Fat Princess, the PS3 strategy game in which you engorge your faction's princess to prevent her kidnapping, has already garnered a small amount of criticism. Until now, these complaints have come from feminist groups, who insist that the game promotes prejudice against fat people. Naturally, these claims have been wholly dismissed by both the developer, Titan Studios, and the gaming community at large. Now, however, it appears as if Fat Princess might have a more serious problem; its release in Japan has been delayed due to the risk of offending a minority group known as the Burakumin. The problem? The characters in the game have four-fingered hands.
Why are four fingers offensive? Read more after the jump...
[Image Source]
In feudal times, the Burakumin were essentially Japan's untouchable caste. They took a variety of death-related occupations, such as execution, undertaking and leather-working. Because of this, they were considered ritually impure under the Shinto religion, and were ostracized from society. The Burakumin were segregated into their own villages (called buraku), and were shunned by the rest of the Japanese.
When the Meiji Restoration took Japan by storm in 1869, the caste system was officially abolished. All Burakumin were given equal legal status in 1871. Unfortunately, prejudices do not change as easily as laws. Discrimination against the Burakumin was still common, and their communities' standard of living declined, turning the buraku into slums. Over the course of the next century, most Burakumin were slowly assimilated into mainstream Japanese society; however, those that remained segregated lived in poverty, augmented by under-education and illiteracy. In 1969, the Japanese government made a concerted effort to improve their standard of living. 33 years and 12 trillion yen later, the problem (at least according to the Japanese government) had been solved.
Unfortunately, even to this day, anti-Burakumin racism still plagues Japan. The problem is largely confined to the Kansai region, containing the cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, as well as the majority of the remaining buraku. Before they approve their childrens' choice of spouse, some families will hire illegal private investigators to determine if the individual in question is a Burakumin. A few companies also covertly investigate the ancestry of applicants for the same reason. This, in turn, has driven the Burakumin to join the Yakuza in large numbers. Outside of Kansai, however, such discrimination is virtually unknown, and many Japanese are unaware the problem even exists.
Among the anti-Burakumin racists, the four-fingered hand is a derogatory gesture similar to the n-word in America. The four fingers are meant to symbolize the four legs of an animal, a reference to the Burakumin's supposed sub-human status. For this reason, many four fingered characters (such as Piccolo) are censored or edited, whereas others (such as the Simpsons) are left untouched.
This is the reason the release of Fat Princess has been delayed in Japan. Although Titan Studios certainly had no intention of offending the Burakumin, and the likelihood of the game actually causing any problems is extremely low, it's apparent that political correctness is paramount to all other concerns in this case. Although I think it's a bit silly, I can certainly appreciate the reasoning behind it.
For more information about the Burakumin, check out this dated but excellent article from Time.
What do you guys think about all this?
[Via Sankaku Complex]
16 comments
It's cartoon/video game characters. Fewer fingers is just easier to animate. Who in the world even brought this issue up in the first place within the developing and publishing process? Makes no sense.