Japan's Minorities
Subtitle: The Illusion of Homogeneity (Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series)
Publisher: Routledge
Published: January 15, 1997
Language: eng
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780415130080
First sentence: Nationalism are rarely consistent in content; what remains permanent are their bases in national consciousness.
Description: Despite a master narrative of cultural and racial homogeneity, Japan is home to diverse populations. In the face of systematic exclusions and marginalization, minority groups have consistently challenged the subordinate identities imposed by the Japanese majority. Japan's Minorities addresses a broad range of issues associated with the six principal minority groups in Japan: Ainu, Burakumin, Chinese, Koreans, Nikkeijin, and Okinawans.

The contributors to this volume show how an overarching discourse of homogeneity has been deployed to exclude the historical experience of minority groups in Japan. The chapters provide clear historical introductions to particular groups and place their experiences in the context of contemporary Japanese society.