Japan's Outcaste Youth: Education for Liberation

by Gordon,June A.

• ISBN13: 9781594515613
• ISBN10: 1594515611
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-06-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Japan's attempt to project to the world an image of solid middle-class national identity is challenged by the Burakumin, an outcaste group of indigenous Japanese citizens who have been subjugated for centuries to political, economic, and religious discrimination. In the 1960s the efforts of this group and its supporters led to a 40-year national program of economic aid and educational programs designed to move these people out of poverty and increase life options. These programs, recently terminated, have left the Burakumin and other marginalized groups uncertain of their future. Based on ten years of ethnographic inquiry, Gordon's book explores the views of educators and activists caught in this period of transition after having their lives and careers shaped by the political demands of a liberation movement dedicated to achieving educational equity for the Burakumin and their disadvantaged neighbors. Gordon provides the context of the efforts to achieve the human rights of the Burakumin and the complexity of their identity in a Japanese society struggling with economic and demographic globalization.

Author Biography

June A. Gordon is an Associate Professor of international and comparative studies in the Department of Education at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
The Burakumin	p. 1
Who Are the Burakumin?	p. 2
Taboo Research	p. 5
Hiroshima 1998	p. 5
Questioning Existence	p. 6
Marginalized Youth as a Starting Point	p. 7
The Research Process	p. 8
History and Politics of Liberation	p. 15
Historical Context	p. 16
Invisibility and Identity	p. 18
Political Context	p. 20
Special Measures Legislation	p. 23
The End of Special Measures	p. 24
Dowa Kyoiku: Education for Liberation	p. 26
Teachers of Dowa Education	p. 28
The End of Dowa Education	p. 30
Access and Trust	p. 34
Entering Ikeda's Network	p. 34
The Teachers	p. 37
Schools as Historical Sites of Struggle	p. 57
Matsubara High School	p. 57
Nunose Elementary School	p. 65
Educators for Liberation	p. 69
The Asaka Community	p. 69
Mr. Maruyama	p. 71
Dowa Teachers	p. 73
Invisible and Silent: The Burakumin of Kanto	p. 79
East/West Divide	p. 79
Gaining Access in Kanto	p. 80
A New Lens on Marginalization	p. 86
Return to Kansai	p. 86
Abiko Minami Junior High School	p. 87
Immigrants in the Buraku	p. 94
Voices of Experience	p. 98
Diversity in the Buraku	p. 109
Official Visits	p. 109
Performing Diversity	p. 111
Korean Japanese and the Buraku	p. 122
Shifting Priorities	p. 122
A Zainichi Majority School	p. 123
Reflections of Educators for Human Rights	p. 128
The Effects of Changing Policies	p. 132
Return to Abiko	p. 132
Three Elementary Schools	p. 133
Adapting to a New Era	p. 137
Burakumin Educators	p. 139
Corruption	p. 140
Privatization	p. 142
Conclusion	p. 144
References	p. 149
About the Author	p. 160
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