77-506: A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service. Gravedigger , or variants, may also refer to: Gravedigger A gravedigger is a cemetery worker who is responsible for digging a grave prior to a funeral service . Gravediggers have historically often been members of the church, though in modern secular cemeteries, they may be temporary or full-time staff. In many cultures, gravediggers are stigmatized for their association with
154-432: A burakumin ; 4.9% of respondents, on the other hand, would actively avoid a burakumin neighbor. There is still a social stigma for being a resident of certain areas associated traditionally with the burakumin , and some lingering discrimination in matters such as marriage and employment . In many parts of the country, buraku settlements built on the site of former eta villages ceased to exist by
231-457: A Japanese term which refers literally to a small, generally rural, commune or hamlet . In the regions of Japan where the burakumin issue is much less publicly prominent, such as Hokkaido and Okinawa, buraku is still used in a non-pejorative sense to refer to any hamlet. Historically, the term buraku was used for an outcast community that was discriminated against officially and formally. A term used much for buraku settlements
308-405: A backhoe loader and other heavy equipment, which greatly increases the efficiency of gravedigging. Typically, gravediggers – at least in most Western countries – will use a wooden box to put the soil in. This box consists of several large pieces of wood that fit together, and the box is assembled next to the grave. Once the grave has been dug and the soil from the grave has been placed in the box,
385-629: A Christian burial after having killed herself. When together, the Gravediggers speak mainly in riddles and witty banter regarding death, with the first asking the questions and the second answering. GRAVEDIGGER : What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter? OTHER : The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants. and later in the scene: GRAVEDIGGER : And when you are asked this question next, say "A grave-maker". The houses that he makes last till doomsday. Soon, Hamlet enters and engages in
462-619: A certain purity of body and mind, considered working with dead animals, blood, or any sort of decaying object as polluting, and hence occupations like butchery and leather tanning were besmirched. The eta , people who held such occupations, dealt with pollution and were thus considered inferior or sub-human. However, because of their ability to deal with pollution, several myths emerged from the Heian through medieval periods about certain eta 's abilities to cleanse ritual pollution, and in some portrayals even possess magical powers. Another outcaste,
539-440: A church's sexton . In municipal and privately owned cemeteries, gravediggers may be low-paid, unskilled and temporary labourers, or they may be well-paid, trained and professional careerists, as their duties may include landscaping tasks and courteous interactions with mourners and other visitors. In some countries, gravedigging may be done by landscaping workers for the local council or local authority . A gravedigger implements
616-482: A former dōwa chiku . The predecessors to burakumin , called kawata ( かわた [ ja ] , lowly people) or eta ( 穢多 [ ja ] ) formed as a distinct group some time during the Heian period , AD 794–1185. The permeation of Buddhism into Japan in the first millennium led to the castigation of meat eating and similar activities. The Shinto and Buddhist cultures, which aimed for
693-500: A light attached. The inscription reads: DIOGENES FOSSOR, IN PACE DEPOSITVS, OCTABV KALENDAS OCTOBRIS ("the fossor Diogenes, interred in peace, the eighth day before the calends of October"). The oldest fresco of a fossor, or rather of two fossors, dates from the late second century, is in one of the Sacrament Chapels in the catacomb of St. Callistus . The figures are represented pointing toward three Eucharistic scenes,
770-541: A majority; per a 1997 report, they accounted for more than 70 percent of all residents of Yoshikawa (now Kōnan ) in Kōchi Prefecture . In Ōtō , Fukuoka Prefecture , they accounted for more than 60 percent. According to a survey performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government during 2003, 76% of Tokyo residents would not change their opinion of a close neighbor whom they discovered to be
847-405: A minimum of three feet between the top of the coffin and the surface. This allows a maximum of three coffins to be buried in the same grave, typically family members of the deceased who are buried at a later date – which is known as a re-open. Gravediggers must take care to get the proportions of a grave right, as the hole needs to be big enough for the coffin to be lowered in. Additionally, shoring
SECTION 10
