“We tend to think of maps as factual, like a satellite picture, but maps are never neutral, they always have a certain point of view,” he said.
Rumsey said he’d be willing to restore the maps to their original state in Google Earth. Matsuoka, the lawmaker, said he was open to discussion on the issue.
A neighborhood in central Tokyo, a few blocks from the touristy Asakusa area and the city’s oldest temple, was labeled as an old eta village in the maps. It is indistinguishable from countless other Tokyo communities, except for a large number of leather businesses offering handmade bags, shoes and furniture.
When shown printouts of the maps from Google Earth, several older residents declined to comment. Younger people were more open on the subject.
Wakana Kondo, 27, recently started working in the neighborhood at a new business that sells leather for sofas. She was surprised when she learned the history of the area, but said it didn’t bother her.
“I learned about the burakumin in school, but it was always something abstract,” she said. “That’s a really interesting bit of history. Thank you.”
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