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87

Learning About an Identity:
Schools and Buraku Youth
Christopher Bondy

Every individual has a series of identities through which he or she interacts withothers: male, female, child, parent, spouse, friend, neighbor, and numerous
others. Yet not all identities are created equal. Each identity comes withexpectations, from both the individual performing that identity and the people
with whom one interacts. These expectations from both sides affect internal andexternal understandings of how one engages the social world with that identity.
That is, there are psychological as well as social aspects to these identities. The approaches taken in this study explore internal and external understandings of what
it means to be burakumin through an examination of how youth are socialized
to engage with a buraku identity, through education, social movement organizations and community goals, and how the youth then manage that identity in the
broader society.
The creation of an identity is based on numerous interacting elements. For the youth in
this paper, I explore identity formation looking at the experiences as shaped primarily byschool. This process of creating an identity is
an ongoing, complex one. The dynamic process of attempting to create a specific identity
and the reaction of the youth themselves tothat attempt is not fixed. Finally, and perhaps
most importantly, it is through performing
these identities in organized settings that theyouths may gain the knowledge of alternative
identities. If the student knows of alternative
identities, he or she then has the knowledge andpower to interact through that identity. At thesame time, if a youth does not know of viable
alternative identities, he or she cannot interact
through them.
As identities shift over time and space, oneof the first times youth will be faced with how
to present themselves to outsiders is when the
youth move beyond the protective cocoon of

their home, community and school. It is as
they move to senior secondary school that they
will potentially encounter those who have beensocialized differently.
It is through interactions with others thata self-identity is manifested. By maintaining a
specific identity in a particular social setting,one will necessarily shift the dynamic of therelationship. Inherent in this understanding is
the reflexive nature of identity. Having choice in
identity formation by definition means knowingthat there are alternatives. These options are
ever present, though specific options changeover time and space.
The understanding of past experiences is
not limited to personal experiences alone. The
concept of a collective experience, real or symbolic, also helps to formulate an identity. These
collective experiences begin at a young age andare mediated through myths, through symbols
and through teachings by elders. Collective
experiences are shared at very early stages of

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life. From their earliest experiences in school,
students are taught about collective experiences
and taught collective behaviors. Students aretaught of a country’s or community’s myths
and histories. By learning about the past, thestudents are taught about the connections each
person has to a shared past.
Students gain awareness of the social world
and of a collective identity through the teachings in school. When the teachers talk of theburakumin experience, they are providing thestudents with an understanding of these experiences, providing the student with a historicalfoundation and historical connection with otherburakumin, in short, a collective identity. Whenthey do not talk about them, teachers are directing students toward a collective identity that is
not focused on buraku identity.
The construction of an identity is part of an
ongoing process, one that depends on interactions and preparations for future interactions.
The connection between experienced past, bothindividually and collectively, to an expected future is key in the formation of an identity. The
individual is acting with an awareness of pastexperiences that form a foundation for behavior
in future experiences (Giddens, 75).
These preparations for the future are created and maintained in a specific time and place
where the preparations can be controlled. In theearly period of identity formation, an individual
is typically in a protective cocoon where risk isminimized, though not entirely eliminated. For
the youth in the communities where this study
takes place, the protective cocoon is structured,
based on the organization of the education
system in Japan. Based on the education structure, interactions with outsiders are kept toa minimum. Once youth leave the protectedworld of the junior secondary school (the endof compulsory education), the probability ofrisk, of interacting with their buraku identity
and the reaction from others, rises dramatically(Giddens, 40).

As we shall see, when the students movefrom the protective cocoon of their experiencesin the community and sense of self at the endof junior secondary school, they face risk, therisk inherent in a new situation for which theymust reflexively restructure their identity. How
the individual reacts to the risk experience willthen reshape the self. The reshaped identity, as
part of the biography of the self, is changed for
future experiences.
How do people then manage a buraku identity? What techniques are used to engage or not
engage, with buraku issues? One method is to
openly embrace being burakumin.

