The "Horizona Declaration" that has gone through a century of history: Japan's "discriminated tribes" and the anti-discrimination movement

In 1871, the Meiji government of Japan promulgated the "Emancipation Order" (also known as "Untouchables Abolition Order" or "Untouchables Abolition Order"), abolishing untouchable status such as "dirty" and "inhuman", and people who were regarded as untouchables in the past. , from now on can do the same job as civilians. This official order (Taizhengguan Announcement) became the basis for the later movement against tribal discrimination (tribal differences).

The so-called "tribal discrimination" refers broadly to discrimination against people who live in places considered untouchable in the past. After the Meiji government promulgated the "Emancipation Order", the identity of untouchables no longer existed on the surface. However, people living in communities that were regarded as untouchables in the past, because of long-term historical, cultural, social, economic and other factors, occupational The choice is limited, the economic level is relatively weak, and the choice of marriage may also be rejected because of the place of birth, which is not conducive to social mobility. Various factors have led to the people who (used to) live in places that were regarded as untouchables in the past, and are currently in a social situation. still relatively weak. Cases of discrimination based on place of origin are still reported.

Is it "tribal difference" or "tribal discrimination"?
Generally speaking, if Japanese proper nouns have Chinese characters, most of them will directly use Chinese characters and explain them in Chinese translation. However, the usage of "difference" in Japanese is completely different from that in Chinese, and "difference" in Japanese means "discrimination" in Chinese. In order to avoid confusion among readers, the full text translates "tribal difference" into "tribal discrimination" which is intuitively closer to the way of thinking of Chinese readers. As for "discriminated tribes", which refer to the (former) untouchables' settlements, the Japanese characters are maintained and used as proper nouns.

National Level Society and the "Level Society Declaration"

On March 3, 1922, 100 years ago, the Okazaki Public Hall in Kyoto City gathered people from "differentiated tribes" from all over Japan and held the "National Shuijingsha Founding Conference (National Shuijingsha Founding Conference)" . At the founding meeting, the parties read out the "Horizona Declaration" calling on everyone to unite and fight against discrimination. It is regarded as the first human rights declaration in the history of Japan to pursue equality and freedom, and it is quite representative.

At that time, after the end of the First World War, the rise of democratic freedom and social movements led to the rise of labor rights awareness. This "National Horizon Club (National Horizon Club)" formed by the parties of the "differentiated tribes" from all over Japan was founded in 1922 like the Japanese peasant group. In the 1920s, Taiwan also gave birth to various groups to promote cultural enlightenment and national movements. Knowing this history, it is easy to imagine what the social atmosphere was at that time.

However, the "National Horizontal Society" actually officially disintegrated in 1942 after the war, and the reason was nothing more than because of the war: the anti-war and anti-fascist horizontal society was regarded as a heresy, and the National Horizontal Society Conference was also held in August 1940. The 16th edition in Tokyo will not be held again. Although the Horizon Club did not make a comeback after the war, a newly established group "Tribal Liberation Alliance" inherited the philosophy of the Horizon Club and was committed to promoting the anti-tribal discrimination movement.

The original text of the declaration of the horizontal society <br class="smart"> The declaration is scattered all over the country.
The long-term abuse, the brothers, the methods and the many people in the past half century , husband and other のすべてがwu 々によつて, and his person 々によつて毎にhuman world を 涜 さ れ て ゐ た で あ つ た の だ.そ し て こ れ の human world を 剿 る か の such as movement は, か え つ て many く の brothers を degenerate さ せ た things を think へ ば, this time we の middle よ り り ら と せ る に よ つ て self らの集団 Movement を せ る は, Ning ろ unavoidable で あ る.
Brothers, my ancestors, freedom, equality, admirers, and walkers. The martyr of the poor and inferior class policy でありmale らしき industry martyr酬 ぐ ぐ と と と て し て, raw 々 し き の の ケモノ を を ら ら ら, ケモノ の 臓 臓 を と と と し て, Nuan い の の 臓 臓 を か か か か か か なの悪梦のうちにも, なほ boasting り德るhuman blood は, drying up れ ず に あ つ た.そ う だ, そ し て 々 は, こ の blood を け て human world が God に か わ ら う と す る era に あ う た の だ. When the sacrifice が そ の brand を cast げ return す が come た の だ. Martyrs が, その thorn crown を blessing さ れ る が た の だ.
I 々 が エ タ で あ る こ と を り り る が た の だ.
I 々 は, か な ら ず humiliation な る 呉 and cowardly な る behavior に よ つ て, ancestors humiliation し め, human world し て は な ら ぬ.そ う し て の 人の の の の の 日 の 好 さ が, HO ん な に Leng た い か, the world を 剿 は る が ん で あ る か を よ く knowledge の て ゐ る Wu 々 は, the heart か ら は る を を ら は る をものである.
Level society, かくして生れた.
The world of people is hot, and the world is light.
Taisho eleventh year March level club

