Developing  a  Collaborative  Research  Project  with  the  Ainu (original) (raw)

Anthropological Studies of the Ainu in Japan: Past and Present

Japanese review of cultural anthropology, 2003

This article reviews the main trends in anthropological studies of the Ainu in Japan, from the past to the present. During the Edo period, detailed doeuments on the life and culture of the Ainu were already being published, along with official accounts of explorations produced for specific purposes. Ainu studies in the Melji era developed further, ranging from travel literature to studies of Ainu ethnic origin, language and mythology Following the work of CHAMBERLAIN, BNI)CHELOR, PILSuDSKI, and MuNRO, YosHIDA and KINDAIcHI began to study the language and fblklore ef the Ainu in the 1910s. After that, even though folklore studies flourished, ethnological studies of the Ainu only started in Japan with a joint survey by anthropologists and ethnologists in 1951. While few studies have been carried out on the social aspects of Ainu culture, so that various aspects ef traditienal Ainu social organization remain in dispute, recent ethnological studies do shed light on the contemporary issues confronting the

The "Prehistoric" and "Protohistoric" Home of the Ainu

The Ainu are an indigenous people who today live on Japan’s northernmost main island, Hokkaidō. Very few of the Ainu speak their ancestral language, though other parts of their traditional culture survive through a thriving community of indigenous artists and craftspeople. In this paper, I will examine one of the various “myths” about the Ainu in historical and so-called “pre-historical” times: their distribution in the Japanese archipelago. I show that the popularly accepted notion on this issue does not hold up to ethnohistorical scrutiny.

Rethinking Ainu heritage: a case study of an Ainu settlement in Hokkaido, Japan

International Journal of Heritage Studies, 2005

With the colonisation of Hokkaido since the Meiji era, Western technologies were introduced to Japan, but the indigenous inhabitants'-the Ainu people's-ways of life were negatively affected because of the assimilation policy. Since the late 1950s, ethnic tourism in Ainu settlements has grown and Ainu hosts in traditional costumes were often seen in various tourist destinations in Hokkaido; Lake Akan was not exceptional. In this paper, the historic development of an Ainu settlement is explained, and the contested meanings of Ainu traditions and the social construction of Ainu culture in post-war Japanese society from the cultural-political perspectives is investigated. With the focus on the Ainu settlement at Lake Akan, the paper looks closely into the changing indigenous living environments and relevant activities held during the last several decades in order to discern how Ainu heritage has been preserved and promoted as well as the social transformation that Ainu people have undergone in the face of globalising Japanese society.

Ainu Culture in Transition

While indigenous rights are being widely discussed and cultures of indigenous peoples are becoming more known to the world, the current status of the indigenous Ainu people and their culture in contemporary Japanese society has not been fully explored. According to a 1999 Hokkaido local government survey, there are approximately 23,767 Ainu people living in Hokkaido and about 5000 in the Kanto area. However, very few of these individuals speak any Ainu language or practice the traditional way of life. This paper discusses the history and culture of the Ainu, and examines the social transformations that have taken place within this society since the enactment of the Ainu New Law in 1997, and the intervention of some innovative institutions aimed at supporting and revitalizing Ainu culture. It also presents material from ethnographic fieldwork interviews that reveal how some Ainu consider their cultural traditions and identity in Japan. 

Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People

American Anthropologist Journal of the American Anthropological Association, 2000

culture materielle. L'homme qui pensait avec les doigts.