Suiheisha

(in full, Zenkoku Suiheisha; All-Japan Society for Legal Equality), a political organization founded in Japan in March 1922 to defend the interests of the former pariah caste of eta (also called tokushu burakumin [special-village people]). Initially, Suiheisha limited its activities to the struggle against discrimination, but in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s it also opposed militarization and the growth of fascism in Japan. At the demand of the Japanese militarist establishment, Suiheisha disbanded in 1940.