LocationsThis paper is part of a broader study which
examines the quite different values and approaches taken to buraku identity in two
junior secondary schools in two communities.
This paper centers on the experiences of youth
in the town of Takagawa, a community witha strong Buraku Liberation League (BLL)
presence, which approaches buraku issues in avery open and engaging manner. I was always
encouraged to talk about buraku issues here,
and buraku concerns always took a central partin town actions.

Interviews
I had decided to focus specifically on junior secondary school students for a numberof reasons. To begin with, I wanted to focus
on students’ experiences in a localized setting
within the protective cocoon that the closed,
protected world junior secondary school can
provide. Further, because junior secondary
school is the end of compulsory education,
once they graduate, the students will leave thislocalized setting, moving on to interactions
with students and teachers who have vastly dif-

Learning About an Identity: Schools and Buraku Youth  89

ferent experiences than they have. The reason
I focused on third-year students was twofold: I
wanted to talk with the students at a particular
moment in time, the time where they are looking forward to life outside the community whilestill being in the community.

SchoolThis section explores the process of theconstruction and formation of a buraku identity as it takes place within the school. Schools
have a dual form of legitimacy: they legitimize
the power of the nation through laws regulating national curriculum and laws requiring
attendance. They also legitimize the power ofthe local community through how they engage
issues important to the community they serve.
How do schools engage with issues when thelocal and national perspectives are different? I
argue that the lessons of the school, both direct
and indirect, are situated within the protective
cocoon and help shape the understanding ofidentity. Further, I argue that when the interests of the nation and the interests of the local
community coincide with how they deal withburaku issues, students respond to the teachingsin school with little or no internal conflict. Yet,when national and local views on buraku issues
do not match, the students recognize these differences and learn the first steps toward how the
youth engage with their buraku identity.
Youth, both burakumin and non-burakumin, spend the majority of their structured timein school. The manner in which the broader
society, community, and subsequently schools,
approach buraku issues will affect how youth
understand buraku issues and buraku identity.
When there is consensus between school lessons
and the broader social world, the students findlittle concern or internal conflict. However,when there is disjuncture between the two, thestudents learn what is necessary to navigate thesocial terrain.

Takagawa Town
Takagawa is a town of three thousand people, with the buraku and non-buraku populations roughly evenly divided, with just over one
thousand nine hundred residents of the buraku
district, and just over one thousand eight hundred in the non-buraku district. There is one
junior secondary school in Takagawa, and oneclass per grade.
At the main entrance to Takagawa JuniorHigh School sits a small pond with a stonemonument, engraved with the final words of thedeclaration of the Suiheisha “人の世に熱あれ、人間に光りあれ”(Let there be warmth among
humanity and light among people). After
entering, the students, just as in thousands ofjunior secondary schools like this, are required
to change shoes to their officially designatedindoor school shoes. A fish tank, posters announcing an upcoming national English test
and a framed declaration from the town line
the walls. The framed declaration is of interest.
The declaration calls the reader’s attention withthe large title 部落解放宣言 (Buraku Liberation
Declaration) informing the reader that the community has dedicated itself to buraku issues.
On entering, the students will walk past theoffice, noting any new or important information
for the day on the chalkboard. The information
posted here also informs students of changes inclub activities. Permanent sections on the board
include first, second and third year information,club names and information on the Kodomo
Kai [Students Club] (a jointly sponsored BLL
and school evening program for students). Outside the door to the staff room is a newspaper
stand with children’s versions of national newspapers and the Kaiho Shinbun, a nation-wide
weekly newspaper of the BLL. Posters line thewall opposite the chalkboard, promoting goodhygiene, national parks and one that describes
the struggles of the Sayama Incident.1
Classes in Takagawa Junior Secondary
School center on buraku issues as well. In Janu-

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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIAN SCHOOLS

ary, a special guest came to the third year class totalk about marriage discrimination. Mrs. Fujita,a primary school teacher from a neighboring
town, came to talk with the students about her
personal experiences with marriage discrimination. Not from a buraku district herself, Mrs.
Fujita married a man from a buraku district.
Throughout the presentation by Mrs. Fujita,
the students listened intently. A few even passed
tissues back and forth, wiping away tears. Mrs.
Fujita’s presentation clearly had an effect on
the students. One student, a non-burakumin,
noted that by having Mrs. Fujita talk to thestudents about her own experiences, rather thansomething historical, it seemed much more real
to her. Another girl described her reaction to
the presentation,
Whenever we would have class about discrimination, I would think ‘oh yuck’ again and again. I
always felt like no matter how much I would do,
discrimination was just there. But, after the talk,I realized that I can do something. My father isburakumin, but my mother isn’t. They’ve nevertalked about it, but if they hadn’t overcome it, I
wouldn’t be here.

