Deaf in Japan: Signing and the Politics of Identity

by Karen Nakamura

Karen Nakamura combines history, life histories, ethnographic observation, and politico-linguistic analysis of sign language in Japan to open up sensible and much-needed debate on the multiplicity of the Japanese and their culture. ―Sonia Ryang, The Johns Hopkins University Until the mid-1970s, deaf people in Japan had few legal rights and little social recognition. Legally, they were classified as minors or mentally deficient, unable to obtain driver's licenses or sign contracts and wills. Many worked at menial tasks or were constantly unemployed, and schools for the deaf taught a difficult regimen of speechreading and oral speech methods rather than signing. After several decades of activism, deaf men and women are now largely accepted within mainstream Japanese society. Deaf in Japan, a groundbreaking study of deaf identity, minority politics, and sign language, traces the history of the deaf community in Japan, from the establishment of the first schools for the deaf in the 1870s to the birth of deaf activist movements in the postwar period and current "culture wars" over signing and assimilation. Drawing on archival and ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with deaf men and women from three generations, Karen Nakamura examines shifting attitudes toward and within the deaf community. Nakamura suggests that the notion of "deaf identity" is intimately linked with the Japanese view of modernization and Westernization. The left-affiliated Japanese Federation of the Deaf embraces an assimilationist position, promoting lip-reading and other forms of accommodation with mainstream society. In recent years, however, young disability advocates, exponents of an American-style radical separatism, have promoted the use of Japanese Sign Language. Nakamura, who signs in both ASL and JSL, finds that deafness has social characteristics typical of both ethnic minority and disability status, comparing the changing deaf community with other Japanese minority groups such as the former Burakumin, the Okinawans, and zainichi Koreans. Her account of the language wars that have erupted around Japanese signing gives evidence of broader changes in attitudes regarding disability, identity, and culture in Japan.

Genres: Disability, Japan, Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Anthropology, History, Linguistics

248 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

Reviews

[Emma Mortensen]

Read for school. Highly recommend!!

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked to discover the extreme prejudice against the deaf in contemporary Japan. Nakamura discusses what are called "joint suicides" of mothers and their deaf offspring. I think it would be more accurate to term these murder-suicides. Japanese mothers have killed their deaf children and then committed suicide. This happened to a 26 year old deaf activist who was a close friend of one of Nakamura's interviewees. The interviewee was a young deaf woman who moved away from her parents out of fear that she too would be murdered.

This homicidal prejudice arises from the belief that the deaf are disabled, and a burden on their families. The interviewee in the above paragraph who fled from her family is now living independently. There is also mention of the man who became Japan's first deaf lawyer in Deaf in Japan. I have met deaf professionals myself, so I know that calling the deaf disabled is a lie. It bothers me that Nakamura buys into this lie especially considering its terrible consequences in Japan. She categorizes deaf people as disabled throughout the book. I don't use the phrase "differently abled" just to prove that I am politically correct. I believe that it is a more truthful description of the deaf community.

Deaf in Japan is a well written anthropological study. The life stories of Karen Nakamura's informants are contextualized through descriptions of the experience of that generation of the deaf. I think that she doesn't question the disability paradigm in an effort to be a neutral observer. Neutrality is expected of anthropologists. I can say that this is a serious flaw because I am not a scholar, and I am not expected to be neutral. I seek to be a decent human being who does the right thing. It is the right thing to speak out against prejudice. Read this book for the information it contains, but consider how different life could be if Japan were a more just society that treated all its citizens as equals.

For my complete review see "Deaf Battle Prejudice in Japan", an August entry on my blog at http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there had been more about pre-war disability history, but a good foundation.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

very nice book. The condition of d/Deaf communities and culture in Japan described in the book is very similar to what I know about d/Deaf communities in China. I love the ending -- there are many ways to be deaf.

[Megan Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for my anthropology class and found it to be very educational and interesting. Doesn’t read like a textbook. Would recommend to someone who likes watching documentaries, likes learning about deaf culture, or learning about something completely new.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read for an Anthropology class. Decent book

[Zoalinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Kinda a dry read since it's an academic book but gave a good overview of the deaf community in Japan. I am taking a signing course here now and we've had lectures about Deaf culture etc. and it's interesting to compare what I've learned and how the people I met related to the events in this book.

Would be curious to see an update since I assume there have been a number of changes since the research was conducted.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! This is a quick, fast, but very informative read. There were sections I wish could have been expanded upon (ie: the difference in attitudes towards Deaf people depending on what type of work was needed -- manual v. more communication dependent jobs), but really quite a fun read.

[Nathan Kester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book again, for I will meet her next month.