The Suiheisha Declaration

March 3, 1922

Burakumin throughout the country unite!

Long suffering brothers, in the past half century, reform undertakings on our behalf by many people in various ways have not yielded any appreciable results.  This should be taken as divine punishment for permitting others as well as ourselves to debase our human dignity.  Previous movements, though seemingly motivated by compassion, actually degraded many of our brothers.  Therefore, it is necessary for us to organize a new collective movement through which we shall liberate ourselves by our own effort and self-respect.

Brothers, our ancestors pursued liberty and equality, and practiced these principles, but they became the victims of a contemptible system developed by a despicable ruling class.  They became the many martyrs of industry.  In recompense for their work in skinning animals, they were skinned alive.  For tearing out the animal hearts, their own warm hearts were ripped out.  They were spat at with ridicule.  Yet all through these cursed nights of evil dreams, their human blood has kept on flowing.  We, who have been born of this blood, are trying to become divine.  The time has come when the oppressed shall throw off the brand-mark of martyrdom. The time has come for us to be proud of being eta.

We, who know how cruel and cold it is to be discriminated against, must not use unrespectable words and cowardly behavior to retaliate against the ordinary human being.  To do so would be to discredit our ancestors who died for freedom and to desecrate humanity.  Therefore, we should work passionately for human rights and seek the light of true humanity.

Let there be warmth in the hearts of people, and let there be light upon all mankind.  From this, the Levelers Association (Suiheisha) is born.

From some reference materials on the Burakumin Movement:  

Yoshino, I. Roger and S. Murakoshi.  The Invisible Visible Minority:  Japan's Burakumin, Osaka, Buraku Kaiho Kenkyusho, 1977.

Neary, Ian.  Political Portest and Social Control in Pre-War Japan:  The Origins of the Buraku Liberation, Manchester University Press, 1989.

de Vos, George and H. Wagatsuma, ed., Japan's Invisible Race:  Caste in Culture and Personality, University of California Press, 1967.

There is a translation of the book, Hashi no nai kawa, on which the film we saw in class is based. It is out of print, but is in the ICU Library:  
The river with no bridge /　Sue Sumii ; translated by Susan Wilkinson.　C.E. Tuttle,　1990, c1989.
913.6/Su59hE/v.1