the Levelers Association remained active until the late 1930s.
After
World War II, the National Committee for Burakumin Liberation was founded, changing its name to the
Buraku Liberation League (''Buraku Kaihou Doumei'') in the 1950s. The league, with the support of the
socialist and
communist parties, pressured the government into making important concessions in the late 1960s and 1970s. One concession was the passing of the ''Special Measures Law for Assimilation Projects'', which provided financial aid for the discriminated communities. Also, in 1976, legislation was put in place which banned third parties from looking up another person's family registery (
koseki). This traditional system of registry, kept for all Japanese by the
Ministry of Justice since the 19th century, would reveal an individual's ''buraku'' ancestry if looked up. Under the new legislation, these records could now be consulted only in legal cases, making it more difficult to identify or discriminate against members of the group.
Even into the early 1990s, however, discussion of the 'liberation' of these discriminated communities, or even their existence, was taboo in public discussion. In the 1960s,
the Sayama incident (狭山事件), which involved a murder conviction of a member of the discriminated communities based on circumstantial evidence (which is generally given little weight vs. physical evidence in Japanese courts), focused public attention on the problems of the group. In the 1980s, some educators and local governments, particularly in areas with relatively large ''hisabetsu buraku'' populations, began special education programs, which they hoped would encourage greater educational and economic success for young members of the group and decrease the discrimination they faced.
Branches of burakumin rights groups exist today in all parts of Japan except for
Hokkaidō and
Okinawa.
"Human Rights Promotion Centers" (人権啓発センター) have been set up across the country by prefectural governments and local authorities; these, in addition to promoting ''burakumin'' rights, campaign on behalf of a wide range of groups such as women, the disabled, ethnic minorities, foreign residents and released prisoners. (The term "human rights" (人権 ''jinken'') usually has a different meaning in Japan as it does in the English speaking world. Where in English the term is most often used in reference to protecting people against violations by, for example, the criminal justice system or an oppressive regime, in Japan it is most often used in reference to equality and discrimination issues.)
The Buraku Liberation League and the Zenkairen
The
Buraku Liberation League is considered one of the most militant among burakumin's rights groups. The BLL is known for its fierce "denunciation and explanation sessions", where alleged perpetrators of discriminatory actions or speech are summoned for a public hearing before a panel of activists. Early sessions were marked by occasions of violence and kidnapping, and several BLL activists have been arrested for such acts. The legality of these sessions is still disputed, but to this date the authorities have mostly turned a blind eye to them except in the more extreme cases.
In 1990,
Karel van Wolferen's criticism of the BLL in his much-acclaimed book ''
The Enigma of Japanese Power'' prompted the BLL to demand the publisher halt publication of the Japanese translation of the book. Van Wolferen condemned this as an international scandal.
The other major buraku activist group is the All Japan Federation of Buraku Liberation Movements (全国部落解放運動連合会 ''zenkoku buraku kaihō undō rengōkai'', or 'Zenkairen'), affiliated to the
Japanese Communist Party(JCP). It was formed in the late 1960s by BLL activists who were purged from the organisation due to their opposition to the decision that subsidies to the burakumin should be limited to the BLL members only. (Not all burakumin were BLL members.)
The ''Zenkairen'' often came head-to-head with the BLL, accusing them of chauvinism. The bickering between the two organisations boiled over in 1974 when a clash between teachers belonging to a JCP-affiliated union and BLL activists
at a high school in Yoka, rural
Hyōgo Prefecture put 29 in hospital.
In 1988, the BLL formed the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (
IMADR). The BLL sought for the
IMADR to be recognized as a
United Nations Non-Government Organization, but in 1991, the ''Zenkairen'' informed the
United Nations about the alleged crimes the BLL had committed.
However, when suspected cases of discrimination were uncovered, the ''Zenkairen'' often conducted denunciation sessions as fierce as those of the BLL.
In 2004, the ''Zenkairen'' ceased all campagning activity and effectively disbanded after announcing that "the ''buraku'' issue has basically been resolved".
Religious discrimination against burakumin
While nearly all Japanese Buddhist sects have discriminated against the burakumin, the case of the
Jōdo Shinshu Honganji Sect is a particularly bitter and ironic one. The original ideology of the sect, as propounded by its founder
Shinran, was anti-discriminatory, rejecting the need to keep the traditional Buddhist precepts or to carry out the purification rituals of indigenous Japanese religion. As such butchers, fishermen, and so on, who had all been discriminated against by the older sects, were welcomed into the Jodo Shinshu.
The side-effect of this liberating ideology, however, was that it led to a series of anti-feudal rebellions, known as the
Ikkō-ikki revolts, which seriously threatened the religious and political status-quo. As such the political powers engineered a situation whereby the Jodo Shinshu split into two competing branches, the Shinshu Otani-ha and the Honganji-ha. This had the consequence that the sects moved increasingly away from their anti-feudal position towards a feudal one.
Later the state also forced all people to belong to a specific Buddhist temple according to the formula:
"the imperial family is in Tendai, the peerage is in Shingon, the nobility is in Jōdo (Honen's followers), the Samurai is in Zen, the beggar is in Nichiren, and Shin Buddhists (Shinran's followers) are at the bottom." (Kasahara 1996)
In consequence the Honganji, which under
Rennyo's leadership had defiantly accepted the derogatory label of 'the dirty sect' (see Rennyo's letters known as the
Ofumi /
Gobunsho) now began to discriminate against its own burakumin members as it jostled for political and social status.
