March 15, 2007
To our Friends and Supporters:
The crown of thorns is the symbol adopted by the Buraku Liberation
League.
The cross is also a symbol of the Buraku Liberation
League.
Greetings from Japan in the name of our risen Lord! The glory
of Easter is just around the corner, but while we enjoy the promise
of new life as the colors of spring begin to sprout around us,
we must also remind ourselves there was a crown of thorns and
a cruel cross prior to the joy of resurrection. In fact, the symbol
of the crown of thorns was adopted by the Buraku Liberation League
as its official mark. Begun in 1922 as the “National Levelers
Association” (a literal translation of “Suiheisha,”
roughly equivalent to having a “level playing field”),
the Buraku Liberation League is the main secular organization
fighting to end discrimination against the people of “buraku”
descent. Its Christian roots are evident in its official logo.
To this symbol of the crown of thorns, then, the Buraku Liberation
Center, where Tim will be serving beginning this fall, added a
cross.
As we’ve explained in previous letters, about three million
Japanese are descended from those who were considered outcasts
because they were involved with occupations considered “unclean”
(those having to do with the death of animals, such as tanners).
Of course, the issue becomes somewhat of a “chicken and
egg problem,” as one can ask, “Which came first? The
‘unclean’ occupations or the discriminatory attitudes
that forced such people into those occupations?” That, of
course, is a moot question for today’s descendants of the
“buraku,” and from an American egalitarian mindset,
it seems incredible that such blatant discrimination based on
who your ancestors were is still happening. Of course, even in
America, if your ancestors are of a minority race, you may still
face such discrimination, but buraku discrimination is not based
on any outward difference whatsoever. The only way one would know
if someone were buraku is to do a search through the family register
system to see if the family originally came from one of the approximately
6,000 neighborhoods that had been designated buraku from ancient
times.
While much progress has been accomplished in eliminating the
great disparities in infrastructure that once existed between
buraku neighborhoods and other areas, more subtle (and sometimes
not so subtle) forms of discrimination still remain. Since families
and companies can easily check to see if someone’s family
register lists them as having been descended from people living
in a buraku area, the net result is that families may put great
pressure on their children to break a marriage engagement to someone
of buraku background, and companies often want to “play
it safe” by rejecting someone whose background check reveals
such “tainted” origins.
As a youth, Kazuo Ishikawa (right) was falsely accused of murder.
He and his wife Sachiko broke bread at the Boyle dinner table.
Last week, Tim attended a seminar for representatives of an ecumenical
Christian group working on the “Sayama case,” which
we reported on in our newsletter last November. We met in a church
in Sayama, and Kazuo Ishikawa (the buraku youth who was falsely
accused of the murder in 1963) and his wife Sachiko met with us
for several hours. The next day, we walked the course according
to his “confession” to see for ourselves how full
of inconsistencies it really was. A group of us then went to both
the offices of the Japanese Supreme Court and the National Police
Headquarters to present appeals for a reopening of the case so
that he can clear his name. Hopefully, that will happen later
this year, and outside pressure and media attention is an important
part of this effort. A petition with over 900,000 signatures was
recently presented, and by late April we hope to have many more
to surpass our goal of 1 million. You can add your name to the
list at the Web site for the International
Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism. Only
a few of our readers appeared on the list as a result of our last
newsletter, and so we appeal to you to add your name.
Many of you have inquired about Rev. Yoshioka. He is slowly recovering
from his stroke, but he is still mostly paralyzed on his right
side and has only recovered limited speech. Tim continues to preach
every Sunday at his church and after April will continue to preach
two or threes times per month until our move to the Osaka area
in October.
Tim will be leading Dr. Hugh Ross around much of Japan from May
20 to 27, with speaking engagements in many locations. We ask
your prayers for that. Much preparation is involved, including
preparing Japanese versions of Powerpoint presentations. Dr. Ross
will be speaking on several campuses as well as in churches and
even at a hospital in Osaka.
Grace and Peace,
Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
249 |
