Embracing a buraku heritage: Examining changing attitudes toward a social minority This article looks at Buraku history including Buraku rights campaigns and organisations, as well as the stories of two young people who discovered their Buraku ancestry and helped set up the group, Buruaku Heitage in 2011. Japan Times, 19 Feb 2019.
東京に部落差別はない？――見えない差別を可視化するBURAKU HERITAGEの挑戦 ― By 上川多実, a member of Buraku Heritage, Synodos, 14 Oct 2016.
堺市人権意識調査結果報告書 Public survey of human right issues in Sakai City, Osaka. It includes a lot of data and information about Burakumin. The newest PDF about Buraku is from 2016. See also PDF about comparison for Buraku survey for 10 years.
私が歌うことで人を差別しない気持ちがめばえるきっかけになれば嬉しい Short story by soprano singer, Watanabe Chikako, about noticing as a girl that her "home" was called a "buraku area". p2-4 ヒューマンボイス (京都人権情報誌), Aug 2008.
隠れた部落差別、今もふるさとの料理出したら離れた客 An article that reports on examples of continued discrimination against Buraku people from people in a range of Buraku organisations. Asahi Shinbun Digital, 24 Dec 2015.
Masaru Goto: 'NIHONJIN, BURAKUMIN: Portraits of Japan’s outcast people'. "The Burakumin are a nearly invisible (yet identifiable) group of Japanese people. They are the remnant of a caste system that formally passed away long ago. Their ancestors were the untouchables. Despite being racially and ethnically Japanese through and through, the Burakumin still face discrimination and struggle together under the weight of their shared history." The exhibition has photos and short stories about the lives of 12 Burakumin from a range of backgrounds. Global Compassion.com
Japan's hidden caste of untouchables An overview of the history and current situation of Buraku in Japan that looks at the example of workers in the Shibaura slaughterhouse in Tokyo. BBC News, 23 October 2015. This is the Japanese version: 【視点】日本の被差別民――隠れた階級制度
Japan's pariah descendants fight present-day discrimination A good introduction to issues facing Buraku people. Looks at the case of Kazuo Ishikawa, a Buraku man who was convicted of murder in the Sayama Case who is campaigning to prove the conviction was false and made because he was Buraku, as well as the experiences and activism of other Buraku people. Includes an interview with Ian Neary, a professor at Oxford University. France 24.com, 2 Feb 2017.
Burakumin (Buraku people) A short overview from the Minority Rights Group that explains the history and current issues facing Buraku people. No date.
Black in Buraku -アフリカンアメリカン、被差別部落をゆく- NHK, 13th Feb 2020. Mentioning several stories about Buraku discrimination, and also looking through the place with African Americans (explaining microaggression and gaps in society).
差別 くじで人生追体験 同和地区出身者ら8人から選択 春日でイベント Nishi Nihon Shimbun, 22 Aug 2019.
映画「ある精肉店のはなし」予告編 – the for a documentary movie about the family running a butcher shop, located in Buraku area.
部落差別の現在1991 - a long documentary about Buraku’s youth stories.
The Buraku - "Untouchables" of Japan Japan's Untouchables Still Face Discrimination A short article that looks at Buraku history and continued discrimination. Thought. co, 7 Oct 2016.
同和問題と人権~部落差別のない社会へ~ a pamphlet from 京都府 府民生活部人権啓発推進室 that explains the issues simply in Japanese, 2017.
同和問題一問一答 An explanation of Buraku issues and history from 静岡県教育委員会.
同和問題への取り組みの地域格差 by 阿久津歩 (student at Waseda University for a zemi there?). About the differences of the public action taken against Buraku discrimination, 10 Jan 2001.
