Okabayashi Nobuyasu, The Letter, Japanese folk

(*Music starts at 0:14*) One of the early “protest songs“ by legendary folk singer Okabayashi Nobuyasu. The word “burakumin“ refers literally to the residents of certain hamlets traditionally associated with leatherwork. The butchering of cattle rendered them “impure“ in the Buddhist scheme of things, and discrimination led to poverty which led to discrimination.