Well, I'm going to let you look at
Michel's blog entry on the Burakumin in Japan - he has a great explanation of the ways in which this class of people have been discriminated against historically and currently. Two students, Aiichiro and Fumi invited Michel, Scott and I to meet with a member of the Tochigi Baraku Liberation League to learn more about this group that no one in Japan wants to acknowledge or talk about. We began with a meal of soba and tempura:
This is a picture of a river in Tochigi - don't you love how God had the foresight to bank up the sides with concrete when he created it - he did that with almost all the rivers in Japan - oh, wait (See "Dogs and Demons" for more information on Japan's concreting of nature):
This is a Buraku area that the government chose to bless with their very own electrical tower right smack in the middle of their dwellings, because it's so healthy to live that close to an electrical tower like that:
Here's another Buraku village - after creating a community with roads too narrow for emergency vehicles to pass through, the government decided to widen some of the roads. This is what the widened road looks like now:
Here's a picture of Scotto walking through one of the roads that was never widened:
Here we all are in front of the Buraku Liberation League Center:
And here we are back at Aiichiro and Fumi's. They always feed us well - here we all are after a lot of food and too much wine mixed with shochu mixed with tequila:
And here are two great shots of Michel and Scott wandering happily home after the night's festivities:
This is a picture of a river in Tochigi - don't you love how God had the foresight to bank up the sides with concrete when he created it - he did that with almost all the rivers in Japan - oh, wait (See "Dogs and Demons" for more information on Japan's concreting of nature):
This is a Buraku area that the government chose to bless with their very own electrical tower right smack in the middle of their dwellings, because it's so healthy to live that close to an electrical tower like that:
Here's another Buraku village - after creating a community with roads too narrow for emergency vehicles to pass through, the government decided to widen some of the roads. This is what the widened road looks like now:
Here's a picture of Scotto walking through one of the roads that was never widened:
Here we all are in front of the Buraku Liberation League Center:
And here we are back at Aiichiro and Fumi's. They always feed us well - here we all are after a lot of food and too much wine mixed with shochu mixed with tequila:
And here are two great shots of Michel and Scott wandering happily home after the night's festivities:
3 comments:
No wonder I kept twisting my ankles... look how I was walking! What's up with the cross-legged tight rope stance?
Ooh, soba and tempura! Some of my favourites. Is authentic Japanese cuisine as wonderful as I'm assuming it is?
It's really interesting to see the commentary about the industrial-/urban-/concrete-ization of Japan (whatever you want to call it) - I think I'll have to pick up Dogs and Demons when I'm done with finals. It's kind of odd to think that a country generally perceived abroad as economical and efficient would have so many hasty and seemingly wasteful endeavours. I guess we're not all perfect - hum, what a good lesson to take with me into exams!
Back to studying now...
Some rivers have disappeared as roads have been built over them. On the part of the Japanese, though, there is some practical purpose for concrete on the banks of rivers. Japan in years past had been victimized by massive flooding of its rivers. The extensive system of locks, dams, and concrete river banks eliminated the floods. You might still see boats hanging from under the eaves of old buildings for use when the river rises too high. Today, though, it is all part of the alliance between the politicians and construction companies. In the U.S. we support industries through defense contracts. In Japan the support goes to construction companies.
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