#1732787689532924-400: A positive identity for the victims of discrimination, insisting that the time had come to be "proud of being eta ". The declaration portrayed the burakumin ancestors as "manly martyrs of industry" and argued that to submit meekly to oppression would be to insult and profane these ancestors. Despite internal divisions among anarchist, Bolshevik, and social democratic factions, and despite
1001-494: A public hearing before a panel of activists. Early sessions were marked by occasions of violence and kidnapping, and several BLL activists have been arrested for such acts. The legality of these sessions is still disputed, but to this date the authorities have mostly ignored them except in the more extreme cases. In 1990, Karel van Wolferen 's criticism of the BLL in his much-acclaimed book The Enigma of Japanese Power prompted
1078-406: A quick dialog with the first Gravedigger. The scene ends with Hamlet's soliloquies regarding the circle of life prompted by his discovery of the skull of his beloved jester, Yorick . The First Clown unearths Yorick's skull, prompting Hamlet to deliver the memorable lines: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy". In 1979, in what came to be called
1155-413: A reference to another of their duties, which was to exclude unauthorized persons from taking part in the liturgical celebrations held occasionally in the cemeteries in commemoration of martyrs . Representations of fossors are usually near the entrance of the subterranean cemeteries. One of Barbara Paul 's novels was titled First Gravedigger as an allusion to this scene. Gravedigging has been used as
1232-542: A theme in detective and crime fiction. Gravedigger Jones is one of two black detectives featured in the "Harlem cycle" of novels by Chester Himes . His partner in the novels is Coffin Ed Johnson and the pair are often involved in violent confrontations. The timbre of these novels is frequently mordant, and a funeral director is a recurring character. Because of their association with the subject of death , gravediggers have made notable appearances in literature. Perhaps
1309-473: A total funding of an estimated 12 trillion yen over 33 years. Cases of social discrimination against residents of buraku areas are still an issue in certain regions. Outside of the Kansai region, people in general are often not aware of the issues experienced by those of buraku ancestry, and if they are, this awareness may only be awareness of the history of feudal Japan. Due to the sensitive nature of
1386-440: A variety of tools to accomplish his primary task. A template, in the form of a wooden frame built to prescribed specifications, is often placed on the ground over the intended grave. The gravedigger may use a sod-cutter or spade to cut the outline of the grave and remove the top layer of sod . Digging the grave by hand usually requires shovels , picks , mattocks and/or other tools. Cemeteries in industrialized countries may keep
1463-403: Is dōwa chiku ( 同和地区 , 'assimilation districts') , an official term for districts designated for government and local authority assimilation projects from 1969 to 2002. The social issue concerning "discriminated communities" is usually referred to as dōwa mondai ( 同和問題 , 'assimilation issues') or, less commonly, buraku mondai ( 部落問題 , 'hamlet issues') . During the feudal era ,
1540-485: Is common in modern UK cemeteries), the wooden box is often placed in front of one or more other graves, and is seen as a nuisance to those wishing to visit graves adjacent to a grave that is due to be filled. Although the expression "six feet under" refers to the depth at which people were traditionally buried in the UK, which is believed to be a leftover precaution from the plague, the requirement now specifies that there must be
1617-577: Is currently known better as the Kaihōrei ( 解放令 [ ja ] , Emancipation Edict) . However, burakumin were deprived of the exclusive rights of disposal of dead bodies of horses and cattle. The elimination of their monopolies of certain occupations actually resulted in a decrease of their general living standards, while social discrimination simply continued. During the early Meiji era, many anti- Kaihōrei riots ( Kaihōrei-hantai-ikki ( 解放令反対一揆 [ ja ] ) ) happened around
SECTION 20
#17327876895321694-662: Is diminishing; Nadamoto Masahisa of the Buraku History Institute estimates that between 60 and 80% of burakumin marry a non- burakumin , whereas for people born during the late 1930s and early 1940s, the rate was 10%. Over the past decades, the number of marriages between burakumin and non- burakumin have increased, and opinion polls have shown a decrease in the number of Japanese willing to state they would discriminate against burakumin . Many companies were known to have used lists of buraku addresses that were developed first in 1975 to exclude
