This handbook explores the history, culture, social challenges of Japan’s Burakumin through the multifaceted scholarship of current Buraku studies.

The handbook situates Buraku studies by examining the origins of the Burakumin, from Japan’s medieval outcaste groups and their connections and continuities into the early modern social class system of Tokugawa Japan. The chapters also explore the intersectionality of this group’s experiences across gender, class, and migration status, revealing how their voices were marginalized and their liberation efforts were entangled with colonial complicity. The post-war era experiences of the Buraku are examined, revealing the impacts of government-commissioned human rights surveys and anti-discrimination initiatives alongside stigmas present in the real estate market in Buraku areas and the impact of gentrification on these communities. Forging connections across scholarly fields and national borders the contributions creating meaningful and current collective research about Buraku studies.

Engaging with ongoing scholarly conversations within the emerging field of Buraku Studies this will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of Japanese society, history and culture.