Declaration
Tokushu Burakumin(*1) throughout the country: Unite!
Long-suffering brothers(*2)! Over the past half century, the
movements(*3) on our behalf by so many people and in such varied
ways have yielded no appreciable results. This failure is the
punishment we have incurred for permitting ourselves as well
as others to debase our own human dignity. Previous movements,
though seemingly motivated by compassion, actually corrupted
many of our brothers. Thus, it is imperative that we now organize
a new collective movement to emancipate ourselves by promoting
respect for human dignity.
Brothers! Our ancestors pursued and practiced freedom and
equality. They were the victims of base, contemptible class policies
and they were the manly(*4) martyrs of industry. As a reward
for skinning animals, they were stripped of their own living
flesh; in return for tearing out the hearts of animals, their
own warm human hearts were ripped apart. They were even spat
upon with ridicule. Yet, all through these cursed nightmares,
their human pride ran deep in their blood. Now, the time has
come when we human beings, pulsing with this blood, are soon
to regain our divine dignity.(*5) The time has come for the victims
to throw off their stigma. The time has come for the blessing
of the martyrs' crown of thorns.
The time has come when we can be proud of being Eta.(*6)
We must never again shame our ancestors and profane humanity
through servile words and cowardly deeds. We, who know just how
cold human society can be, who know what it is to be pitied,
do fervently seek and adore the warmth and light of human life
from deep within our hearts.
Thus is the Suiheisha(*7) born.
Let there be warmth in human society, let there be light in
all human beings.
March 3, 1922(*8) The Suiheisha
Notes
1. Tokushu Burakumin
In Japanese 'buraku' means a village/community and 'min' means
people. 'Tokushu' means special. "Tokushu Burakumin"
therefore means "people of a special community." From
around 1900, the term came to be used deliberately by the government
in a discriminatory fashion to emphasize the perception held
by non-Buraku people that Buraku people are peculiar and lowly
in comparison to the general populous. The founders of the National
Levelers' Association, themselves Buraku people, intentionally
used "Tokushu Burakumin" with pride rather than with
self-deprecation.
2. brothers
Those suffering from Buraku discrimination were both men
and women so the term should be "brothers and sisters."
Yet the awareness of rights for women was very low in Japanese
society at this time, and likewise for the founders of the National
Levelers' Association in addressing themselves primarily to Buraku
men.
3. movements
"Movements" refers to 'kaizen undo' (improvement
movements) and 'yuwa undo' (reconciliation movements) undertaken
before the founding of the National Levelers' Association. The
former were organized to improve community sanitation conditions
and social habits, such as behavior and language usage of Buraku
people, and the latter were organized in order to try to achieve
societal integration for, and reconciliation with, Buraku people.
The founders of the National Levelers' Association severely criticized
the nature of both such movements, because they sensed these
movements were motivated by benevolent charity instead of an
actual desire to promote the attainment of equality.
4. manly
Although "manly" is used to emphasize the industrial
role played by the Buraku, behind its usage lies the understanding
in Japanese society at the time which believed men were superior
to women.
5. "We human beings ... are soon to regain our divine dignity."
Until this time, some god-like transcendent power was thought
to be absolute and the object of worship for humans, but from
this time forth, the time has come for humans themselves to replace
such divine power, to be respected as beings who have unlimited
potential.
6. Eta
This highly discriminatory term, meaning full of filth, came
to be commonly used in the caste-like class system of Japan's
Edo period (AD1603-1867), and was continued to be used into modern
times with regard to Buraku. The founders of the National Levelers'
Association protested strongly against its use in society; however,
to fellow Buraku people, they emphasized that being Eta was something
to be proud of.
7. Suiheisha
The word 'suihei,' meaning horizontal or level, is employed
as a call to realize a society that is uniformly even and without
discrimination. As an association for such aims, the name Suiheisha
('sha' means association) was used. At the time, the term was
synonymous with autonomous Buraku liberation organizations. "National,"
prefectural or district proper names, were placed at the front
of the term as appropriate.
8. March 3, 1922
The original text indicates the founding date only as "March,
Taisho 11." "Taisho"(AD1912-1926) was the era
named after the then-Emperor Taisho following the Japanese tradition
of naming eras based on the emperor system. In alignment with
the international custom of using Christian dating, we have chosen
in this translation "1922" and included the date when
the Declaration was made, March 3, in order to emphasize the
importance of the actual founding of the National Levelers' Association.