1771-455: Is often used to stop a grave from collapsing. Gravediggers must make sure that the coffin can fit through the shoring. Additionally, on the day of the back-fill and for the funeral service, typically artificial turf will be placed around the grave whilst the coffin is being lowered. In many cultures throughout history, gravediggers have been highly marginalized by their societies. In the traditional caste system of India , cemetery work has been
1848-575: The Zenkairen informed the United Nations about the alleged human rights violations committed by the BLL in the course of their "denunciation sessions" held with accused "discriminators". According to a BLL-funded think tank, when cases of discrimination were alleged, the Zenkairen often conducted denunciation sessions as fierce as those of the BLL. Nonetheless, the IMADR was designated
1925-459: The burakumin as a separate group is difficult. Burakumin parents sometimes do not tell their children about their ancestry in hopes of avoiding discrimination. Because of this, there is an increasingly large population that has no idea that others would consider them burakumin . Discrimination is primarily based on ancestry and location; someone with no burakumin ancestry may be viewed as one and discriminated against if they move to
2002-564: The burakumin . The average income of a buraku family was significantly less than the national average (60% in 1992). Cases of continuing social discrimination are known to occur mainly in western Japan, particularly in the Osaka , Kyoto , Hyogo , and Hiroshima regions, where many people, especially the older generation, stereotype buraku residents (whatever their ancestry) and associate them with squalor, unemployment and criminality. No burakumin communities were identified in
2079-460: The hinin ( 非人 , lit. ' non-human ' ) . The definition of hinin , as well as their social status and typical occupations varied over time, but typically included ex-convicts and vagrants who worked as town guards, street cleaners or entertainers. During the 19th century, the term burakumin was invented to name the eta and hinin because both classes were forced to live in separate village neighborhoods. Defining
2156-466: The kawata , were associated with the tanning industry, and had the exclusive rights to tan hides. Prior to the Edo period, these burakumin (peripatetic or settled) would live outside common population centers and maintained some socio-ethical significance, albeit negligible. They were also employed as mediators in disputes. Spatial and geographic markers played a significant role in the distinction between
2233-750: The Kanto region , the Izu Province , as well as in parts of Kai , Suruga , Mutsu and Mikawa Provinces. In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate, systemically extirpating the previous disarray in Japan wrought by rampant internecine strife and warring by daimyo , local feudal lords. He restored the power and influence of the hitherto vitiated shogun position, consolidated central authority, managed to exert control over strategically important daimyo and their fiefs and became
2310-558: The Public Security Intelligence Agency , testified in 2006 that burakumin account for about 60 percent of yakuza. As early as 1922, officials of the hisabetsu buraku organized a campaign, the "Levelers Association of Japan" ( Suiheisha ) , to advance their rights. The Declaration of the Suiheisha encouraged the burakumin to unite in resistance to discrimination, and sought to create
2387-677: The Winter of Discontent , British gravediggers and crematorium workers in Liverpool and Manchester , took industrial action for the first time. At a January strike committee meeting in the Liverpool, local convener for the General and Municipal Workers' Union (GMWU) Ian Lowes was asked if the gravediggers and crematorium workers he represented would join the large number of public sector employees already taking action. He accepted, as long as
Gravedigger (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-469: The burakumin and other members of society. Hinin , meaning 'non-human', was another pre- burakumin status, applying to certain criminals, beggars and camp followers of samurai . Their position was more mobile, and they were usually thought to be less polluted. The Tokugawa shogunate regarded beggars as hinin and allowed them to beg in designated areas. They had to work as restroom attendants , prison officers , or executioners . Within
2541-621: The burakumin were generally economically subsistent on the government's purchase of the war equipment they produced, and they adopted occupations in the military as jailers, torturers and executioners. The feudal caste system in Japan ended formally in 1869 with the Meiji Restoration . In 1871, the newly formed Meiji government issued the Senmin Haishirei ( 賤民廃止令 [ ja ] , 'Edict Abolishing Ignoble Classes') decree, giving outcasts equal legal status. It
