Red/White/Yellow: Considering the Racial Situation in Japan from the Perspective of Marriage Discrimination Experienced by Ainu Women
Abstract
Japan has an unusual and complicated history of engaging with concepts of race. In the past, many Japanese people asserted the concept of
Japanese racial superiority and justified colonialism by positioning indigenous people as racially inferior. In Western society, Japanese
people have historically been targets of racism, and racist ideologies within Japan persist today and, in many ways, have been made invisible.
In this lecture, I would like to discuss the discrimination experienced by Ainu women in marriage, and consider the racial symbols of “red,” “
Japan has an unusual and complicated history of engaging with concepts of race. In the past, many Japanese people asserted the concept of
Japanese racial superiority and justified colonialism by positioning indigenous people as racially inferior. In Western society, Japanese
people have historically been targets of racism, and racist ideologies within Japan persist today and, in many ways, have been made invisible.
In this lecture, I would like to discuss the discrimination experienced by Ainu women in marriage, and consider the racial symbols of “red,” “