From the Ears of the Dragons: An Ethnographic Overview of the Japanese D/deaf Community

The growing interest in sign languages worldwide, as well as the shift towards a framework that sees disability through a cultural model, and D/deafness in particular through a cultural and linguistic minority one, has brought about an increase in the number of studies and research on D/deaf communities in WENA countries and beyond. This thesis focuses on providing an ethnographic and diachronic overview of the Japanese D/deaf community in various fields, spanning from the history of D/deaf education to the new prospects the recent enactment of the 2025 Sign Language Act introduces. The research centres on the words and experiences of the members of the Japanese D/deaf community, which have been drawn from the first 25 volumes of the booklet series Rōbungaku and have been contextualised in terms of Japanese legislation, dominant social processes and critical changes in the social landscape of the archipelago. Through this overview, what is shown is the gradual shift that has been happening in Japan since the late 19th century in the frameworks revolving around disability and D/deafness, spurred by international trends but, as it is often the case, developing in a way that reflects the specificity of the location in which such shift occurs.