The Historical Significance of the "Horizona Declaration"

Looking back at the "Horizona Declaration" 100 years ago, Kansai University professor Uchida Longshi pointed out that from the current point of view, the "Horizona Declaration" has three important meanings.

(1) Assign negative labels to positive connotations

The first is that the parties involved give positive connotations to negative comments from outsiders. The most direct example is the use of the word "Duoduo" in the "Horizonha Manifesto".

When the society generally discriminates against certain ethnic groups, and uses the label of "you are ◯◯" to distinguish me from others, and rationalize their reasons for discriminating against each other, these others who are labeled with stigmatized labels will So excluded from society. Here ◯◯ can be substituted for any kind of socially stigmatized label. Then, when these socially stigmatized groups, in turn, regard this label as a (collective) self-identification, claiming that the label or attribute itself is correct, and that what is wrong is the act of "discrimination" itself, the awakening of an ethnic group, On the one hand, it can condense the centripetal force and self-identity of ethnic groups with this attribute, and on the other hand, it also has the effect of reversing stigma.

Therefore, in the "Hui Duo Manifesto" written by the parties, the parties used the word "Hui Duo (エタ)", calling on all the tribesmen to be proud of the identity of "Hui Duo", to be self-reliant and to rely on their own Creating a society without discrimination and eliminating discrimination by our own power will have the effect of reversing stigma and turning negative labels into self-identification. A similar approach can be found in the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 70s, "Black is beautiful." or the use of the word "queer" in the queer movement of the 1980s. It can be seen that the parties reverse the stigma through self-proclaimed.

(2) Call for community unity and solidarity

Uchida Ryushi believes that in the "Horizona Declaration" a hundred years ago, it is possible to gather the tribesmen from all over Japan, break the regional restrictions, and call for the unity and association of the community to change the society. This was 100 years ago, in the era before the Internet, it was not easy to connect tribesmen all over the country.

(3) Everyone deserves respect

Another important significance of the "Horizontal Declaration" is to eliminate discrimination from the perspective of "respecting everyone and everyone should be respected".

Uchida Longshi pointed out that before the publication of the "Horizonha Manifesto", there were sporadic movements in various places that attempted to change the environment of the "differentiated tribes", but these movements were basically based on the stance of "necessity to help the poor" because of sympathy and compassion, and felt that they should help the tribesmen. But the argument of the "Horizontal Manifesto" is not, but that everyone deserves to be respected, including the tribesmen. Japan did not mention "everyone is equal before the law" until the "Japanese Constitution" after the war. The "Huisha Declaration" was more than 20 years earlier than the "Japanese Constitution", and this concept was put forward.

Postwar anti-tribalism movement

Although as early as 100 years ago, the parties of the "discriminated tribes" formed the National Horizon Club and issued the "Horizon Club Manifesto". After the war, a new group "Tribal Liberation Alliance" inherited the philosophy of the Horizon Club and is committed to promoting Anti-tribal discrimination movement. But this journey has not been easy, and social discrimination or stereotypes about "differentiated tribes" still exist.

In order to improve the situation of the "discriminated tribes" and the tribesmen, Japan established the "Dowa Countermeasures Council (Dowa Countermeasures Council)", an advisory body to the Prime Minister in 1960. The Council stated in 1965 that it was the duty and task of the state to eliminate tribal discrimination. Subsequently, the Japanese government launched a series of actions in the 33 years from 1969 to 2002 in the name of the "Dowa Countermeasures Project" in accordance with the "Special Measures Law for Dowa Countermeasures Projects (Special Measures for Dowa Countermeasures Projects )". However, the relevant projects carried out by local governments in accordance with this law are mainly aimed at improving the hardware environment of the "differentiated tribes".

