Japan is a mosaic society coloured by manifold layers of dominant and minority cultures. The representative ethnic minorities include the Ainu, Okinawans and Zainichi Koreans (Koreans living in Japan). This chapter deals with the so-called burakumin, arguably the largest minority group in contemporary Japan. While burakumin are Japanese both ethnically and in terms of nationality, they are discriminated against on the basis of belief about their descent: that they are real or purported 'descendants of outcastes' (eta or hinin) of the status system which the feudal Tokugawa regime institutionalised about four centuries ago to implement its divide-and-rule policy. The burakumin category was instituted in order to direct peasants' discontent over the heavy land tax they were required to pay away from the Shogunate and the local lords and towards the burakumin. Until today, many burakumin have lived in secluded communities and maintained a considerable degree of genealogical continuity. To be precise, burakumin constitute a modern social status group that forms a genealogical minority in contemporary Japan.