Toward an intersectional Burakuness: regional discontinuities in Japan's Buraku-focused museums.

This article examines how Buraku-focused museums in Japan interpret and present the complex identity and discrimination experiences of the Buraku minority group. Through qualitative content analysis of five museums across different regions, it reveals significant regional differences: museums in western Japan primarily locate Buraku discrimination in stigmatized residential spaces, while those in Tokyo associate it with traditional "polluted" professions such as leatherworking and slaughterhouse work. Despite these divergent narratives, all museums emphasize education as a spiritual and purifying tool to combat discrimination, often employing metaphors of cleansing and renewal. The study highlights the potential for interregional dialogue and intersectional curatorial approaches that acknowledge layered and multifaceted Buraku identities, contributing to both Japanese social science and museum studies by underscoring the importance of regional context in representing marginalized histories.