2618-484: The de facto leader of Japan. His rule brought out about the Edo period , which scholars characterize as the unification of Japan. The Tokugawa shogunate, citing neo-Confucian theory , ruled by dividing the people into four main categories. Older scholars believed that there were Shi-nō-kō-shō ( 士農工商 ) of " samurai , peasants ( hyakushō ), craftsmen, and merchants" ( chōnin ) under the daimyo, with 80% of peasants under
2695-421: The hinin and eta communities there would usually be a centralized chieftain who was given the exclusive license of tanning, candle wicks and other similar occupations, employing their peers and concentrating great wealth and local power. This chieftain took on the name of Danzaemon ( 弾左衛門 ) and was given the authority to supervise the hisabetsumin living in the hamlets located in the eight provinces of
2772-849: The 1960s because of either urban development or integration into mainstream society. However, in other regions, many of their residents continued to suffer from slum-like housing and infrastructure, lower economic status, illiteracy, and lower general educational standards. In 1969, the government passed the Special Measures Law for Assimilation Projects ( 同和対策事業特別措置法 , dōwa taisaku jigyō tokubetsu sochihō ) to provide funding to these communities. Communities deemed to be in need of funding were designated for various Assimilation Projects ( 同和対策事業 , dōwa taisaku jigyō [ ja ] ) , such as construction of new housing and community facilities such as health centers, libraries and swimming pools. The projects were terminated in 2002 with
2849-538: The 5% samurai class, followed by craftsmen and merchants. However, various studies have revealed since about 1995 that the classes of peasants, craftsmen, and merchants under the samurai are equal, and the old hierarchy chart has been removed from Japanese history textbooks. In other words, peasants, craftsmen, and merchants are not a social pecking order, but a social classification. The burakumin held occupations associated with religious impurity, and were subsequently relegated as outcastes and subject to ostracization in
2926-666: The BLL to demand the publisher halt publication of the Japanese translation of the book. Van Wolferen condemned this as an international scandal. The other major buraku activist group is the National Buraku Liberation Alliance ( 全国部落解放運動連合会 , Zenkoku Buraku Kaihō Undō Rengōkai ) , or Zenkairen , affiliated to the Japanese Communist Party (JCP). It was formed in 1979 by BLL activists who were either purged from
3003-507: The Church, however, they appear to have been paid from the common treasury. In the fourth century the corporation of fossors was empowered to sell burial spaces. For example, in the cemetery of St. Cyriacus , two women bought from the fossor Quintus a bisomus , or double grave, retro sanctos (behind and near a martyr's tomb), and there are several other references to this practice. The corporation of fossors probably did not consist merely of
3080-457: The Edo period witnessed local prosperity, the shogunate augmented the differences between the four classes (even between the burakumin and the hinin ), and often used the two outcaste groups as scapegoats. Various humiliating injunctions mandating certain dress codes or hairstyles for burakumin were passed, and by the 18th century, they were prohibited from entering temples, homes of common citizens and schools without permission . At this point,
3157-820: The Exchequer Denis Healey both blamed NUPE for letting the strike go on as long as it did, as would Conservatives. While the Tameside gravediggers had been members of that union, those in the Liverpool area were GMWU. Burakumin The burakumin ( 部落民 , ' hamlet /village people') are the Japanese people commonly believed to be descended from members of the pre- Meiji feudal class who were associated with kegare ( 穢れ , 'defilement') , such as executioners , undertakers , slaughterhouse workers, butchers , and tanners . The term encompasses both
Gravedigger (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-725: The Japanese government's establishment of an alternate organization, the Yūma, designed to reduce the influence of the Suiheisha , the Levelers Association remained active until the late 1930s. After World War II , the National Committee for Burakumin Liberation was initiated, changing its name to the Buraku Liberation League ( Buraku Kaihō Dōmei ) during the 1950s. The league, with
3311-502: The Japanese had eaten meat. There were many terms used to indicate former outcastes, their communities or settlements at the time. Official documents referred to them as kyu-eta ( 旧穢多 , 'former eta ') , while the newly liberated outcasts called themselves shin-heimin ( 新平民 , 'new citizens') , among other terms. Nakae Chōmin was a late 19th century statesmen who worked for the liberation of burakumin . He transferred his resident registration to buraku and denounced
