THE PUBLICATION OF this volume has two main aims. The first is to produce an introductory overview of Buraku history based on the most up-to-date research on discriminated people which in recent years has advanced significantly. This will contribute to Dōwa education, human rights education and indeed to the project of Buraku liberation. Secondly, to transmit internationally the historical outlines of the Buraku issue that have become clear in the process of the development of this research in recent years.

To briefly explain the process that led to publication: in 2011 the Buraku Liberation Human Rights Research Institute (BLHRRI) began to support a research project to consider carrying out these twin aims through the writing, editing and publication of a ‘New Edition – History of Discriminated Buraku’ (draft title). This research activity was supported by the Harada Tomohiko Memorial Fund. Professor Nobuaki Teraki was assigned responsibility for the pre-modern section and Professor Kurokawa Midori for the modern section but the research committee also positively engaged with the opinions of other researchers working on Buraku history, researchers working on Dōwa and human rights education and activists in the Buraku liberation movement. Moreover, it consulted with overseas researchers in order to better enable the international transmission of ideas. In particular the committee received valuable advice from Tomonaga Kenzō (emeritus director of the BLHRRI), Ian Neary (professor, Oxford University) and Nishimura Hisako (at the time Head of Education and Sales, BLHRRI).

A draft was produced on the basis of two years of research group activity which then benefited from a further round of criticism to mould it into a single volume. It was first published in 24 monthly instalments in the journal Human Rights between January 2014 and December 2015.

Then it was revised drawing on the opinions and advice of readers and we sought to make it easier to understand through the inclusion of drawings, diagrams and photographs. The resulting volume has been translated into English by Ian Neary to enable it to be widely read overseas.

We would like once more to express our deep gratitude to the Harada Tomohiko Memorial Fund committee which supported the BLHRRI in the planning and execution of this research project.