Link: http://ballz.ababa.net/uninvited/burakumin.htm

Ever hear about the Burakumin? No? They are one of Japan's most discriminated against minority groups, but I never heard of them before today. This is strange because there are apparently over 2 million Burakumin in Japan. In some areas, Burakumin hold a majority; they account for over 70 percent of all residents of Yoshikawa in Kochi Prefecture. In Oto in Fukuoka Prefecture, they account for over 60 percent.

The word burakumin ("People of the Hamlet") refers to Japan's traditional "unclean" caste, also known as "Eta" ("abundant pollution") and "Hinin" ("non-human").


During the Tokugawa Period, they were forced to live in separate villages and perform society's dirty jobs, including grave digging, butchery, executions, and making tatami floor mats.
2% of Japanese people are buraku, and although they are racially identical to other Japanese people, discrimination is rampant. Caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and prejudice, many people are forced to invent "clean" family histories.


The class was officially abolished in the Emancipation Act of 1871, but it's common for an employer to check an applicant's background for buraku heritage.



Protective parents, worried about having sullied grandchildren, often hire private detectives to make sure their child's potential spouse doesn't have any buraku or Korean blood.

I wanted to include a photo of a group of Burakumin, but there doesn't seem to be any on the web. It's almost like they don't even exist. Maybe they are just too poor to afford Internet access.