In February, six students from the BLL run
literacy class (with an average age well over seventy years) came to speak with the first year students. The elderly, when young, had attended
Bunkyojo, a place of education for burakumin
students. In attending these schools, the young
burakumin studied a separate curriculum thanthose of other Japanese students of the day(This was all under the pre-war educational
system).
Though I was not able to attend the classes
when the current third-year students were in
their first year, I did attend a class with thecurrent first-year students. While the specificquestions were different, the stories and experiences the elderly told the junior high students
remained the same over the years. All the elderly
guests told the first-year students the reasons

they had left school, including poverty, a lackof encouragement from family, and a lack of encouragement from the school. As Mr. Uehara
told the students,
I had to leave school when I was seven andwent to work in the port… We didn’t have ourown textbooks. We had to use a book that was
somebody else’s, if they had one. Of course thismade studying very hard.

Mrs. Yoshimi continued, explaining that
she had to go to school with her younger sisteron her back. Whenever the baby would cry,Mrs. Yoshimi would have to leave the class. It
was just a matter of time, she explained, thatthe teacher told her not to come back. Mrs.
Uehara echoed this,
There were six kids in my family, and my motherdied when she was 40. I had to stay home andtake care of my brothers and sisters. Because ofthis, I couldn’t stay in school. Even when I went,
I had to use a slate to practice kanji [Chinesewriting]. I couldn’t afford a notebook.

The relationship between past and present,
official national history and the reformulationof local history, is not exclusive to Takagawa(Allen, 2002). By learning of past experiences,
the students at Takagawa are presented withan alternate form of legitimacy in learning. By
their presentation in textbooks, information andfacts take on legitimacy. Yet for the burakumin,
because their experiences tend to be missing in
textbooks, it suggests those experiences lackvalue or importance for the students. Having
adults share their experiences helps the students
learn of the collective buraku experience andhow these experiences are part of who they are,collectively and individually.
Other connections were also made between
historical forms of discrimination and local
experiences. In one class period, teachers
brought in a copy of a pre-war student record

Learning About an Identity: Schools and Buraku Youth  91

from Takagawa junior secondary school. The
social studies teacher stood in the front of theroom while the other teachers lined the side of
the classroom. The teacher began by opening afolder, showing a list of names, some with red
circles around them, others without. He asked
the students what they thought this was. Aftera few minutes of silence, he told them it wasa pre-war class list from Takagawa Junior Secondary School. The names circled in red wereof the burakumin students. This was met withcalls of “No way!” and “I don’t believe it!” fromaround the room. The teachers explained thatthe school also took part in discrimination.
Presenting actual life experiences to thestudents provides a greater sense of reality
to the students of materials covered in Kaiho(Liberation) classes. It is the “living” history,
the living experiences that give it importanceto the students.
The goal of such approaches, according
to one teacher, was “to show the students thevalue, past and present, of being burakumin.”As one student commented in response to suchclasses in school,
When the teachers taught us about their being
embarrassed about being burakumin, I thought
they were just telling us not to be like that. But
now [through classes] I was able to learn aboutburaku history and culture, and watch it unfold
before my eyes. If I hadn’t learned about thegood points in buraku history, I’d probably beashamed that I was born in a district.

Virtually all the students I interviewed from
Takagawa emphasized the importance of education in overcoming discrimination. “Througheducation we can overcome discrimination”
was repeated so often, it was clear that thisidea was one that was constantly emphasizedin the school. When I pressed them, there wasan awareness that not all took these issues as
seriously as others. One student, a girl who did

not attend the Kodomo Kai commented,
I think that with discrimination, no matter how
much burakumin study, it’s never going to end.
I’m burakumin, but in my heart I think much ofthis studying of buraku stuff is just stupid. No
matter how much we study, there are still lots ofpeople out there who will discriminate. I thinkburakumin are wasting all this time studying,when it’s those outside the buraku areas whoneed to study.

