When a member of a minority group accepts and internalizes negative definitions ascribed by the majority society, a social movement organization must build a sense of pride in membership as a central part of movement actions. For the burakumin in Japan, an ethnically Japanese yet discriminated-against minority group, The Buraku Liberation League (BLL, the largest social movement organization for the rights of the burakumin) seeks to build a collective identity and a sense of pride in membership and, at the same time, challenge majority discrimination and prejudice. Denunciation tactics used by the BLL throughout the postwar period, however, have acted to discourage open engagement by members of the majority society. In an attempt to reframe buraku issues, this paper argues that by using culturally accepted symbols of a community festival to increase awareness and encourage membership, the BLL shapes the discourse surrounding buraku issues and frames them as “safe” and approachable by all.

Christopher Bondy recieved an M.A. in Asian Studies with a concentration on Japan and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Hawaii. Prior to joining the faculty at DePauw University, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. His research centers on education, identity, and social movements, and he has spent several years living and working in buraku districts in Japan and several schools that serve them.