The Buraku Liberation Movement and I Sachiko Shiotani tells her story of growing up as a Buraku person, the discrimination she suffered, including marriage discrimination, and the effect on her of becoming involved in the Buraku Liberation Movement. Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Institute, 2005
New law to fight bias against ‘burakumin’ seen falling short A law enacted Dec. 9, 2016 marks a turning point in efforts to eradicate centuries-long discrimination against descendants of this former outcast group by acknowledging that bias still exists and by requiring governmental efforts to eliminate it. But critics fear the law doesn’t go far enough. Here are some basic questions and answers about the Burakumin and the new law including some information on marriage discrimination. Japan Times, 19 Dec 2016.
New link added 2nd May 2020 Politician blasted over bigoted remarks about ‘buraku’ people A possible election candidate from Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) is under fire for describing feudal-era outcasts and their descendants as subhuman and prone to violence and criminal behavior. Asahi Shimbun, May 23, 2019.
Burakumin: Descendantsof caste considered 'tainted' face new discrimination in Japan. 'Why is this happening to us? Why are we different?' This article focuses on discrimination experienced by Buraku people. The Independent 30 Dec 2015.
Japan's Burakumin minority hired to clean up after Fukushima This short article looks at the use of Buraku people to clean up after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster and and also at the employment discrimination suffeed by Buraku people, especially Buraku women, more generally. Refworld/Minority Rights Group International, 14 Sep, 2013.
Japan's Burakumin: An Introduction by Alastair McLaughlin This article includes a chapter from McLaughlin novel, Hell for Leather, about Taka, a Burakumin youth working in the leather industry which is based on McLaughlin's interviews with members of the Buraku community in Osaka. Asia-Pacific Journal Japan Focus, 4 Jan 2016.
Burakumin A presentation by Tom Gill at Meiji Gakuin University on the history of Buraku people, their living and working situation, discrimination they faced, and the Burakumin Liberation movement.
白山さまと被差別部落 A summary of the history of Shirayama religion and Buraku people (mainly about Nagano) by 長野県同和教育推進協議会. 長野市人権教育啓発だより, 31 Mar 2015. Downloads as a pdf file.
資料 「２０００ 年部落問題実態調査からみた同和地区におけるまちづくりの現状と課題」 - data about Buraku people in Osaka, 2001. Written by 北口末広 (Professor at Kinki University, who works on Buraku issues, and is an active member of 部落解放同盟 / Buraku Liberation League).
部落差別対策、自治体に差 条例制定は大分９割、長崎・宮崎ゼロ 「解放・人権研究所」初の全国調査 A short article on the action being taken by different local governments in Kyushu to end discrimination against Buraku people after the 2016 部落差別解消推進法 西日本新聞 / Act to Promote the Elimination of Buraku Discrimination, 西日本新聞, 30 Nov, 2018.
The Burakumin, Japan's Invisible Outcasts - Brief Article A short overview by Richard Werly from 2001 of the history, current situation, and discrimination against Burakumin. BNET.
Burakumin An article from Wikipedia that looks at the numbers of burakumin, notable (famous) burakumin, the origins and history of the group, the burakumin rights movements, religious discrimination, and burakumin in film and fiction.
What is Buraku Discrimination? A short article by the Buraku Liberation League that discusses: who the Buraku are, the origin of Buraku discrimination, the history of the Buraku liberation movement, the reality of Buraku discrimination today, the campaign for a Fundamental Law for Buraku Liberation, and international solidarity.
Burakumin An article about the Burakumin by Sawa Kurotani Becker from World Culture Encyclopedia, with the following sections:
Breaking the silence on burakumin: Minority community has plenty to offer An article that discusses current discrimination against Buraku people, attitudes to Buraku in the media and online, and whether it is better for buraku people to hide their identities and move away from buraku communities or stress their identities and the value of their culture. Japan Times, 20 jan, 2009
The burakumin: Japan's underclass An article from 1993, by Raymond Lamont-Brown, looking at the history and origins of the Burakumin, their current situation (including discrimination against them and the position of a 'typical' Burakumin person), and political movements against the segregation of Burakumin. BNET.
Japan's Invisible Minority: Better Off Than in Past, but Still Outcasts Even today, there is no better way for young Japanese to give their parents heart palpitations than by suggesting a marriage to a burakumin, and most burakumin still live in segregated neighborhoods riven by crime, alcoholism and unemployment. The New York Times, November 30, 1995.