3388-582: The Roman catacombs in the first three centuries of the Christian Era . The duties of the Christian fossor corresponded in a general way with those of the pagan vespillones , but whereas the latter were held in anything but esteem in pagan society (many religions consider corpses, and sometimes anyone who touches them, 'unclean' also in a religious sense), the fossors from an early date were ranked among
3465-429: The abolition of the feudal caste system , this did not end social discrimination against burakumin nor improve their living standards; until recently, Japanese family registration was fixed to an ancestral home address, which allowed people to deduce their burakumin ancestry. The number of burakumin asserted to be living in modern Japan varies from source to source. Japanese government statistics show
3542-417: The bereaved to dig their own funeral's graves, deploying troops, and engaging private contractors to inter the bodies. The main concerns were said to be aesthetic because bodies could be safely stored in heat-sealed bags for up to six weeks. The gravediggers eventually settled for a 14 per cent pay rise, after a fortnight off the job. In their later memoirs, Labour Leader James Callaghan and Chancellor of
3619-402: The box will usually be covered with a piece of tarpaulin or similar material. The soil will then remain in the box until the day of the back-fill, when the funeral takes place and the soil is emptied back into the grave after the coffin has been lowered, after which the box is disassembled. Due to the close proximity of graves in cemeteries (4 feet (1.20 m) between the centre of each headstone
3696-491: The country. For example, in a village in Okayama when "former eta " tried to buy alcohol, four men were killed, four men were injured and 25 houses were destroyed by commoners . In another village, as part of an anti-Government riot, 263 houses were destroyed and 18 former eta s were killed. The practice of eating meat existed even during the Edo period, but the official ban of the consumption of meat from livestock
3773-661: The country. Most were located in western Japan, while none were located in Hokkaido and Tōhoku . About three quarters of the districts are in rural areas. The size of each community ranged from less than five households to more than 1,000 households. It is estimated that around 1,000 buraku communities chose not to register as dōwa chiku , wanting to avoid the negative attention that could come from explicitly declaring themselves burakumin . BLL has extrapolated Meiji-era figures to arrive at an estimate of nearly three million burakumin . In some areas, burakumin are in
3850-413: The dead, which many religions consider unclean. Gravediggers have often been depicted in media, particularly in gothic and crime novels. If the grave is in a cemetery on the property of a church or other religious organization (part of, or called, a churchyard ), gravediggers may be members of the decedent 's family or volunteer parishioners . Digging graves has also been one of the traditional duties of
3927-586: The development of modern construction and city sprawl resulted in former eta communities becoming slum areas. Prejudice against the consumption of meat continued throughout the Meiji period. In 1872, a group of Yamabushi , who objected to the Emperor's consumption of meat, tried to enter the Tokyo Imperial Palace and four of them were killed. They claimed that gods would leave Japan because
SECTION 50
#17327876895324004-497: The disabled, ethnic minorities, foreign residents and released prisoners. Even into the early 1990s, however, discussion of the 'liberation' of these discriminated communities, or even their existence, was rare in public discussion. The Buraku Liberation League is considered one of the most militant among burakumin 's rights groups. The BLL is known for its fierce "denunciation and explanation sessions", where alleged perpetrators of discriminatory actions or speech are summoned for
4081-415: The discrimination against them when he campaigned during the election of 1890 from Osaka and won. The term tokushu buraku ( 特殊部落 , 'special hamlets') , now considered inappropriate, started being used by officials during the 1900s, and resulted in the meaning of the word buraku ('hamlet') coming to imply former eta villages in certain parts of Japan. Attempts to resolve the problem during
4158-414: The early 20th century were of two types: the 'assimilation' ( 同和 , dōwa ) philosophy which encouraged improvements in living standards of buraku communities and integration with the mainstream Japanese society, and the 'levelers' ( 水平社 , suiheisha ) philosophy which concentrated on confronting and criticising alleged perpetrators of discrimination. Although liberated legally during 1871 with