The "Special Measures Act on Dowa Countermeasures" is a special law with a limited period of time. After the time has passed, there will be no subsidies from the central government, but "discrimination" will not disappear when the validity period of the law expires. The most famous example is the 2016 online listing of "discriminated tribes" that brought the issue back to the surface.

List of "discriminated tribes" appeared on the Internet in 2016

In fact, as early as the 1970s, it was reported that a publishing house had compiled information such as the location of the "differentiated tribes" across Japan, the occupations of local residents, etc. It is sold to major companies, schools, hospitals, hotels, etc., as information for companies to recruit new people, or for wealth investigation before marriage. "General Catalogue of Tribal Place Names" is a general term. There are actually many versions, but the general content is to organize and publish information related to "different tribes".

After the incident, local governments first formulated local regulations to prohibit the circulation of the "General Catalogue of Tribal Geographical Names", but it was impossible to prevent, and various versions were still circulated, sold, and even electronic versions.

The most famous and ongoing case was in February 2016.

The "General Catalogue of Tribal Place Names" makes a comeback

At that time, a publishing house in Kawasaki City announced on its own website that it would publish a list of place names of "discriminated tribes". At the same time, several websites appeared at the same time. After the Tribal Liberation Alliance found out about this, it immediately asked the court for a fake punishment that these contents should be immediately removed from the shelves. The court also fully supported the Tribal Liberation Alliance’s argument and demanded that the content should be immediately removed from the shelves. disappeared from the Internet.

Subsequently, the Tribal Liberation Alliance and people who now live in "different tribes/tonghe areas" filed complaints with the publishing house. The publishing house maintains that the list of "discriminated tribes" place names is for historical research, and that these place names can also be found on the relevant materials published by various local governments on the Tonghe Countermeasures or the Tribal Liberation Alliance. If a court prohibits publication or disclosure, it is an infringement of academic freedom.

What's the difference between "Tonghe region" and "differentiated tribe"?
"Tongwa area" or the aforementioned "Tongwa project" are administrative terms used by Japanese administrative units after the war to refer to the "differentiated tribes" in the past. From a modern point of view, the geographical scope of the "tonghe area" and "differentiated tribes" are the same, but the two terms represent different ideologies. The Meiji government of Japan promulgated the Emancipation Order as early as 1871, so the people of the "differentiated tribes" had already been "liberated", and the "compatriots" needed to be "integrated", so the word "Tonghe" was adopted.
It is worth mentioning that if the word "tribe" is simply used in Japanese, it does not necessarily mean "differentiated tribe". In a broad sense, the word "tribe" in Japanese is the same as that in Chinese, which means tribe and village. It must be judged by looking at the context or the connected words. As for the term "tribe people", the current usage refers specifically to the people living in "(formerly) differentiated tribes".

Only some plaintiffs were awarded compensation in the first-instance judgment

In September last year (2021), the Tokyo District Court judgment was released. The court found that the publisher did not publish the material for public benefit, prohibited the publisher from publishing "parts" of the content, and demanded that the relevant content be removed from the website. The court also ruled that the publishing house violated the privacy of "some" of the plaintiffs and should compensate "some" of the parties' losses.

Why "part"? Because the court believes that among the plaintiffs, several people were originally engaged in a social movement against tribal discrimination, and they disclosed their origins during the movement, so it is not considered an infringement of privacy. Therefore, the Tokyo District Court stated that if the local prefecture and city are not identified as the "infringed party" in this lawsuit, the prefecture and city do not need to ban the list of "discriminated tribes" place names.

The plaintiff group and the defendant publishing house are not satisfied with the result of this judgment, and the appeal is currently in the second instance.

Promoted the revision of the "Tribal Discrimination Promotion Act"

In 2016, a series of turbulent events led the Japanese government to formulate a new law " Tribal Discrimination Promotion Law " at the end of the year (2016/12/16). Article 1 of the law clearly states: "This law is because there is still tribal discrimination, and the situation of tribal discrimination has changed with the development of information... In order to eliminate tribal discrimination and realize a society without tribal discrimination, this law was enacted. ". The content also requires that the central government and local public organizations should work together to eliminate discrimination, and the government should establish a victim consultation system and carry out necessary enlightenment education.

