Eta

A derogatory term used by the Japanese to refer to the Burakumin in the feudal era. Burakumin were a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaido, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent. The burakumin are descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered "tainted" with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers, workers in slaughterhouses, butchers or tanners), and traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos.

"No, you will not be allowed to commit Seppuku. That's an honor. You have no honor and no self-discipline. You will be crucified like a common criminal today. Your swords will be broken and buried in the eta village. Your son will be buried in the eta village. Your head will be put on a spike for all the population to jeer at with a sign on it: 'This man was born samurai by mistake. His name has ceased to be!'“- Lord Toranaga from the novel Shogun by James Clavell.

by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ April 20, 2011

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