Voice, Silence, and Self: Negotiations of Buraku Identity in Contemporary Japan (Book)
Title: Voice, Silence, and Self: Negotiations of Buraku Identity in Contemporary Japan
Author: Christopher Bondy
Abstract: The Burakumin. Stigmatized throughout Japanese history as an outcaste group, their identity is still “risky,” their social presence mostly silent, and their experience marginalized in public discourse. They are contemporary Japan’s largest minority group—between 1.5 and 3 million people. How do young people today learn about being burakumin? How do they struggle with silence and search for an authentic voice for their complex experience? Voice, Silence, and Self examines how the mechanisms of silence surrounding burakumin issues are reproduced and challenged in Japanese society. It explores the ways in which schools and social relationships shape people’s identity as burakumin within a “protective cocoon” where risk is minimized. Based on extensive ethnographic research and interviews, this longitudinal work explores the experience of burakumin youth from two different communities and with different social movement organizations.
Year: 2015
Publisher: Harvard University Asia Center
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9780674088405
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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