Japan's Minorities: The illusion of homogeneity (The University of Sheffield/Routledge Japanese Studies Series)

I read this book as an undergrad, and was impressed overall with the clarity and sensitivity of the writing. Though I admit to being less than interested in some of the topics covered, and to being somewhat cold to the loads of statistical data brought in in some places, I especially find now that Michael Weiner's introduction and chapter on "The Invention of Identity," and Millie Creighton's excellent article "Soto Others and Uchi Others" reverberate more with time. Weiner provides a great summary of the history of the making of "Japan" as we think of it today, and I find myself going back to it often as I read other books.

Based on original research, Japan's Minorities provides a clear historical introduction to the formation of individual minorities, followed by an analysis of the contemporary situation.

This second edition identifies and explores the six principal minority groups in Japan: the Ainu, the Burakumin, the Chinese, the Koreans, the Nikkeijin and the Okinawans. Examining the ways in which the Japanese have manipulated historical events, such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the contributors reveal the presence of an underlying concept of ‘Japaneseness’ that excludes members of these minorities. The book addresses key themes including:

• the role of this ideology of ‘race’ in the construction of the Japanese identity


• historical memory and its suppression


• contemporary labour migration to Japan


• the three-hundred year existence of Chinese communities in Japan


• mixed-race children in Japan


• the feminization of contemporary migration to Japan.

Still the only scholarly examination of issues of race, ethnicity and marginality in Japan from both a historical and comparative perspective, this new edition will be essential reading for scholars and students of Japanese studies, ethnic and racial studies, culture and society, anthropology and politics.

Booknews

Contributions to this volume show how an overarching discourse of homogeneity in Japan excludes the historical experience of minority groups, including the Ainu, the Burakumin, the Chinese, Koreans, the Nikkeijin, and the Okinawans. Each of the eight chapters provides a historical introduction to a particular group and places their experiences in the context of contemporary Japanese society. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Based on original research, Japan's Minorities provides a clear historical introduction to the formation of individual minorities, followed by an analysis of the contemporary situation.

This second edition identifies and explores the six principal minority groups in Japan: the Ainu, the Burakumin, the Chinese, the Koreans, the Nikkeijin and the Okinawans. Examining the ways in which the Japanese have manipulated historical events, such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the contributors reveal the presence of an underlying concept of ‘Japaneseness’ that excludes members of these minorities. The book addresses key themes including:

• the role of this ideology of ‘race’ in the construction of the Japanese identity
• historical memory and its suppression
• contemporary labour migration to Japan
• the three-hundred year existence of Chinese communities in Japan
• mixed-race children in Japan
• the feminization of contemporary migration to Japan.

Still the only scholarly examination of issues of race, ethnicity and marginality in Japan from both a historical and comparative perspective, this new edition will be essential reading for scholars and students of Japanese studies, ethnic and racial studies, culture and society, anthropology and politics.

Self And Other In Imperial Japan / Michael A. Weiner -- The Ainu: Indigenous People Of Japan / Richard M. Siddle -- Mixed-blood Japanese: A Reconsideration Of Race And Purity In Japan / Robert A. Fish -- Burakumin In Contemporary Japan / Ian J. Neary -- The Other Other: The Black Presence In The Japanese Experience / John Russell -- Creating A Transnational Community: Chinese Newcomers In Japan / Gracia Liu-farrer -- Multiethnic Japan And Nihonjin: Looking Through Two Exhibitions In 2004 Osaka / Eika Tai -- Zainichi Koreans In History And Memory / Michael Weiner & David Chapman -- Okinawa, Ambivalence, Identity, And Japan / Matthew Allen -- Japanese Brazilian Ethnic Return Migration And The Making Of Japan's Newest Immigrant Minority / Takeyuki Tsuda. Edited By Michael Weiner. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Figures and tables......Page 10 Contributors......Page 11 Editor’s introduction......Page 15 1 ‘Self’ and ‘other’ in imperial Japan......Page 24 2 The Ainu......Page 44 3 ‘Mixed-blood’ Japanese......Page 63 4 Burakumin in contemporary Japan......Page 82 5 The other other......Page 107 6 Creating a transnational community: Chinese newcomers in Japan......Page 139 7 Multiethnic Japan and Nihonjin: Looking through two exhibitions in 2004 Osaka......Page 162 8 Zainichi Koreans in history and memory......Page 185 9 Okinawa, ambivalence, identity, and Japan......Page 211 10 Japanese-Brazilian ethnic return migration and the making of Japan’s newest immigrant minority......Page 229 Index......Page 251 Despite a master narrative of cultural and racial homogeneity, Japan is home to diverse populations. In the face of systematic exclusions and marginalization, minority groups have consistently challenged the subordinate identities imposed by the Japanese majority. Japan's Minorities addresses a broad range of issues associated with the six principal minority groups in Japan: Ainu, Burakumin, Chinese, Koreans, Nikkeijin, and Okinawans. The contributors to this volume show how an overarching discourse of homogeneity has been deployed to exclude the historical experience of minority groups in Japan. The chapters provide clear historical introductions to particular groups and place their experiences in the context of contemporary Japanese society. Examining the ways in which the Japanese have manipulated historical memory, the contributors reveal the presence of an underlying concept of 'Japaneseness' that excludes members of the principal minority groups in Japan Provides clear historical introductions to the six principal ethnic minority groups in Japan, including the Ainu, Chinese, Koreans and Okinawans, and discusses their place in contemporary Japanese society. Nationalism are rarely consistent in content; what remains permanent are their bases in national consciousness.