Human Rights Museum and ”クシカツ立て飲み”

First, I would like to thank Koyomi Sensei for her eloquent and thorough explanation of giri chocolate that now accompanies my blog entry previous to this one.

Now, today was a day full of adventures in the east, and by the east, I mean east of Kobe, which becomes Osaka.

During the afternoon I went to the Osaka Human Rights Museum with my teacher and classmates from my Japanese Society and Law course. Lately in class we've been discussing minorities and groups in Japan that have faced discrimination. Various groups we have discussed include Koreans living in Japan, the buraku people, the Ainu, and people with disabilities, to name a few. The museum displays and explanations were mostly in Japanese, so it was somewhat difficult to understand the details being presented. In an article we were assigned to read for class about Koreans in Japan, some of the main points included past discomforts Koreans felt due to having a different language and cultural background as well as an inability to integrate into Japanese society (segregated schools, being forced into menial or subservient jobs, etc.) In the buraku exhibit area, it seemed as though the museum was trying to educate the public about the history of the buraku people, which includes leather tanning and working with dead animals, a job thought "unclean" by many Japanese in the past, leading to prejudice. I suppose the museum's aim was to promote awareness, which would then lead to acceptance. When I was reading the article about Koreans living in Japan for class, the article mentioned specific surnames that are associated with Koreans. I asked the professor if there was such a concept for buraku, but she said no. The professor went on to elaborate that no Japanese nationals were required to have surnames until the Meiji era (which started in 1868), so at that time, people tended to choose whatever surnames they could find.

After I left the museum, I was scheduled to meet up with Otousan for another restaurant outing. This time, our destination was a kushikatsu restaurant. Kushi means "skewer" and katsu means fried (as in fried meat), so this restaurant specialized in fried, breaded meat and fish on skewers. This restaurant was also special because it was standing only. Therefore, the entire restaurant comprised of a stainless steel counter with small curtains hanging behind it to separate the customers from the people passing by outside. Indeed, the restaurant was situated right at the entrance to an underground walkway, so there was a lot of traffic passing by. This type of restaurant is not for those who wish to have a long, hearty relaxing affair. It's more of an eat, drink, and go type of place, and the food is inexpensive but filling.

Of course, a trip to one of these places with Otousan guarantees interesting discussion on various aspects of Japanese culture. Indeed, tonight Otousan even gave me his definition of what may be considered true Japanese culture. He says an object or activity that has survived and been passed down for generations is true culture and will survive as culture. However, he claimed that something such as maid cafes or these kushikatsu restaurants, which have only come into being recently, are just trends that will gradually fade away, and thus may not be considered true Japanese culture.