4235-522: The endorsement of the socialist and communist parties, influenced the government into making important concessions during the late 1960s and 1970s. During the 1960s, the Sayama Incident publicised the problems of the group. The incident involved the murder conviction of a member of the discriminated communities based on circumstantial evidence, which is generally given little weight against physical evidence in Japanese courts. One concession
4312-543: The factory at one point, with 25 more being added every day. The reports of unburied bodies caused public concern. On 1 February a persistent journalist asked the Medical Officer of Health for Liverpool , Dr Duncan Bolton, what would be done if the strike continued for months, Bolton speculated that burial at sea would be considered. Although his response was hypothetical, in the circumstances it caused great alarm. Other alternatives were considered, including allowing
4389-581: The following prefectures : Hokkaido , Aomori , Iwate , Miyagi , Akita , Yamagata , Fukushima , Tokyo , Toyama , Ishikawa , and Okinawa . According to David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro in Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan's Criminal Underworld (1986), burakumin account for about 70% of the members of the Yamaguchi-gumi , the largest yakuza crime syndicate in Japan. Mitsuhiro Suganuma, an ex-member of
4466-406: The fossors Januarius, Heraclius, Fructuosus, et ceteris fossoribus . St. Jerome alludes to fossors as clerici , and a sixth-century chronicle edited by Cardinal Mai enumerates the (minor) orders of the clergy as ostiarius , fossorius , lector , etc. At first the fossors seem to have received no regular salary, but were paid by individuals for the work accomplished; with the organization of
4543-420: The group and decrease the discrimination they faced. Burakumin rights groups exist presently in all parts of Japan except for Hokkaidō and Okinawa . "Human Rights Promotion Centers" ( 人権啓発センター ) have been established across the country by prefectural governments and local authorities; these, in addition to promoting burakumin rights, campaign on behalf of a wide range of other groups such as women,
4620-486: The historical eta and hinin outcasts. During Japan's feudal era , these occupations acquired a hereditary status of oppression, and became an unofficial class of the Tokugawa class system during the Edo period . After the feudal system was abolished, the term burakumin came into use to refer to the former caste members and their descendants, who continue to experience stigmatization and discrimination. On
4697-490: The inferior clergy of the Church. In the Gesta apud Zenophilum by St. Optatus of Mileve , a reference is made to the character of the fossors as an order of inferior clergy. Speaking of the "house in which Christians assembled" at Cirta in the year 303, during the persecution of Diocletian , this writer enumerates first the higher orders of the clergy present, from the bishop to the subdeacons , and then mentions by name
SECTION 60
#17327876895324774-413: The labourers who excavated the galleries of the catacombs; it also included the artists who decorated the tombs, as appears from another allusion in the Gesta apud Zenophilum already cited. According to this authority two fossors were brought before the judge; when interrogated as to their calling, one replied that he was a fossor, the other that he was an artifex , meaning a painter or sculptor. Among
4851-587: The mainstream Japanese society. Among the members of the outcastes were the eta (hereditary outcastes), landless peasants and the hinin , which comprised people guilty of certain crimes and their offspring. As Japanese society stabilized, the demand for leather declined, as it was used largely for warring purposes, and along with the Tokugawa caste policy, the eta were relegated to the peripheries of villages or formed their own communities. The hinin were eventually forced to join in eta settlements ( buraku ). As
4928-419: The most famous of these occurs during Act 5, Scene 1 of Shakespeare 's Hamlet , where Hamlet and Horatio engage in dialogue with one of the grave-makers (called "First Clown") as he is digging Ophelia 's grave. The Gravediggers (or Clowns) make their one and only appearance at the beginning of the act. They enter and begin digging a grave for the newly deceased Ophelia, discussing whether or not she deserves
5005-427: The new legislation, these records could now be consulted only for legal cases, making it more difficult to identify or discriminate against members of the group. During the 1980s, some educators and local governments, particularly in areas with relatively large hisabetsu buraku populations, began special education programs which they hoped would encourage greater educational and economic success for young members of
