Burakumin

The burakumin (部落民, 'hamlet/village people') are a social grouping of Japanese people descended from members of the feudal class associated with kegare (穢れ, 'impurity'), mainly those with occupations related to death such as executioners, gravediggers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, and tanners. Burakumin are physically indistinguishable from other Japanese but have historically been regarded as a socially distinct group. When identified, they are often subject to discrimination and prejudice. As of 2000, there were an estimated 3 million burakumin living in the country, mostly in western Japan.

During Japan's feudal era, these occupations acquired a hereditary status of oppression, and later became a formal class within the class system of the Edo period (1603–1868). The stratum immediately below merchants comprised the hinin (literally "non-persons"), and below them the eta ("great filth"), who were together known as the senmin ("base people"). They were subject to various legal restrictions, such as being forced to live in separate villages or neighborhoods. In 1871, the new Meiji government legally abolished the feudal classes, but stigma against the former hinin and eta continued. The term burakumin came into use to refer to these people and their descendants. Some reports indicate that discrimination against burakumin in marriage and employment persists in certain regions. They are more likely to work a low-paying job, live in poverty, or be associated with the yakuza. A movement for burakumin rights began in the 1920s, and the Buraku Liberation League was founded in 1946; it has achieved some of its legal goals, including securing restrictions on third-party access to family registries. Notable burakumin include writer Kenji Nakagami and politician Hiromu Nonaka.