In 1922, when the
National Levelers' Association (Zenkoku-suiheisha) was founded in Kyoto, Mankichi Saiko, a founder of the movement and Jodo Shinshu priest, said:
"We shouldn't disgrace our ancestors and violate humanity by our harsh words and terrible actions. We, who know how cold the human world is, and how to take care of humanity, can seek and rejoice from the bottom of our hearts in the warmth and light of human life."[9]
The fact of religious discrimination against the burakumin was commonly denied until the late twentieth century. For example, in 1979 the Director-General of the
Soto Sect of Buddhism made a speech at the "3rd World Conference on Religion and Peace" claiming that there was no longer any discrimination against burakumin in Japan.
[10].
Finally in 1969 the Honganji began to recognise its mistreatment of burakumin and appears to be beginning to address the problem.
[11].
Burakumin in film and fiction
In ''
High and Low'' (
Japanese title 天国と地獄 ''Tengoku to jigoku'', literally "Heaven and Hell")
[12], a movie adapted in
1963 from
Evan Hunter's ''King's Ransom'',
Akira Kurosawa made a political statement by having the main character work as a shoe industry executive who rose from humble origins as a simple leather worker, clearly implying (to Japanese audiences) the main character's burakumin status. The story has the main character selflessly sacrifice his fortune in order to save his driver's son, perhaps to show that burakumin are as heroic as anyone else.
The plight of the burakumin has also been presented in ''Hashi no nai kawa''
[13] (橋のない川 "The River With No Bridge") a novel by
Sue Sumii (), which received several film adaptations, in
1969,
1970 and
1992. The title refers to the fact that areas in which burakumin lived were often separated by a river, but bridges to cross were rarely constructed.
Author
Lian Hearn depicts a fictional feudal country highly similar to that of Japan's own history in the three-book series ''
Tales of the Otori'' (2003-2004). The series depicts a caste system wherein "untouchables" live outside of mainstream society. The protagonist develops a friendship with one such outcast, a tanner who lives and works with other tanners in riverside settlements.
In the ''
House'' episode "
Son of Coma Guy", the title character is asked to explain why he decided to become a
physician. He recalls a burakumin
hospital worker so unprofessionally dressed that House thought he was a janitor, until he watched the Japanese medical staff consult this doctor, when no one else knew how to help a patient, because he was right. It is implied that
House believes his
antisocial behaviour likewise makes him an "untouchable" who must nevertheless be respected for his skills.
In
Laura Joh Rowland's 'Sano Ichiro' series, burakumin (naturally still referred to by the Feudal name 'eta') appear regularly. Sometimes they are criminals, and other times merely unseen witnesses. In "The Concubine's Tattoo," Sano speaks with the chief of a small burakumin community named Danzaemon and notes that the man has a regal bearing about him despite his status. He even thinks to himself "But for the misfortune of his birth, what a fine daimyo he might have made! It was a blasphemous thought, but Sano could more easily imagine Danzaemon commanding an army than Tokugawa Tsunayoshi."
In the book
Rising Sun,
Michael Crichton depicts a character (Theresa Asakuma) who is a burakumin descendant. Along the storyline bits and pieces of history of this people are described to the reader.
In
Cloud of Sparrows, by the Japanese American writer,
Takashi Matsuoka, and later in its sequel
The Autumn Bridge, burakumin are often mentioned, by the old name 'eta'. They are described as filthy beggars, more animal than human, and their life has no apparent value to the
samurai, a fact that baffles the Christian missionaries visiting Japan on the novels.
See also
★
Baekjeong, the former outcaste community of Korean society
★
Dalit, the outcaste community of India and Nepal
★
The Pavee, the "itinerant community" of Ireland and Britain
★
Ainu, the second largest minority group in Japan.
★
Norwegian and Swedish Travellers
External links
★
The Headquarters of Buraku Liberation League
★
Burakumin: Definition of Burakumin - See also links section at page bottom
★
The ''Burakumin'': The Complicity of Japanese Buddhism in Oppression and an Opportunity for Liberation
★
Cooperativeness and Buraku Discrimination, discussion paper by Takuya Ito in the
''electronic journal of contemporary Japanese studies'',
31 October 2005.
★
Solving Anti-''Burakujūmin'' Prejudice in the 21st Century: Suggestions from 21 ''Buraku'' Residents, discussion paper by Alastair McLauchlan in the
''electronic journal of contemporary Japanese studies'',
31 January 2003.
★
Buraku: in Community, Democracy, and Performance by Bruce Caron
References
1. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,103843,00.html
★ Alldritt, Leslie D, ''The Burakumin: The Complicity of Japanese Buddhism in Oppression and an Opportunity for Liberation''
★ Neary, Ian, "Burakumin in contemporary Japan," in ''Japan's Minorities: The Illusion of Homeogeneity'', Michael Weiner, ed.
★ Suzuki, D.T., Oiwa, K. ''The Japan We Never Knew: A Journey of Discovery'' (Stoddart Publishing, Toronto: 1996)
★
Shimazaki Toson, ''The Broken Commandment''
★ Toshinori Kasahara, ''Shin Buddhism and the Buraku-min'' (1996 Honolulu Higashi Honganji)
Credits
'Main text' originally from
Library of Congress, Country Studies. 'Religious Discrimination' and 'Jodo shinshu Honganji' sections adapted from
Shindharmanet and
BLHRRI.Org.
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