Studies in Critical Social Sciences338 Buraku, Capitalism and the State Japan

This book analyses the (re)construction of Buraku people in modern and contemporary Japan. Burakumin are Japanese but not regarded as Japanese. This book shows how state and capitalism, through invisible discrimination, created the plight of the Burakumin. Applying universal themes, this book analyses the discrimination faced by and the (re)construction of the Buraku people during Japan’s modernization. State and capital have created the ongoing plight of the Buraku. This book demonstrates that Buraku discrimination has been a springboard for domination, both during and after Japan’s colonial rule in Asia and has been an important function of governance in Japan. Buraku discrimination is reproduced in both cities and towns, forcing many Buraku people to suffer silently. To combat this situation, there are Buraku resistance movements, studied in depth here.