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Japan je smješten na istočnom dijelu Azije i sastoji se od četiri glavna otoka. Japan je otočna država i zbog toga je odvojen od ostatka azijskog kontinenta. Zbog geografske udaljenosti japanskog naroda od ostalih, Japanci čine 98.1% ukupne populacije Japana. Većina ljudi u zemlji istog su podrijetla, prema tome postoji samo nekoliko nacionalnih manjina. Jedna od najvećih manjina u Japanu su Burakumini.

Burakumini nisu etnička skupina već društvena skupina zbog toga što dijele isti jezik, državljanstvo, religiju i fizički izgled s Japancima. Oni su zapravo Japanci. To znači da Japanci nemaju poseban naziv kako zovu Burakumine i ne mogu razlikovati Japance od Burakumina ako ih vide na ulici, ako im posluže hranu u restoranu ili ih sretnu dok se voze podzemnom željeznicom. Jedan od načina kako utvrditi je li netko Burakumin je unajmljivanjem privatnog detektiva koji bi provjerio obiteljsko podrijetlo osobe u matičnim knjigama koje se stoljećima strogo čuvaju. Zbog toga je lako pratiti podrijetlo osobe putem njih. Ove se provjere provode kad nova osoba uđe u obitelj ili se zaposli u nekoj tvrtki. Mnoge obitelji i poslodavci kad saznaju za burakuminsko podrijetlo osobe ne žele tu osobu prihvatiti u svoju obitelji ili zaposliti. Drugi način za utvrđivanje je li netko burakuminskog podrijetla je ako živi u naseljima Burakumina, a najviše burakuminskih naselja smješteno je u zapadnim dijelovima zemlje.

Tko su Burakumini i zbog čega se prema njima ponašaju na ovaj način? Burakumini su u prošlosti radili sve „prljave“ poslove. Radili su kao mesari, pogrebnici, kožari, itd. Ova zanimanja postojala su dugo vremena, ali u razdoblju japanske povijesti poznatom kao Tokugawa period(1603-1867)  ta su zanimanja odvojena od ostalih i radili su ih pripadnici najnižih slojeva. Većina rituala japanskih dominantnih religija, šintoizma i budizma, izvode se „na čist način“. Predanost „čistim“ religijskim ritualima prisutna je i u nekim drugim azijskim religijama – slična je i situacija s „nedodirljivima“ i hinduizmom u Indiji. Za  vrijeme takozvane feudalne ere Japana (razdoblje Tokugawa), Burakumini su poslani u odvojena područja. Natjerali su ih da se drže podalje od ostalih kućanstava, uveden im je policijski sat i morali su nositi posebnu odjeću i posebne frizure. Zbog toga se Burakumini nisu mogli promijeniti profesiju. Za njih nije postojala šansa da postanu samuraji, nisu mogli zasnovati obitelj s ljudima koji nisu burakuminskog podrijetla i nisu se mogli preseliti u druga područja.

Burakumini su bili premješteni u odvojena područja u vrijeme razdoblja Tokugawa, a to je trajalo sve do razdoblja Meiji (1868-1912). 1871. godine su dobili mogućnost izbora i priznat im je isti položaj pred zakonom. Iako je „Edikt o emancipaciji“ usvojen, nije mnogo učinjeno kako bi se pomoglo Burakuminima s integracijom u društvo gotovo kroz čitavo razdoblje Meiji.   

Nakon razdoblja Meiji, u vrijeme Taisho i ranog Showa razdoblja (1912-1945), 1922. godine uspostavljena je Nacionalna organizacija za jednakost za borbu protiv diskriminacije Burakumina. Udruga se usmjeravala na istraživanje slučajeva diskriminacije u vladinim institucijama, školama, vojsci i policiji. Za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata udruga je prestala djelovati zbog ratnih zbivanja. Nakon Drugog svjetskog rata, udruga se ponovno pojavila 1946., ali ovaj put pod nazivom „Nacionalni odbor za oslobođenje Burakumina“. 1955. godine odbor je preimenovan u „Ligu za oslobođenje Burakumina“. Pokret se nastavio, a radilo se na suzbijanju diskriminacije protiv Burakumina. Pokušavalo se natjerati državna tijela da preuzmu odgovornost za kontinuitet predrasuda prema Burakuminima. Iako je Japan nakon Drugog svjetskog rata doživio značajan gospodarski rast, i dalje nije mnogo toga napravljeno da se pomogne Burakuminima.

