1 Socio-historical Approach towards Japanese Leatherworkers: A Cross-cultural Perspective 1 Yuko Nishimura Introduction: Focusing on the social history of Japanese leatherworkers, this paper will reflect on the social status of Japan’s leatherworkers, whose social position has been degraded for centuries by the concept of untouchability and pollution. Why were they socially stigmatized and why does this discrimination continue to this day? These questions were posed to me by the leader of a Japanese ex-untouchable community a few years ago when I told him that British tanners, skinners and saddlers were highly respected and their social status was high. Why was there such a difference, he asked? I hope my research might help him and others reflect on their identity as Japanese leatherworkers in the 21 st century. 1. Indian Untouchables and Leatherworkers In India, as in Japan, people who engage in leather work (particularly those who engage in skinning, tanning and the slaughtering of animals) are considered 1 This paper was written for a special lecture organized by The Society of Leather Technologies and Chemists (SLTC) and The Center for Advanced Leather Technologies at the University of Northampton. I would like to thank both organizations for giving me this opportunity. I was accompanied by two specialists: Mr. Yoshinori Kashiwa, the tanner and leather specialist, and Mr. Katsushi Hasegawa, lecturer of visual art direction and film making at The Tohoku Arts and Technology College. They would also like to express their heartfelt gratitude to these two organizations. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Morgan Pierce and Mr. David Bockmann who went through and checked my draft giving me valuable comments.