Reassessing Prejudice & Discrimination against Japan's "Burakumin:" Real or Politically Manufactured? Widespread or Disappearing? All of these? Osaka-based Japan Times staff writer Eric Johnston probes some of the assumptions and complexities behind the stereotype and realities about prejudice and discrimination against Burakumin in Japan. Kyoto Journal.
Solving Anti-Burakumin Prejudice in the 21st Century The overall impression from my 21 interviewees in Buraku X is that there are solutions to solving anti-buraku prejudice and that only if those particular solutions, predominantly BKD strategies, are implemented, will buraku residents start to see a decline in psychological prejudice. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies
The Burakumin: The Complicity of Japanese Buddhism in Oppression and an Opportunity for Liberation The eta or now more appropriately called burakumin—literally, “village people”—is an oppressed class within Japan. As noted by DeVos, the burakumin is Japan’s “invisible race. Journal of Buddhist Ethics.
Buraku discrimination in Japan This is a short statement by IMADR (The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism) on “Buraku discrimination in Japan” at the 31st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 15 Mar, 2016
Present-Day Buraku Discrimination This article looks at the persistence of discrimination against Buraku in Japan today and what needs to be done to end it. Asia Pacific Human Rights Information Center, Jun 2008.
Cooperativeness and Buraku Discrimination The Japanese are often described as being a cooperative people. If this is indeed the case, why do they discriminate against the Burakumin? Buraku discrimination is, thus, contradictory to Japanese people's cooperativeness. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies
The Sayama Case This webpage looks at the case of Kazuo Ishikawa, a man of Buraku origin, found guilty of murder in 1963. It argues he was innocent and the case is an example of discrimination against Buraku in the Japanese system of justice. IMADR (The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism).
ERD Net report on the human rights issues of minority groups and racial discrimination in Japan A report to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on discrimination in Japan, including against Buraku people (pages 14-20) by the NGO Network for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Japan (ERD Net)
Hashimoto likens weekly’s slur to hate speak "The clash between Toru Hashimoto and the weekly magazine Shukan Asahi over an article on the Osaka mayor’s lineage has raised a question that Japan still refuses to directly confront: What kinds of comments cross the line from criticism into hate speech that should be legally banned?" Japan Times, Nov 3, 2012.
Discrimination claims die hard in Japan Despite official claims, prejudice against former 'buraku' outcasts said active from bottom to top This article discusses the incident when Taro Aso, a leading LDP politician said that Hiromu Nonaka, another LDP politician shouldn't become Prime Minster because he was buraku. Japan Times, 25 Jan, 2009.
The facts about buraku: Recent media coverage By William Wetherall, Nov 1992
Obituary: Sue Sumii One of the largest burakumin populations can be found in Nara Prefecture, where the best-selling anti-discrimination novelist Sue Sumii was born, and this fact must undoubtedly have influenced her choice of subject matter, the daily lives of the burakumin. She started writing her great seven- volume saga Hashi no nai kawa (The River With No Bridge) in 1961, at the age of 59, an immense work of wide popular appeal that was to occupy her for almost the rest of her long life. BNET.
Nakagami, the pariah of Shingu "I write for a public that cannot read me. My mother, my sister, my brothers are illiterate like all the Burakumin." This is an interview with Kenji Nakagami, who was born in 1946 in the ghetto of Shingu, one of the Burakus who form the pariahs of Japanese society. Liberation.
中上健次 (1946-1992) Wikipedia article about the author who identified as Burakumin and received an Akutagawa prize on 1976.
Seeking to End Discrimination Through Dowa Education Dowa education takes two forms: education to empower Burakumin and education to eliminate prejudice against them. Education is both formal and informal. Human Rights Dialogue 1.9 (Summer 1997): "Innovative Human Rights Strategies in East Asia", Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, 5 Jun, 1997.
