Report on the Sayama Walking Tour (May 1, 2007)
Debriefing with Kazuo and Sachiko Ishikawa after the Sayama Walking Tour
IMADR took part in the Sayama Walking Tour (online version here) on May 1, 2007, exactly 44 years after the day of the incident. Participants included members of the press, a documentary filmmaker, IMADR volunteers, and Kazuo Ishikawa himself. One participant shares her impressions:
The Sayama Walking Tour was an experience unlike anything I have ever taken part in. It opened my eyes not only to the discrimination that exists against Burakumin, but also the incomprehensible injustices within Japan’s legal system. I found myself feeling scrambled by an array of emotions. The unbelievable ridiculousness of the countless altered confessions that were used to arrest him forced me to laugh at what I was told. “This couldn’t have happened,” I thought. But then, when reality would hit, my emotions turned quickly back to anger, frustration and sorrow.
Also, coming from the US, I instinctively made comparisons with what I’ve seen there. I found a lot of what I heard about Burakumin similar to the situation of the poor within the US, especially the poor Black Americans. The ways in which they are scapegoated, criminalized, isolated from the rest of society and stereotyped as violent and stupid. The parallels to the Burakumin were unmistakable.
Needless to say, the tour was an intense day filled with a tremendous amount of education, discussion, and clarification. Moreover, the honor of meeting Ishikawa-san and his wife left me with impassioned feelings of inspiration and hope. They both spoke about what happened with strength, determination and optimism. They kept using the word korekara (meaning “from now on” in Japanese), saying that the good things are just about to come. The Sayama Walking Tour was an experience I won’t soon forget and feel truly grateful for having been able to participate. (Hanako Franz Mashino)