5082-413: The number of residents of assimilation districts who claim buraku ancestry, whereas the Buraku Liberation League (BLL) figures are estimates of the total number of descendants of all former and current buraku residents, including current residents without any buraku ancestry. A 1993 report by the Japanese government counted 4,533 dōwa chiku ( 同和地区 , assimilation districts) throughout
5159-439: The organization or abandoned it during the late 1960s, due to, among other things, their opposition to the decision that subsidies to the burakumin should be limited to the BLL members only. Not all burakumin were BLL members, and not all residents of the areas targeted for subsidies were historically descended from the outcastes. The Zenkairen often disputed the BLL, accusing them of chauvinism. The conflict between
5236-417: The other hand, in practice, both eta and hinin were recognized as owners of fields, some with very large incomes ( koku ) and some economic power. Their chief held the title of Danzaemon ( ja:弾左衛門 ) and had the authority to issue orders to eta and hinin throughout the country, as well as jurisdiction within the eta and hinin . The term burakumin is derived from buraku ( 部落 ) ,
5313-587: The other unions followed; and the GMWU's national executive approved the strike. Those unions had never gone on strike before with the GMWU being known as the most conservative and least militant of the public employee unions. Faced with the growing threat from the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the Confederation of Health Service Employees , both of which were growing more quickly, it
5390-451: The outcastes were termed eta ( 穢多 , lit. ' an abundance of defilement ' or ' an abundance of filth ' ) , a term now considered derogatory. Eta towns were termed etamura ( 穢多村 ) . Some burakumin refer to their own communities as mura ( 村 , 'villages') and themselves as mura-no-mono ( 村の者 , 'village people') . Other outcaste groups from whom buraku may have been descended included
5467-411: The representations of fossors in the catacombs the one best known, through Wiseman's "Fabiola", is that of the fossor Diogenes, discovered by Boldetti. The picture, which was seriously damaged in an attempt to remove it from the wall, represents Diogenes with his pick over his right shoulder and a sack, probably containing his midday meal, on his left shoulder, while in his left hand he carries a staff with
5544-539: The responsibility of the lowest castes, considered "unclean" or "untouchable" for their association with death. Feudal Japan similarly designated gravedigging one of the "unclean" professions historically allotted to the Burakumin class. Fossor (Latin fossorius , from the verb fodere 'to dig') is a term described in Chambers' dictionary as archaic, but can conveniently be revived to describe grave diggers in
5621-513: The topic and the campaigns by the Buraku Liberation League to remove any references in the media that may propagate discrimination against them, the issue is rarely discussed in the media. Prejudice against buraku most often manifests itself in the form of marriage discrimination and sometimes in employment . Traditionalist families have been known to check on the backgrounds of potential in-laws to identify people of buraku ancestry. These checks are now illegal, and marriage discrimination
5698-571: The two organizations increased during 1974 when a clash between teachers belonging to a JCP-affiliated union and BLL activists at a high school in Yoka, rural Hyōgo Prefecture , put 29 in hospital. In 1988, the BLL formed the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR). The BLL sought for the IMADR to be recognized as a United Nations Non-Government Organization , but in 1991,
5775-412: Was ended in 1871 in order to "Westernise" the country. Many former eta began to work in abattoirs and as butchers , as they were thought to be experienced with the handling of dead bodies. Slow-changing social attitudes, especially in the countryside, meant that abattoirs and their workers were often met with hostility from local residents. Continued ostracism, the decrease of living standards and
5852-483: Was the passing of the Special Measures Law for Assimilation Projects, which provided financial aid for the discriminated communities. In 1976, legislation was also approved banning third parties from investigating another person's family registry. This traditional system of registry, kept for all Japanese by the Ministry of Justice since the 19th century, would reveal an individual's buraku ancestry if consulted. By
5929-522: Was trying not to be what members of those unions called the ' scab union'. The ensuing strike, in Liverpool and in Tameside near Manchester, was later frequently referred to by Conservative politicians. With 80 gravediggers on strike, Liverpool City Council hired a factory in Speke to store corpses until they could be buried. The Department of Environment noted that there were 150 bodies stored at
#531468