Short introduction the Edo period

Short introduction the Edo period
The Edo periods were a period in the Japanese history between 1603 and 1868 when the Tokugawa clan ruled over the Japanese island. The period was later followed by the much important and turbulent Meiji period.

The so called Tokugawa shogunate under its ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu which also gave the name for the period introduced a new form of central governance which united the whole of Japan and in turn moved the real power from the Imperial family in Kyoto to the new military regimes Edo.

During the 16th century foreign traders and Christian missionaries from Portugal, Span, Holland, and England arrived but during the 17th century the Shogunate suspected the Catholic missionaries real purpose was to work for a larger invasion from Spain or Portugal and therefore banned all contact with Europeans from Catholic countries. Only a very limited outpost with Dutch traders was to be allowed by the Shogun, at the harbor in Dejima. Korean ships was granted entry to Nagasaki and the actual capital.

The isolation lasted in 251 years until the American commander Perry arrived at the Japanese shore and literally forced Japan to open itself to the wester powers through the Kanagawa convention year 1854. Within a few years of contact with the west the Japanese society was completely changed. Many historians have though tried to give a different angle to this and claims have been made that the Japanese shogunate was on its way down any way, with or without foreign intrusion.

After the so called Boshin War 1867-1868 the shogunate was forced away from power and the Emperors position was reinstated, which for most is known as the Meiji restoration. The decades that followed meant numerous changes in the political, cultural, and technological spheres. Japan needed and wanted western technology and know how to rapidly modernise to prevent a full scale colonisation of its land.

The Burakumin of Japan

Burakunin,(部落民)is a social minority group in Japan. The historical name of Burakumin is ETA,(穢多)which could be translated to dirty or similar. The Burakumin is not an ethnic race separated from the Japanese race but more like Dalis of India, an outcast social group. The Burakumin was the people who carried out the work considered dirty by the Buddhist faith, like slaughtering animals, manufacturing in skins and leather,and caring for the dead etc. Discrimination against the Burakumin is still common in Japan, and most Burakumin live in so called Burakumin areas in the cities.

The history of Asia

Good external links on the study of Asian History are the following:

http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/tm/asian.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/eastasiasbook.html#China%27s%20Disaster:%201840-1949
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/history/history_timeline.htm

Who are the Ainu

The Ainu is the original non-Japanese people on the Northern islands of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Kuriles. The word Ainu itself means “human, person” in the Ainu language. Some Ainu prefer the term Utari which means comrade. In official gatherings both terms are commonly used.

The Japanese colonization of Hokkaido during th 13th century onwards led to battles with the Ainu, and in the end of the 17th century they were completely defeated. Japanese language and customs were forced upon the Ainu. Of the so 24 000 Ainu that remains on Hokkaido there is very difficult to find someone who are 100% pure Ainu.

Very few Ainu do today practice their old religions and the language is only spoken by a hand full of individuals. Most Ainu work in the fishing industry and of the traditionally Ainu culture is only preserved in a few villages living of tourism.

Traditional Ainu clothing consist of cloth woven of tree fibers and animal skins. The clothing is decorated with geometric figures. The men have by tradition large beards and the women have mustache like tattoos around the mouth. Ainu religion is nature based religion with natural nature forces controlling the world, and one very important Ainu ritual is the sacrifice of bears. The habit of tattooing themselves and the sacrifice of bears was banned when the Ainu was defeated and occupied by the Japanese.

Koreans in Japan: Social, Economic and Citizenship issues Part 4

As a distinct ethnic group the Koreans have during the most part of the last century have to suffer from immense ethnic discrimination from the Japanese, both in their native Korea as well as immigrants to Japan. This discrimination has continued through the generations of Koreans and do affect second and third generation Japan born Koreans in various ways. In areas such as education, housing, citizen rights, recognition, and the like the Koreans have minor or no rights at all.

After the end of World War II when the Koreans where stripped of their Japanese citizenships many Koreans ended in a state of national vacuum, being no longer Japanese nor Koreans. This resulted in many years of recognition and equal rights struggle by the Koreans. Whilst other did what they could to hide their Korean background and pass as Japanese to avoid discrimination. Due to mainly domestic pressure but also to an extent international exposure the situation for the Koreans have improved immensely during the past decades.

Today a majority of Japans Koreans are so called naturalized and have adopted Japanese names to blend in into the Japanese society, whilst other send their children to ethnic Korean schools to learn about Korean culture, language, and history in order to strengthen the Korean identity. Discrimination, racism, and general suspicion against the Korean minority is still very much alive and will most likely not disappear without active work from the Korean community itself, by education, internal political pressure, as well as by the help of international human rights organizations.

No one can fully predict the future of Japans minorities including the Koreans, but looking at the development of the Korean situation one can assume that the development will progress towards increased rights and recognition for the Koreans.