About the Difficulty of Living within a Boundary

Abstract

The significant change in Japanese society brought about by rapid economic growth since 1960, and the implementation of countermeasures against the discrimination of the Buraku and the Buraku people have drastically changed the Buraku. There has now caused a growing tend among people to move out of the Buraku or move into the “general zone.” Nowadays, most people hardly recognize who are the Buraku people.

Not too long ago, a female high school student killed herself because of discrimination in October 1991. She was part of the Buraku people, although she was born and raised in the “general zone.” Why did she experience Buraku discrimination? Moreover, why did she resort to suicide? Administrators in Hiroshima spent two and a half years to compiling “The General Report on the Discrimination Case about Marriage by a Junior High School Teacher;” however, they ultimately could not determine why she killed herself.

Nearly 30 years after her death, there has been an increasing number of people living within boundaries. That is why I am convinced that it would be meaningful to try to understand the difficulty of living under such conditions.

This paper seeks to logically prove that she was discriminated against, and to identify the difficulties of living within a boundary that she faced by examining “The General Report.” which is the only existing official public document attributing her death to discrimination.

In addition, this paper aims to clarify the types of identities that people who live within a boundary form, and the various difficulties they face.