Yet other students view education not simply
as learning about burakumin history and experiences, but as providing the students with thetools necessary to combat discrimination when
they face it. A third year girl commented, “Welearn that when we see discrimination, we know
how to say something, to say ‘That’s wrong!’”
Not all the students felt this way, however. A
number of students appeared bored and uninterested in the Kaiho classes as well (it is important to note that in Takagawa, what were known
nationally as Dowa Education, were known as
Kaiho Education). During the Kaiho classes I
attended, there were a number of students who
were sleeping or passing notes to one another.
This was something that took place in all threegrade levels. Burakumin and non-burakumin
alike were among those who were openly disinterested in the materials covered in the Kaiho
classes. This lack of interest, lack of engagement, greatly troubled those who attended the
Kodomo Kai. Indeed, as Ikeda (2000) found,“If the non-burakumin students do not take
Dowa classes seriously, it has meaning to theburakumin students that they themselves are
not being taken seriously (Ikeda, 29).”
The truest test of the effectiveness of Kaiho
education comes once the students leave Takagawa Junior High. How the students react
to discrimination or a lack of awareness fromother students once they leave the confines of
Takagawa is perhaps the most telling symbol ofthe effectiveness of the Kaiho education. The

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school’s embracing of buraku issues as it does
is exceptional, for the broader society does notembrace nor engage in the concern of burakumin at anywhere near the level of Takagawa and
Takagawa Junior Secondary School.
The approach of Takagawa is telling. The
transmission of knowledge of buraku issues
is strong in Takagawa – materials covered inand out of class clearly demonstrate this. The
socialization aspect of education is importantin both schools, as is the case in junior secondary schools throughout Japan. The students in
Takagawa are socialized to be aware of buraku
issues and to take a very pro-active stance incombating discrimination. Finally, in approaching buraku issues as it did, Takagawa Junior
Secondary School clearly legitimized open discussion and confronted buraku discrimination
directly. Buraku discrimination will happen to
the students, the school warned, and the school
felt it was necessary to prepare the students
accordingly.
Discussion of buraku issues is importantin how a buraku identity is formed. For the
students, the approaches taken by the school
will act to shape an individual identity, both in
the present and when preparing for the future.
The manner in which the youth of each community deal with buraku issues in the future
will be formed through the lens of their experiences in their past. The past experience of thestudents from Takagawa is a past that embraces
buraku issues.
This section has shown that the students
from both schools are being taught, either directly or indirectly, the lessons of identity. Let
us now turn to see how the youth maintained
this identity outside the protective cocoon of
their localized experience.

Beyond the Cocoon
The third year of junior secondary school
is one of the most important times in the lifeof the youth in Japan. This year is the end ofcompulsory education and marks the culmination of an intense period of preparations forsenior secondary school entrance exams. The
question of most importance to virtually all
third-year students throughout Japan regardingthese exams is, “Will I pass?” for passing theentrance exam to a specific senior secondary
school is of great importance in where a person
will end up in society. The question was often
asked by students in Takagawa, and by students
throughout the country. This was, however,not the only concern about the future that theyouth from Takagawa would face. As the youth
moved on to senior secondary school, theywould now be interacting with people who havedifferent socialization experiences broadly, anddifferent ways of engaging with buraku issues
more specifically. When faced with competing
identities, youth will mask, deflect or deny thepotentially damaging identity, the one thatwould mark them as the most different. For theburaku youth of Takagawa, this means being
open with one’s buraku identity or choosing
not to. The exception to this is if, and only if,
one feels secure enough to expose oneself as
being different, something most teenagers areunwilling to do.

Moving on to Senior Secondary School
As the new school year begins in April,
students entering senior secondary school
throughout Japan begin a new stage in life.
They are no longer attending the closest schoolwith students from their neighborhoods. Whilesome students still attend school in the same
town, others may attend school as far away
as another prefecture. The new students withwhom they interact come to senior secondary
school from various communities, with various
experiences and understandings of numerous
social issues. This is especially important indealing with experiences related to students’Learning About an Identity: Schools and Buraku Youth  93

understanding of buraku issues. As the students
prepare to move from their protective cocoon,from their past, and move to a different social
realm, risk is inherent. The students, who up
until this time may have given little thought
to their experiences and their background, arenow confronted with having to deal with risksuch as this for the first time.