Anti-discrimination Education in Japan: Buraku Sabetsu Simulation An article that presents the use of the simulation method in human rights education activities, by Daisuke Nojima, no date.
Learning About an Identity: schools and Buraku youth HuRights, Osaka, no date.
同和問題（部落差別）に関する正しい理解を深めましょう – education resources published by Ministry of Justice. +条文
人権教育：同和問題の早期解決に向けた今後の方策の基本的な在り方について – by Ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology Japan, 17 May 1996
三重県同和教育基本方針 – from Mie Prefectural Government
人権教育における部落問題学習 – from Nara Prefectural Government
「寝た子」はネットで起こされる!? ~「部落差別解消推進法」施行と今後の課題~ - pdf file by 山口県人権啓発センター, 5 March 2018
豊かな人権教育の想像を〜部落問題を解決するための教育を進めるために〜 - pdf file by 公益社団法人三重県人権教育研究協議会, 2016
Dalit met Buraku – Discrimination Based on Work and Descent An article about
the World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, where the Dalit community (untouchables from India and other parts of South Asia) and the Buraku community worked together to call for the inclusion of the term “descent” in the Durban Declaration to be adopted at the end of the conference. IMADR (The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism)
UN raises concern for discrimination against the Buraku in Japan The Human Rights Committee, monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), August 2014 review of Japan raised concern for discrimination against the Buraku people in Japan, with particular attention paid to Buraku women. International Dalit Solidarity Network, 8 Aug, 2014.
Chapter 7. 'Minority Groups: Ethnicity and Discrimination'. In Sugimoto, Yoshio. (2003). An introduction to Japanese society. Cambridge [England] : Cambridge University Press. Available from: Chuo Library 中央書庫 309.152/S94 & Mike. Section III The Buraku Problem.
Neary, I. J. (2009). ‘Burakumin in contemporary Japan’, in M. Weiner, (Ed). Japan's minorities: the illusion of homogeneity. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Available from: Chuo Library 開架 301.45/J35.
Neary, I. (1997). 'Burakumin in contemporary Japan', in M. Weiner (Ed). Japan's minorities: the illusion of homogeneity. 1st Edition. London: Routledge. Available from: Chuo Library 総合政策 301.45/J35 & Mike.
Neary, I. (2003) 'Burakumin at the end of history - history of social class in Japan' BNET (originally published in Social Research, Spring, 2003.). An article on the disagreements within Japan about Burakumin: "about how this group developed, the role it played historically in the twentieth century and before, and what its prospects are. The main aim of this paper is to summarize some aspects of that debate and suggest answers to the questions of how this group developed and how its status changed over time".
De Vos, George A & Weatherall, William O. (updated Kaye Stearman). (1983). Japan's minorities: burakumin, Koreans, Ainu, and Okinawans. London : Minority Rights Group. Available from: Chuo Library 総合政策 323.1/D51.
New link added 19 May 2020 同和教育の変容と今日的意義 (Transformations in Dowa Education and its Modern Significance: From the Perspective of Liberation Education) by 志水宏吉、Osaka University, 2018. In Japanese with an English summary at the end. "The aim of this paper is to re-examine the history of ‘Dowa education’（Dowa kyoiku), which has been developed mainly in western Japan over the past fifty years or more, and to consider its real values in order to improve the present situation of the contemporary Japanese society." Downloads as a pdf file.
Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute / 一般社団法人部落開放・人権研究所 For the eliminating of all forms of discrimination, the BLHRRI conducts research and investigation about Buraku and publishes results of research works.
Buraku Liberation League / 部落解放同盟
The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) This organisation is an international NGO founded by Buraku people and works for the elimination of discrimination and racism.
BURAKU HERITAGE は、「部落」に関わる様々な立場のメンバーが、部落「問題」に限らず、人、文化、仕事、など部落に関係する様々な物事の情報発信を目的として運営しているウェブサイトです。
神奈川県人権啓発センター(YouTube channel about Dowa issues) ＝示現舎合同会社