Tek su 1969. godine japanske vlasti kreirale poseban Zakon za poboljšanje životnih uvjeta Burakumina i osiguravanje boljeg obrazovanja. Ovo i dalje nije spriječilo diskriminaciju Burakumina i nemogućnost dosezanja najviših pozicija u društvu. U Japanu se najveći skandal dogodio u isto vrijeme kad je Barack Obama izabran za predsjednika SAD-a. Naime, Amerika je izabrala svog prvog afroameričkog predsjednika, a u isto vrijeme Japan je mogao dobiti svog prvog premijera Burakumina, Hiromu Nonaka…Međutim, ovo se nije dogodilo. Taro Aso, koji je kasnije postao japanskim premijerom, za vrijeme zatvorenog sastanka prije izbora postavio je pitanje: „Hoćemo li stvarno dopustiti da nam Burakumin vodi državu?“ Iako je Taro Asova opaska smatrana diskriminirajućom spriječila je da Hiromu Nonaka postane premijerom. Nakon Drugog svjetskog rata Hiromu Nonaka imao je šansu sakriti svoje burakuminsko podrijetlo tako da nestane i da ga se službeno proglasi mrtvim, a onda se preseli u drugi dio Japana, promijeni ime i tamo započne novi život. Međutim, on je odlučio da to neće napraviti, a umjesto toga izgradio je političku karijeru koja se brzo uspinjala jer se pokazao vrlo inteligentnim. Nakon što se saznalo za njegovo burakuminsko podrijetlo, on je odlučio da neće kandidirati za poziciju premijera jer su informacije o njegovom podrijetlu utjecale na njegovu obitelj. Rođaci njegove žene su se distancirali, a on nije htio da njegova obitelj i dalje ispašta.

Ipak, postoje i još neki sjajni primjeri uspjeha Burakumina osim Hiroma Nonaka. Jedan od najuspješnijih svjetskih modnih lanaca trgovine „Uniqlo“ osnovao je Burakumin Tadashi Yanai. Tadashi Yanay živio je u malom selu gdje je njegov otac bio vlasnik trgovine. Ugledajući se na očev posao, Tadashi Yanay izgradio je svoj uspješni biznis s prodavaonicama u mnogim zemljama svijeta. „Uniqlo“ je jedna od najkonkurentnijih modnih trgovina. Drugi značajni Burakumini uspjeli su kao glumci, pisci, političari, itd.

Nakon što je usvojen Zakon iz 1969., škole sa značajnim brojem Burakumina počele su obrazovati učenike o važnosti jednakosti. Štoviše, reforma obrazovnog sistema je zapravo i uspjela u školama. Djeca Burakumini su se tamo osjećali sigurno, ali i dalje je postojao problem izvan škole. S diskriminacijom su se susretali dalje od školskih objekata, na primjer kad bi obitelji druge djece učile o podrijetlu Burakumina to bi najčešće dovelo do hladnog ignoriranja Burakumina. Međutim, reforma je bila sjajna prilika za obrazovanje i Burakumini su tu priliku pokušavali iskoristiti što su više mogli. Naposlijetku, nemoguće je razlikovati Burakumine od ostalih Japanaca ako se ne pogleda u matične knjige ili otkrije naselje Burakumina.

Iako su radnje u smjeru poboljšanja života Burakumina poduzete, Japan je poznat po tabuiziranju svojih problema. U današnje vrijeme mladi Japanci ne govore o ovom problemu, ali diskriminacija nikad nije prestala, i dalje se pojavljuje najviše među starijom populacijom i najviše u zapadnim regijama zemlje. Zbog mogućnosti obrazovanja i pristupa obrazovnim institucijama, Burakumini odlaze iz svojih naselja i raseljavaju se po čitavom Japanu u potrazi za boljim životom. Međutim, problem i dalje ostaje. Stariji Burakumini u naseljima žive u siromašnim socioekonomskim krugovima, mnogo ljudi iz starije generacije nije imalo priliku obrazovati se, a prema tome nemaju ni potrebne vještine za pronalaženje dobrog posla. Zbog toga se mnoge od njih povezuje s kriminalom, nasiljem, trgovinom droge, prostitucijom, itd.