Passing on to a New Social Setting
One method often used to prevent or minimize risk is through passing. In this section,
following a discussion of passing as a tool for
managing identity, we will see that the youth
are managing their identity through a selective
openness of their buraku identity. The risks
that the students face are not always there, or
not always apparent. The students are able togo through their normal routines without any
real concern over the potential of risk. It is,however, at “fateful moments” that risk becomes apparent, where the protective cocoon
is burst. It is at these moments that the youth
must determine how to interact with others,choosing to share their buraku identity, as they
have been socialized to do, or to decide not toshare this background. This decision is not aneasy one, as there are repercussions for both
(Giddens, 114).
This tension surrounding openly sharing ones’ identity is constantly present for
all the youth who have not yet shared theirbackground, so long as they know what thealternative entails. Despite this, even if a personchooses not to share his or her background,
there is always the possibility that at any given
time, suddenly, someone else will break theprotective cocoon. This tension is always
present even if a person does not think of it
consciously. There is always the possibility
that one’s protective cocoon will burst, withpotentially life-changing consequences.
Finally, the youth are not only learning how

to engage with buraku issues in school, but asa matter of course, they are also learning how
to behave in a number of social situations fromthose around them.

The Future
Having gone through the educational andsocial settings in Takagawa, the students from
Takagawa Junior Secondary School have theknowledge to make a choice in how they present
themselves. They have learned from community
leaders, from teachers and from peers what
this will mean; they are aware of the potential
outcome of exposing oneself and one’s background, or of being exposed by others. Whatmight be simple comments from strangers or
new friends could elicit feelings of anxiety andconfusion. Questions as mundane as “Where areyou from?” or “Where did you go to school?”are not as simple as they might first appear; foreach time such a question is asked, there is anawareness and internal anxiety as to how theperson may respond upon hearing the answer.
This is not just the case for the youth; adults
from Takagawa also undergo this tension eachtime a question is asked.
I observed adults from Takagawa shifting
how they presented themselves while outside
the community, selectively sharing their background. This shift, however, runs counter towhat the youth in Takagawa are taught. They
are taught to be open with their background,
yet they see their parents and learn the lessonsof passing first hand. They have been taught inschool that they will face discrimination outsideof their protective cocoon, but in an attempt
not to mark themselves as any different fromtheir new classmates, the youth learn that there
are alternatives to sharing their background. By
not interacting with an open buraku identity,
they learn, no one will know their background,and they will able to put off openly dealing withdiscrimination until they are ready.

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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIAN SCHOOLSThe students from Takagawa Junior Secondary School may be facing moments such as
this for the first time as they move on to seniorsecondary school. The Takagawa students wererepeatedly told in junior secondary school thatthey would meet people who did not have thesame level of buraku awareness or who held
prejudicial attitudes towards burakumin. All of
the Takagawa youth I interviewed noted that
this was the case; none of their new classmates
had anywhere near the same level of awarenessof buraku issues. This means that they will, in
essence, have to face this new social situation
without the strength of others with them. As
Tetsuya, a popular boy who was active in the
Kodomo Kai noted,
In junior high, we learned how to have thestrength to challenge discrimination in highschool and beyond… but now…I don’t know…
I don’t really have the strength.

Because the students are aware of the meaning of their answers, they have the power either
to explain their background or to maintain asilence on the issue. Moments such as this,
explaining one’s background, are inherently
filled with anxiety. Midori, a girl who did notattend junior secondary school Kodomo Kai,but began to attend once she moved to seniorsecondary school commented,
One time I was talking with some friends fromhigh school, the conversation turned to scholarships. It used to be that scholarships were justfor burakumin [this was one of the parts of the
Dowa law2 that Takagawa unilaterally continued
after the expiration of the final Dowa law], andI said that I had a scholarship to attend highschool. My friends looked at me with an ‘Oh?’
expression on their faces. It was the chance for me
to tell them I am burakumin, but I just couldn’t.
The pain, the hurt inside me was terrible that I
couldn’t tell them. I just wanted to say ‘I am
burakumin,’ but I just couldn’t do it.

