Educators for Liberation

Running along the bank of the Yamato River on the southern edge of Osaka City lies the Buraku of Asaka, whose residents for many years suffered multiple indignities due to their designation as Burakumin. Living in wooden shacks perched up against the bank of the river, their homes provided little protection from the rain, often sliding into the muddy waters below. Cut off on the west by the Abiko Great Bridge and the east by the campus of Osaka City University, OCU, the people of Asaka found their community bordered by garbage dumps and other undesirable public facilities. Further isolation from the rest of Osaka City increased with the building of a noisy train depot to the north of the Buraku in 1960. ¹ Within this context children were raised and families constructed, though not without significant struggle.