Neka naselja Burakumina dobivaju pomoć vlade. Sirotinjske četvrti zamijenjene su novim stanovima s boljim komunalnim sustavom. Socijalna pomoć je također dostupna za one koji ju trebaju. Zakoni su usmjereni na zaštitu Burakumina. Japanski nacionalna televizija objavio je članak u rujnu 2021. u kojem izvještavaju o izdavaču koji je kažnjen s 4.8 milijuna jena (otprilike 37000 eura) jer je htio objaviti knjigu s adresama naselja Burakumina. Sudac je izjavio da je to čin diskriminacije protiv Burakumina i zabranio je objavu knjige. Mnogi Burakumini i dalje skrivaju svoje podrijetlo. Iz autobusa izlaze nekoliko stanica prije kako njihovi prijatelji i kolege ne bi vidjeli da žive u naseljima Burakumina. Sve do danas, neki Burakumini sklapaju brakove sa strancima jer Japanci ne žele prihvatiti Burakumine u svoje obitelji.

Japan u 21. stoljeću i dalje ne može u potpunosti prihvatiti ljude koji su u povijesti radili „prljave“ poslove, što je zapravo tužna stvarnost ove zemlje koja diskriminira svoje građane. Do današnjih dana neki Burakumini imaju potrebu sakriti svoje podrijetlo. Međutim, postoji prilika za ukidanjem predrasuda protiv Burakumina i nalaženjem svog mjesta u društvu kroz obrazovanje koje omogućuje vlada.

Photo via https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Fukuoka_Prefecture_Buraku_Liberation_Center_20170603.jpg

Japan is situated on the eastern part of Asia, consisting of four main islands. As it is an archipelago, the country is isolated from the closest continent which is Asia. Being a remote nation, Japan’s ethnicity consists of 98.1% of Japanese people. Most of the people in the country are of the same origin, so there are very few minorities. One of the biggest minorities in Japan are Burakumin.

Burakumin are not an ethnic group, but rather social, as they share the same language, citizenship, religion and physical appearance with Japanese - they are for a fact Japanese. This means that Japanese people don’t have a way of telling Burakumin from non-Burakumin if they see a person on the street, if they are served food in a cafe or if they ride a subway… One of the ways to distinguish a Burakumin is to hire a private investigator to run a background check by going through family registry books, which are strictly kept for centuries, so it is easy to trace one’s ancestry through them. Usually these checks are conducted when a new person enters a company or a family. When finding out about Buraku ancestry, many families and employers tend to shut down and not accept a Buraku person into their lives or companies. Another way to know if a person is Buraku is if he lives in a Buraku settlement, most of which are situated in the western parts of the country.

So who are Burakumin and why are they treated that way? Burakumin people used to perform all the ‘polluted’ jobs stigmatized by death such as butchers, leather workers, funeral servers, etc. These occupations existed for a long time, but they were first defined and casted away during Tokugawa period (1603 - 1867) of Japanese History because most of the rituals of Japanese dominating religions Shinto and Buddhism were supposed to be performed ‘cleanly’. The commitment to ‘clean’ religious rituals can be traced through some other Asian religions – a similar story happened with the ‘untouchables’ and Hinduism in India. During the so-called feudal era of Japan (Tokugawa period) Burakumin were sent away to segregated areas - they were forced to keep away from other households, had to live by special curfew and their appearance was regulated by special clothing and hairstyles. Because of that Burakumin people could not shift to any other occupation, there was no way for a Buraku person to be a samurai, he could not start a family with people other than Buraku and could not move to any other areas.

Buraku people were casted away throughout all the Tokugawa period up until the Meiji period (1868 - 1912) of Japanese History, when in 1871 they were emancipated and granted equal rights to the law. Although the Emancipation Edict was passed, not much was done to help Buraku people integrate into society for almost entire era.