While some students choose to prolong theprotective cocoon, others take the opportunity
to share further. This opening of oneself – coming out – is not a decision that is reached lightly.
Once open, there is no turning back for the
youth. Other opportunities will arise for further
reinvention, as they move on to other life stages,
but as long as they remain in the same social setting, they will be labeled. Thus, a sense of deep
trust in the person or persons to whom one is
opening oneself up is necessary. The awarenessof who one is, the reflexively constructed selfidentity, will undergo a dramatic shift at such
moments. By introducing a new element, onemust then interact through this reorganizedidentity. Not all of the consequences for the
youth of Takagawa were negative. Junko’s caseprovides an alternative example of engaging insuch a fateful moment.

Junko
Junko was a class leader, both in school andin the Kodomo Kai. Students, both peers andthose in the lower grades, turned to her andalways listened to her when she spoke. On occasion, she would take charge of the Kodomo
Kai meetings, chiding those she felt were notdoing enough or were not serious enough indealing with buraku issues. She was one of
the emcees for the Open Space, a school-wide
discussion of buraku issues, and she had a longfamily history of involvement in the local BLL
branch, from her parents through her older
siblings. When she went to senior secondary
school, she chose a school nearly an hour trainride away that was well known for its English
language program. Because her school was so
far away, none of her new classmates seemed tohave any idea where Takagawa was, let alone
the connection to buraku issues.
With her background, her role in the movement and the engagement her family had withburaku issues, Junko was one of those, if notLearning About an Identity: Schools and Buraku Youth  95

perhaps the most likely, to openly maintainand interact through a buraku identity. Yet
Junko initially refrained from interacting using this buraku identity, at least with her new
friends. Despite having numerous friends anda boyfriend, she did not share her backgroundwith anyone. It was not until ten months after
she began dating her boyfriend that she finally
had the courage to tell him about her background.
She was filled with anxiety about telling him.
She had spoken at length with her parents, andthey encouraged her to do what she felt comfortable with. This was something that Junko
would have to deal with on her own. She did
not know how he would react. Would this be
the end of their relationship? Junko said she
did not want this at all, but did not want to go
on with such a big part of herself hidden fromthe one she cared about. She explained that theanxiety was almost overwhelming in knowingthat sharing a part of who she was could mean
the end of their relationship. At the same time,
she did not feel that she could continue on withhim without telling him about all of herself.
She made her decision. She explained tohim that she grew up in a buraku district, that
she was burakumin. His reaction to this confession was one of the last things that Junko
expected: “Burakumin? What’s that?” Though
he was from the same prefecture, her boyfriend
did not have any idea what this meant. She
found herself explaining what it meant to her
to be burakumin. For him, this meant little in
how they related to one another. He did not
fully know what being burakumin meant, but
he knew that he wanted to be with her.
As Junko’s story tells us, even for those who
do take this step to share their background,
it does not come without a large amount of
trepidation. Junko’s family had always taken an
active role in movement activities, and Junko
herself was one of the Kodomo Kai and classleaders. As such, she was one of the students
most prepared to take this challenge of open-

