The Bahujans of the Far East - the Burakumin of Japan
Whenever we think of caste, we generally think of South Asian Societies, most notably India. Caste still rules the consciousness of majority of Indians. Despite the efforts made by reformist leaders streching all the way back to the Bhakti Movements of the 8th - 15th centuries, caste still matters when we are passionately debating about issues like reservations, caste based crimes and identity politics, all of which is inseparable from our collective existence as political beings. To this day untouchability, despite being illegal, is still prevalent in some form or the other in villages and cities too have instances of caste discrimination amongst the elites and the urban poor alike. More on this practice later.
However, today we take a flight from India and go to the far East, to Japan. Here from the top we won't observe that a society so advanced economically and technologically superior, too has a world in it which is filled with deep seated inequality. Today, I draw my pen to sing the tale of one such people who have been subjected to centuries old discrimination, marginalization and stigmatization : the Burakumin people of Japan or simply put , the buraku people.
Origins
The term "burakumin" is a more polite term meaning ,"village people". However a closer inspection reveals that the villages in question is that of outcasts. The burakumin is a more modern term that refers to the descendants of these outcasts.
Historically they primarily consisted of the following : "Eta" or "defiled"/"filth" and "hinhin" or "non-human".
The "eta" were trapped in their condition since they were historically butchers, tanners for hides, preparing dead bodies for funerals , executioners etc. These jobs were considered very "polluting" and "unclean" by the nobility. During the Heian Era (794-1185) these distinctions were imposed for the first time as Buddhism spread rapidly and along with the pre existing Shintoism, started a debate amongst the nobility about the clear segregation of what consisted as pure and impure.
The second group, the "hinhin" were also born under similar circumstances. They were prostitutes, entertainers, ex-convicts, beggars etc. But unlike the eta, they could escape their condition if they were for example adopted by a wealthier and families of "purer blood". The striking resemblance of such practices with untouchability and treatment of dalits shows that caste system and social strification was a common theme across various cultures, many not having a common origin but ending up doing exactly the same ie creating a social hierarchy of the pure and impure via occupations that becomes.
During the devastating Sengoku Jidai era (1467-1615 or 1603 depending on the sources) Toyotomi Hideyoshi implemented the 4 fold caste system in Japan that was divided as : Samurai, Farmers, Artisan and lastly Traders. Then below the 4 caste came the untouchables called the Burakumin, the Indian equivalent of Dalits.
This feudal arrangement would continue till the Meiji Reforms of 1871 under which the system was abolished. But the castesim persisted and the ghetto like condition of the burakumin saw no improvement. Burakumin was a term assigned and more widely used during this point as official usage of the terms eta and hinhin were less as the buraku formed the "new commoners" group. Other commoners , the old, protested against the state for being put together with the Buraku arguing the impurity and polluting aspect of the buraku that was hammered across the centuries into people's consciousness.
Burakumins in Post War and the 21st Century
the most famous Burakumin novelist and essayist.
After WW II, Japan started to rebuild its economy and did it at a break neck speed. By 1965 it regained its economic prominence prompting observers to call it the "economic miracle". Almost everyone in Japan benefitted from this miracle, except the Burakumin.
However Buraku assertion at a National level was beginning to emerge since the early 20th century. Starting in 1922 many organisation's were founded to fight caste discrimination against the Buraku People like National Levelers Association. It got reformed in 1946 as National Committe of Buraku Liberation, precursor to the BLL (Buraku Liberation League) since due to Militarized Japanese government suppressing their movements in the prior decades was no more.
Burakumin are still widely discriminated against. Statistics based on BLL's findings show that about 3 million burakus exist. But unofficial estimated clock it to 6 million since the official census is very old.
Many have faced discrimination in their neighborhood as the older generations amongst the general population still know which areas are historically inhabited by the burakus. Also the burakumin are still subjected to discrimination during marriages. Finally, they are marginalized economically in the form the Labour markets. Human Rights groups have pointed out that many firms use decades old city planning maps and list of burakumin names to screen applicants that come from burakumin areas of the country during the interview process. Many have as a result taken extreme measures falling victims to the mafia groups like the Yakuza . Estimates say about a third of the Yakuza are from the Burakumin community. This has created a complicated situation whereby the general population has become hesitant to let their children marry the burakumins as they are associated nowadays with the Yakuza. But the newer generations have been at the forefront of change. The cultural attitudes towards the burakumin are changing thanks to the youth being more assertive due to their political awareness.
Concluding remarks
In conclusion, the Burakumin community remains one of the least talked groups in the global discourse even amongst the academics chiefly due to a belief of the Dar Wast being a homogeneous society at large. But as the waves of intersectionalism become more mature over the years, the burakumin and their stories are increasingly being heard outside Japan and are being shown solidarity with other global marginalized groups. They have been able to amplify their voices thanks to social media. Legislations back home have improved their situation but the gap with the general population in terms of Socio-economic integration is still wide. In the global subtlern literature, very few burakumin have found their voice, the most famous being Kenji Nakagami (1946-1992) who became famous for his writing and observations on the burakumin peoples. He is one of very few who have publivally come out as a burakumin. Even today many Buraku parents don't tell their kids of their ancestry due to fear of social boycott and stigmatization.
To finish of my piece I want to pen a few verses from from song