After Meiji period during Taisho and Early Showa period (1912 - 1945) of Japanese History, a National Levelers Association was established in 1922 to fight against discrimination against Burakumin. The group focused on researching the discrimination in governmental institutions, schools, military and police. During WWII the alignment stopped operating due to ongoing war issues. After WWII the organization reappeared as a National Committee for Buraku Liberation in 1946, which was renamed in 1955 to Buraku Liberation League. The movement continued working against Buraku discrimination, trying to make governmental entities accept responsibility for continuing prejudice against Buraku. Even though after WWII Japan experienced a significant economic growth, still not much was implemented to help Buraku people.

Only in 1969 Japanese authorities created a special Law to improve living conditions of Buraku and provide an access for better education. This yet doesn’t prevent Buraku discrimination of reaching top positions at work. The biggest scandal happened in Japan at the same time as Barack Obama was elected president of the US. Together with the US having the first black president, Japan could have had their first Buraku Prime Minister Hiromu Nonaka… However, this didn’t happen. Taro Aso, who later became Japan’s prime minister, during the closed meeting prior to elections, raised a question: “Are we really going to let a Burakumin origin lead our country?” Although Taro Aso’s remark was found discriminatory, the comment still kept Hiromu Nonaka from becoming a prime minister. After WWII Hiromu Nonaka had a chance to hide his Buraku ancestry by disappearing and being declared dead, so he could take a new name and move to another part of Japan to start a different life there. Nevertheless, he decided not to do that, instead he made a career in politics, which was going up fast because he showed his high intelligence. After the light was shed to his Buraku origin, he decided not to aim for the top post as a prime minister, because the information about his origin already affected his family - his wife’s relatives became cooler, so he didn’t want his family to suffer further.

Nevertheless, there are some brilliant cases of Buraku success other than a politician Hiromu Nonaka. One of the world’s most popular fashion retail stores ‘Uniqlo’ was founded by Tadashi Yanai - a Burakumin. Mr. Yanai lived in a small village, where his father owned a store. Looking at his father’s work, Tadashi Yanai built his own successful business with retail stores in many countries of the world making “Uniqlo” one of the highest competitive fashion retailers. Other notable Burakumin succeeded in being actors, writers, politicians, etc.

After the 1969 Law passed, schools with a significant number of Buraku people started to educate students on the importance of equality. Moreover, the education system actually succeeded at schools - Buraku children felt safe there, but the problem still existed outside. Buraku schoolchildren met discrimination away from school facilities – for example when families of other children were learning about Buraku origin, most of the time it lead to cold ignorance of Burakumin. Nevertheless, there was a great opportunity for education and Buraku people tried to use it as much as possible. After all, there is no way of designating Burakumin from other Japanese if you don’t look into the family books or discover a Buraku settlement.

Although actions have been made towards improving Burakumin’ lives, Japan is known for tabooing it’s problems. Today young people of Japan don’t address the issue, but the discrimination is remembered and continues to occur mostly among older generation and mostly in western regions of the country. Having the ability to use educational institutions, Buraku people tend to leave their settlements and spread all over Japan in a search for a better life. However, the problem remains - older special Buraku settlements’ inhabitants are living in the low socio-economic circles, not many people of older generation had an opportunity to get education, so they don’t have skills to get a decent job, that’s why many are stereotyped with crime, violence, drug dealing, prostitution and etc.

Some Buraku settlements have received government funding - the slums were replaced with new apartments with better communal facilities. Social welfare is also available for those in need. Laws are working to protect Burakumin - a Japanese media NHK published an article in September 2021 reporting a publisher getting a fine of 4,8 million yen (approximately 37,000 euros) for considering publishing a book with addresses of Burakumin settlements. The judge stated that this was an act of discrimination against Burakumin, so he forbid the book from being published. Still many Buraku people are hiding their origin - they tend to get off buses several stops earlier so their friends and colleagues don’t see them in Buraku settlements. To this day, some Buraku people tend to marry foreigners, because other Japanese don’t want to accept Buraku into their families.

XXI century Japan cannot fully accept their people who historically worked in ‘dirty’ professions, which brings a sad notion to the country who discriminates against its own people. Up to these days, some Buraku people live with an urge to hide their identity. Nevertheless, there is an opportunity to escape the prejudice against Buraku and find a place in life through education that is provided by the government.