ing up to another. The response of Junko’s
boyfriend is telling. Though he was from thesame prefecture, his educational and socialization experiences were vastly different. For him,buraku issues, if talked about at all, centered on
historical events. For him not even to know ofburaku issues does not suggest that he was not
smart or showed no interest. Simply put, he wasa product of a school system that had put little,
if any, effort into engaging buraku issues.
Teachers in Takagawa repeatedly told thestudents from Takagawa that their experienceswere unique. The senior secondary schools thatthey were to attend would not engage with buraku issues at the level of their own experienceor knowledge, if they were to discuss it at all.
This was the case. As Junko noted, “when wetalk about human rights issues in high school,it’s almost always about gender issues or handicapped issues. Stuff about burakumin nevercomes up.” Miyuki, a girl who did not attend
the Kodomo Kai in junior high school, andgoes to a higher level academic senior secondary
school said, “We do talk a bit about buraku issues in high school, but nothing in comparison
to what we learned in Takagawa.”
Not only are the students from Takagawa
facing schools and schoolmates who do not
engage with buraku issues at the level of theirexperiences, many of the students are engaging
these fateful moments alone. The Takagawa
students all spoke of returning to their juniorsecondary school friends when confronted withtimes of trouble or conflict surrounding buraku
issues at their new school. The connection to
the protective cocoon remains, even after they
have moved on to a new social setting. Mana,a 20 year old from Matsushita Kazuyo’s study(2002) commented “the [district] is the mostimportant place for me. I can feel a sense of security with the social relations there. In a word,‘safety’” (p. 31). This does not mean that one
can go back to the past, however. Michiko, a
quiet girl who was active in the Kodomo Kai,talked about this.

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I can only talk about buraku issues with myfriends from Takagawa junior high school. I
don’t feel like I’m close enough to my highschool friends.

These sentiments were echoed by Yuji, aboy who periodically attended the Kodomo Kai
while in junior secondary school.
In junior high school, I could talk about anythingwith my friends, but now in high school, there area lot of things I can’t talk about. Now when I go
to the high school Kodomo Kai [in Takagawa]I can talk with my friends about how they deal
with this at their school.

This is fundamentally about trust and its
connection to security (Berger, 1992). For the
youth from Takagawa, they are not yet comfortable or satisfied with their senior secondary
school support networks. For that reason, they
are far more comfortable in returning to thesocial support at home in Takagawa with which
they are comfortable.
Matsushita (2002) also found that in timesof conflict, the burakumin youth in her study
returned to an already established social support network from their district. She poses four
reasons for this: a set of common experiences;common feelings; the same position in society;and they learn from adults in the community ofsocial networks (p. 78).
This was not just the case for the students
from the buraku district, however. For the
youth of Takagawa, these patterns hold trueand help to shape their broader experiences.
The youth share a common set of experiences,through neighborhood ties and through school
experiences, the awareness of the social position
is important for Takagawa youth. The Takagawa
youth find themselves in a similar position basedon a common buraku background.

Conclusion
The students from Takagawa have been told
about what they will face in the future. Throughcommunity values and school teachings, theyknow they will face discrimination at somestage. Indeed, they are aware that their protective cocoon does not provide real security,
immunity in this case, from facing the realityof buraku discrimination. Previous experienceswith discrimination within the district speak tothis. The protective cocoon, for the youth of
Takagawa, had been pierced even before thestudents left. Yet there is a fundamental difference between the piercing of the cocoon when
the youth are in Takagawa and when they are insenior secondary school, for the initial piercing
was confronted collectively.
The unintended consequence of structuring an identity that emphasizes the pride inbeing a burakumin and prepares the youth of
Takagawa to face the challenges of prejudice
and discrimination means that the youth can,quite simply, opt out of interacting with thisopen buraku identity, they can and many do
pass. If students choose not to discuss openly
the issue or present their identity as burakumin,
there are no negative sanctions for so doing.
No one from the community or school will be
there to challenge them or check to see if they
are openly interacting with a buraku identity.
However, if the students have learned only one
lesson regarding buraku issues, it is this: they
will face discrimination. As we have seen, forsome, coming out is not worth the risk.

Endnotes
1
	The Sayama Incident refers to the case of Kazuo
Ishikawa, a member of the buraku district in Sayama
city (Saitama prefecture), who was charged and foundguilty of murdering a female secondary school student.
Having been given a death penalty, he petitioned fora retrial on the ground that he was forced to confess
to the crime, and that there was no other evidence

Learning About an Identity: Schools and Buraku Youth  97
to prove his guilt. He also argued that the charged
was influenced by his buraku origin. The court did
not acquit him, but his sentence was changed to life
imprisonment. He was later released on parole andcontinued to fight for a retrial to obtain an acquittal.
His has filed his third appeal for retrial.
2	This refers to the 1969 Law on Special
Measures for Dowa Projects that provided support
for the improvement of the educational, housing andemployment conditions in buraku districts, and helped
to eliminate buraku discrimination.

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