(Purpose) Article 1 <br class="smart">この法は, now もなお tribal differences exist するとともに, progress of informatization にってtribal differences に close する status の reformation がsheng じていることをまえ, full てThe people, the basic people, the enjoyment, the security, the concept of the Japanese constitution, the tribal differences, and the tribal differencesの 本 本 し, basic concepts を を め め め め め め め め め め め め め め の の の の の を らか らか とともに とともに とともに の の の につ につ につ につ によ によ によ によ によ によ によ によことをpurpose and する.

Discriminatory speech on the Internet is hard to prevent

The "Tribal Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute" pointed out that Kagawa Prefecture has been monitoring the content of tribal discrimination on the Internet since 2003. After the "Tribal Discrimination Promotion Law" was introduced in 2016, there are now more than 200 in Japan. The surveillance network jointly formed by local governments and civil society groups in China will immediately request the website or platform operator to remove any inappropriate remarks.

Kagawa Tomoji Kagawa, who has been in charge of this business for four years, said that now anonymous posts can be posted on the Internet, which encourages discriminatory remarks, and will remain on the Internet forever. Teaching the issue of "tribal discrimination" will not encourage discrimination, but instead will "wake up the sleeping child" (Editor's Note: This is a Japanese proverb, which means to do something when you have nothing to do, to cause trouble, and it is often used in discussions about anti-socialism. in the context of the tribalism movement), but in fact, without teaching, "the child may wake up in the wrong direction", emphasizing the importance of human rights-inspired education.

Kagawa Zhizhi also mentioned that in the past, when they used to monitor the discriminatory remarks on the website of Shanghai patrol tribes, they only monitored specific online forums. In fact, on average, only 45% of the texts are actually deleted, because it depends on the other party whether to delete the text or not. Although it is up to the government to do this, it will have a restraining effect to a certain extent, but similar content will continue to appear, and there is no end to this work.

Reversing discrimination is not just for the few

The sociologist Uchida Tatsuyoshi mentioned earlier also pointed out that in the face of discrimination in Japanese society, there must be "not only the minority and disadvantaged groups that need to change the status quo, but also the majority." When the relatively disadvantaged groups in society initiate After the social movement, the majority must think about "what things can be done by themselves". Because the most terrifying thing about discrimination or prejudice is that you don't realize that you have prejudice. If you dance and sing along with others, it will encourage the spread of discrimination. Discrimination or prejudice will spread and spread like a virus. If there is no way to first realize that such behavior or content of speech constitutes discrimination, there is no way to stop this chain of discrimination transmission.

When the majority can hear the voice of the minority, understand that such behavior is wrong, know how to deal with similar situations, and remind each other that "this is wrong", only then can social consensus be changed and human rights awareness raised.

Inspiration for the centenary of the "Horizontal Manifesto"

Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the "Horizona Declaration", the Tribal Liberation Alliance held a commemorative event in Kyoto where the "Hyorisha Declaration" was issued on March 3, the 100th anniversary. About 1,000 people attended that day, and announced the 100th anniversary event plan of "Horizonha Manifesto", a remake of Shimazaki Fujimura's novel "Break of Precepts" into a movie, which will be officially broadcast in July this year.

In addition, in Kitakyushu, the local branch of the Tribal Liberation Alliance (Kitakyushu Regional Council) also plans to produce a "Hundred Testimony (100 Testimony)" to collect parties from all age groups of the "discriminated tribe", as well as those from the anti-tribe. The personal experiences of faculty members, administrators, etc. associated with the discrimination movement carry forward the history of the movement.

The "Horizona Declaration" is the origin of the anti-tribal discrimination movement. In fact, in addition to the anti-tribal movement, the follow-up Minamata disease, people with disabilities, Koreans and Koreans in Japan, local movement in Okinawa, etc. are decided by the parties themselves. The anti-discrimination campaign (Japanese: the movement of those involved) has far-reaching consequences. In contemporary society, there are still many people who are unkindly treated by prejudice or discrimination in society because of specific attributes such as race, place of residence, gender, sexual orientation, and gender temperament. How to improve the human rights awareness and sensitivity of the whole society is still a current issue to make the confirmed cases, close contacts or workers in specific occupations to be avoided by people.

This article is simultaneously published in the Japanese current affairs まとめ translation of Kaori Ishikawa.