From: ntetsuya@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Nishimura)
Subject: Re: Not a Myth at All
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 18:27:17 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <BzM42w.94M@unix.amherst.edu> jmfuchs@unix.amherst.edu (JESSE MICHAEL FUCHS) writes:
>	On the subject of whether or not the Japanese exhibit large-scale
>tendencies toward racism, I have one word for you all:
>
>	Burokamin.
>
>							-jesse 
	
	You mean Burakumin, don't you?

	Well, I myself do not think that the Burakumin issue is racism, but I 
	do think it is a form of discrimination.

	For those who are not familiar with the issue:
	I don't have any source in hand, so what I am writing is based on what
	I learned and read in the past, and any correction is appreciated.

	As some one in this group pointed out before, the burakumin issue does
	not have anything to do with racism in general sense.

	As I recall, the basis of the current status of the issue began in Edo
	period when the ruling class (bushi, or samurai) made up several levels
	of social classes to distinguish one level from another, which I think
	is the system similar to caste systems in India.
	
	This system is usually known as "shi-no^-ko^-sho^," which means "samurai	-farmers/peasants-craftsmen-merchants."

	Despite the fact that they were ranked the second, farmers/peasants were	actually ruled most strictly and were not even allowed to move from one
	place to another.  This is because, since the wages of samurais were
	paid in rice, which farmers produced, the ruling class needed not to 
	make the farmers complain about their treatment by saying that there
	were two more "lower" class than them.

	Turining to "sho^," or merchants.  Here again, despite the fact that 
	they were ranked the lowest in the system, some of them had more power
	and money than some samurai class people.  The merchants of course 
	complained about their being ranked the lowest sicnce they lived far
	better off than the other two classes above them.  To compensate this
	complaint, the ruling class created new two lowest classes; "eta" and
	"hi-nin."

	"Eta" was engaged basically with cattle slaguhting job, which was 
	considered unrespectful under Buddhism sicne it prohibited eating meat
	of four-legged animal.  They were not allowed to move for any reason.
	"Hi-nin," literaly "non-human," worked at execution gorunds and dealt 
	with the bodies of the executed.  Even people in the three classes of
	the system other than "shi" sometimes degraded to "hi-nin" because of
	poverty and criminal acts.

	My more-than-10-year-old history text shows the percentages of the 
	classes for a reference.  This was of Akita-han in 1849.

		class			population		%

		samurai			36,453			 9.8
		farmers/peasant	       284,384			76.4
		cho^nin *		27,852			 7.5
		priests 		 7,256			 1.9
		zatsu **	   	15,720			 4.2
		other			   489			 0.1

		total		       372,154			

		* "cho^nin" (towners/ordinary citizen) includes "ko^" and "sho^"

		** "zatsu (or zo^)" (miscellaneous) includes blind priests, 
			mine workers, and so forth.

	Obviously, "other" includes "eta" and "hi-nin."  These people were 
	prohibited to associate with any other class of people and were forced
	live in designated places, which were mostlikely outskirts of a town.

	In 1871, after the samurai society corrupted, the government stopped the 	system and canceled all civilian classes.  But the fact is, those who
	were from "eta" and "hi-nin" were still discriminated by being called
	"shin-heimin," or new ordinary people, despite others were plain "hei-
	min."  And this discrimination continues until today especially in 
	marriage, where to live, and occupation.


	Just for your reference.


					Tetsuya Nishimura
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan