What is the Buraku problem?

Different logics and histories lay behind different discriminations, but the commonality is unwarranted prejudice. Understanding the problem is difficult for those who have not been discriminated against before. Furthermore, if the topic is taboo, there is less willingness to understand it. Japan’s Buraku problem is one such example.

Buraku is hard to define because definitions are ambiguous. According to Kadouka (2018), “Buraku are areas where those treated as Eta class among Eta gather, particularly those called Hinin that were once lowly people.” The Buraku problem is said to be rooted in medieval Japan, established as a class system during the Edo period.

Those familiar with Japanese history may know the word “Shi nou kou shou”, referring to Edo period’s social class system. “Shi” means samurai, “nou” stands for farmers, “kou” indicates craftsmen, and “Shou” refers to merchants. “Eta” and “Hinin” were regarded as outcasts, leading to targeted discrimination.

The majority of the people in Buraku were engaged in the slaughter of animals for consumption, leather crafting, and more. These jobs were commonly avoided. The body of the cow was viewed as dirty, and leather tanning emitted nasty smells.

Note that I’ve used “Eta” and “Hinin” for the purpose of a precise explanation, but please keep in mind that “Eta” and “Hinin” have very strong derogatory meanings.

Kadouka estimates over 5000 Buraku exist in Japan. In 1969, Douwa-taisaku jigyou, a project aimed at supporting people in Buraku, commenced. Efforts include landscaping living conditions and improving the educational system. In this project, some “Buraku” were registered as “Dōwa-chiku” as support beneficiaries.

Douwa-taisaku jigyou completed in 2002, but the term Buraku Dōwa-chiku remains as a relic of the Dōwa-taisaku jigyō. Before the project, people in Buraku faced numerous difficulties, particularly in employment and in marriage to people from other areas. People outside Buraku tended to avoid making connections with people in Buraku. Improvements in Buraku were seen through the above project.

Although Buraku discrimination has also decreased because of the project, problems that are often overlooked have arisen. One example of such hardship is the image of people in Buraku. Uehara (2014) and Kadouka share how people living near Buraku areas describe those living in Buraku as “vulgar” and “scary.”

Uehara sums up these feelings with four points. The first is that many are poor, and so many live in Buraku, which leads to extreme delinquency among children in Buraku. The third problem follows: many stray from the right path and participate in gangster activities. The final point is that the Buraku liberation group had called out specific companies or people that discriminated against Buraku to make apologies. Thus biases against Buraku continue today.

[Reference] Nobuhiko Kadooka, “First Step into the Buraku Problem” (2018)
[Reference] Yoshihiro Uehara, “Alley Classroom: Examining the Buraku Discrimination” (2014)