Embedded Files
Updated: 22 Apr 2022. This page has the following sections:
Voices and Stories
Voices and Stories
What does it mean to be indigenous in the 21st century? An interview with Ainu academic and activist, Uzawa Kanako, who talks about many issues including her website AinuToday.com whether to focus on Ainu culture and/or rights, the situation of the Ainu language, the new national Ainu museum Upopoy, and the role and responsibility of non-Ainu researchers, as well as the question of what indigeneity means in the 21st century. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, 2022.
On the left: Interview with OKI Kano, Ainu Tonkori musician who combines Ainu music with reggae, dub and other contemproary froms of music in his Oki Ainu Dub band. charlie's hunt for sound, 2022.
Future is Mine: Ainu My Voice This video tells the story of Kayano Rie san, her relation to her Ainu identity and culture, and especially her visit to the Seminole people, the indigenous people of Southern Florida. Future is Mine, 28 Jun 2020.
Japan's indigenous Ainu people still hunting for acceptance of their ancestral traditions This video looks at Atsushi Monbestsu, an Ainu man who is trying to live and support his family as an Ainu hunter. He talks about the importance of traditional Ainu hunting to his identity and also the discrimination he has experienced as Ainu. Reuters/South China Morning Post, 1 Nov 2019.
TOKYO応援宣言「開会式に登場!?先住民族・アイヌの歴史と文化を世界へ」The video tells the story of a young Ainu woman, Maya Sekine, about how she didn't reveal her Ainu identity to others when she was young but came to identify publicly as Ainu and now works to promote understanding of Ainu culture and language including on YouTube. TV Asahi, 8 Jul 2019.
Shimizu, Hatakeyama, Maruyama & Ichikawa:"Recognition at last for Japan’s Ainu Community?" A video of a meeting (in English and Japanese) at the Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Club in which Ainu activists criticized the New Ainu Law of 2019 which recognizes the Ainu people for the first time as “an indigenous group,” saying that despite the wording, it treats them as a tourist attraction and does not do enough to reverse the historical discrimination they have suffered or provide them an apology. They emphasized Ainu rights especially the right to self-determination. See also the article 'Empty words': Rights groups say Japan's bill recognizing Ainu as indigenous group falls short. Japan Times, 2 Mar 2019.
【サツダイリアルアクション】アイヌのルーツを追いかけて、静岡から北海道へ An interview with 金澤 眞直, from Shizuoka Prefecture, who is one of the students in the Ureshipa Club programme. Sapporo University, 24 Nov 2020.
TOKYO Ainu Documentary Film "TOKYO Ainu features the Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, living in Greater Tokyo (Tokyo and its surrounding areas), who are and actively in promoting their traditional culture in a metropolitan environment away from their traditional homeland, Hokkaido. Shedding a common assumption that all Ainu live in Hokkaido, the film captures the feelings, thoughts and aspirations of Ainu people that who try to follow the Ainu way no matter where they live."
Ainu work to build a sense of community in urban Japan An article about Shimada Akemi san and her work to build to build an Ainu community in Tokyo, help it connects to its culture, and raise awareness of Ainu living in Tokyo. It tells the story fo her life including her move from Hokkaido to Kawasaki when she was young and how she hid her Ainu identity, and how meeting a Maori activist in japan and then taking young Ainu people to Aotearoa (New Zealand) to meet Maori people was a turning point for her. NHK World, 2023.
Ainu activist near Tokyo uses traditional cloth art to show her people are 'right here' This article tells the story of Shizue Ukaji, 88, who is skilled and highly respected maker of traditional Ainu embroidery. It explains how her family left Hokkaido like many other Ainu people to find work and to escape discrimination and how she became "a pioneer of the movement to reclaim the rights of Ainu people in eastern Japan's Kanto region". Mainichi Shimbun, 22 Apr, 2021.
Where Ainu food, culture, and community meet: Interview with Teruyo Usa An interview with the owner of Harukor restaurant, the only Ainu restaurant in Tokyo, about being born in Hokkaido and moving to Tokyo when she was young, about Harukor and about Ainu food. Hidden Japan, 2015. This is a video of Teruyo speaking Ainu, Wikitongues, 2016.
Interview with Koji Yuki, the leader of Ainu Art Project, a group that combine Ainu music with rock and other modern music. Voices, 2007. This is a video of Ainu Art Project performing: アイヌアートプロジェクト「チュㇷ゚カワ・カムイラン」
Going Native: Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive Part 1 explains the history of Ainu people as well as the story of Mina Sakai, a young Ainu woman from Hokkaido who at first felt shame about her Ainu identity. The article explains how she cam to have pride in being Ainu and to set up the group Ainu Rebels to promote Ainu culture. Metropolis, 26 Feb, 2009.
Going Native: Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive Part 2 explains a bit more of Mina Sakai's story (from part 1 above), and explains briefly about traditional Ainu music and dance as well as looking at the Ainu artists, Ainu Rebels and Oki, who combine Ainu dance and music with rap, reggae and hip hop, and at attitudes to this new hybrid culture from amongst Ainu people. It also explains about the film Tokyo Ainu. Metropolis, 26 Feb, 2009.
Ainu People: History, Culture and Current Situation
Ainu People: History, Culture and Current Situation
AINU: Indigenous Peoples in Japan This video introduces the Ainu people, explaining the history of invasion, dispossession of their lands, assimilation (banning of Ainu culture and language) and discrimination they have experienced. It also focuses on activities to conserve Ainu culture and language, including the building of a national Ainu museum but, although it mentions the passing of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights Of Indigenous peoples, it doesn't say much about the rights of Ainu as the Indigenous people of Japan. United Nations, 25 Jul, 2017
Japan's Ainu This video documentary looks at, "Japan's indigenous people and their fight for cultural survival and acceptance. Over the last century, they have seen their traditions and their language stripped away, along with their ancestral lands. But after generations of oppression, racism and forced assimilation, change is in the air for the Ainu." It looks at the situation of Ainu people in Tokyo as well as Hokkaido, and also at activities to create new forms of Ainu culture not just the preservation of traditional culture. It also discusses the need for Japanese people to know more about Ainu people, their history and the issues they face, and the issue of an apology from the government for the treatment of Ainu people. Aljazeera, 4 Feb 2010.
Japan's forgotten indigenous people This is an overview of the history and current situation of Ainu people, looking at the discrimination they have faced after the colonisation of Hokkaido by the Japanese, and at recent recognition of the Ainu as indigenous. It reprots on views that sharing Ainu culture, not talking about Ainu history and rights, is the best way to raise Japanese people's awareness of the Ainu, but it also explains criticism that recent laws and government policies still do not recognise Ainu rights. It includes the story and views of Kimiko Naraki an Ainu elder, as well as several professors. BBC Travel, 20 May 2020.
No Rights, No Regret: New Ainu Legislation Short on Substance by Higashimura Takeshi. This is an article that is critical of the new Ainu Law because it doesn't recognise Ainu rights or include apology to Ainu people for the discrimination they have received. Nippon.com, 26 Apr 2019. Asia-Pacific Human Rights Center, June 2019.
Aiming at Olympic boom, Japan builds 'Ethnic Harmony' tribute to indigenous Ainu, This article includes views from Ainu people that Upopoy may just become a theme park and not recognise the discrimination Ainu people experienced historically. It also discusses the issue of an apology to Ainu people from the Japanese government for the discrimination they have suffered. Reuters, 19 0ct 2019.
Japan's 'vanishing' Ainu will finally be recognized as indigenous people This article includes a brief overview of Ainu history, tells the Story of Oki Kano, an Ainu musician who mixes Ainu music with reggae and other genres, and looks at different views about the New Ainu Law of 2019 including the lack of an apology to Ainu people and whether it tries to turn them into a cultural exhibit and deny them their rights and self-determination. CNN, 23 Apr 2018.
Scholar urges fresh look at rich Ainu heritage This article discusses the views of Shunwa Honda, a scholar on indigenous ethnic groups. Honda argues that Japan still doesn't listen to the voice of Ainu people and he notes that some Japanese see Ainu as a people of the past in the Hokkaido whilst in reality they are people who live in today's society whilst preserving their history and culture. Japan Times, 10 Jul, 2012.
Ainu Living in Tokyo - Getting To Know the Indigenous People of Japan by Osamu Hasegawa This article explains the history of the invasion of Hokkaido, and assimilation and dispossession of the Ainu people, and why it is important for Japanese people to understand this history. He argues that "the history that most Japanese learn is only based on the Japanese perspective" and hides the history of invasion and colonization.The section on 'Current Situation of Ainu Living in and around Tokyo' gives a short overview of the Ainu community in Tokyo and the Tokyo-Icarpa. which commemorates the removal of 38 Ainu people to the Kaitakushi Ainu School and Agricultural Experiment Station in 1872 (later Sapporo University) who were not allowed to return to their homes. Sustainability, 24 Dec 2009.
Ainu An overview from the Minority Rights Group that gives a profile of the Ainu people, and looks at their historical situation and the current issues they face.
Ainu An article from the World Culture Encyclopedia with sections on:
Ainu people Ainu (also called Ezo in historical texts) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Wikipedia
Law for the Promotion of the Ainu Culture and for the Dissemination and Advocacy for the Traditions of the Ainu and the Ainu Culture Law No. 52, May 14, 1997. The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture.
Recognition at last for Japan's Ainu Japan's parliament is to adopt a resolution that, for the first time, formally recognises the Ainu as "an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture". BBC News, 2008/06/06.
Toward Ainu- and Japan-Specific Indigenous Policies Teruki Tsunemoto, LL.D., Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies Hokkaido University, Japan A presentation which discusses different definitions of indigenous people as well as Japanese government policy towards Ainu people.
Japan's indigenous Ainu battle for return of ancestors "Japan's long marginalised and little known indigenous people, the Ainu, are engaged in a protracted and symbolic struggle to have the remains of their ancestors brought home." New Zealand Herald, 2 Jun, 2013.
Experiencing Ainu culture An official overview focusing on the distinctiveness of Ainu culture and language, rather than looking at the history of the Ainu people and their colonisation and dispossession by the Japanese state. Japan National Tourism Organisation
Russia’s Ainu Community Makes Its Existence Known – Analysis This article looks at the existence of Ainu people in Russia and the significance of this for the territiorial dispute between Russia and Japan about the Northern Territories/Kurile Islands. Eurasia Review, 10 Apr, 2011.
アイヌの人々の”今”を知る。 This is an interview to the photographer Hiroshi Ikeda who is capturing Ainu people's dailly life. This interview is wrritten by the perspective of the photographer. FUTURE IS NOW, 6 Nov, 2019.
今を生きる先住民族アイヌ 葛藤の先に描く未来 This is an interview to the Ainu men. They are trying to tell people the history of Ainu. NHK, 26 Aug, 2021.
Ainu culture
Ainu culture
AINU: Indigenous Peoples in Japan This video introduces the Ainu people, explaining the history of invasion, dispossession of their lands, assimilation (banning of Ainu culture and language) and discrimination they have experienced. It also focuses on activities to conserve Ainu culture and language, including the building of a national Ainu museum but, although it mentions the passing of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights Of Indigenous peoples, it doesn't say much about the rights of Ainu as the Indigenous people of Japan. United Nations, 25 Jul, 2017
Japan's Ainu This video documentary looks at, "Japan's indigenous people and their fight for cultural survival and acceptance. It looks at the situation of Ainu people in Tokyo as well as Hokkaido, and also at activities to create new forms of Ainu culture not just the preservation of traditional culture. It also discusses the need for Japanese people to know more about Ainu people, their history and the issues they face, and the issue of an apology from the government for the treatment of Ainu people. Aljazeera, 4 Feb 2010.
Japan's forgotten indigenous people This is an overview of the history and current situation of Ainu people, looking at the discrimination they have faced after the colonisation of Hokkaido by the Japanese, and at recent recognition of the Ainu as indigenous. It reprots on views that sharing Ainu culture, not talking about Ainu history and rights, is the best way to raise Japanese people's awareness of the Ainu, but it also explains criticism that recent laws and government policies still do not recognise Ainu rights. It includes the story and views of Kimiko Naraki an Ainu elder, as well as several professors. BBC Travel, 20 May 2020.
Japan's 'vanishing' Ainu will finally be recognized as indigenous people This article includes a brief overview of Ainu history, tells the Story of Oki Kano, an Ainu musician who mixes Ainu music with reggae and other genres, and looks at different views about the New Ainu Law of 2019 including the lack of an apology to Ainu people and whether it tries to turn them into a cultural exhibit and deny them their rights and self-determination. CNN, 23 Apr 2018.
Going Native: Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive Part 1 explains the history of Ainu people as well as the story of Mina Sakai, a young Ainu woman from Hokkaido who at first felt shame about her Ainu identity. The article explains how she came to have pride in being Ainu and to set up the group Ainu Rebels to promote Ainu culture. Metropolis, 26 Feb, 2009.
Going Native: Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive Part 2 explains briefly about traditional Ainu music and dance as well as looking at the Ainu artists, Ainu Rebels and Oki, who combine Ainu dance and music with rap, reggae and hip hop, and at attitudes to this new hybrid culture from amongst Ainu people. It also explains about the film Tokyo Ainu. Metropolis, 26 Feb, 2009.
The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence By Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Cultural Survival Quarterly, 1999. This article looks at the history of colonisation of Ainu people and critically analyses the Ainu Cultural Promotion Law of 1997.
Efforts underway to save Ainu language and culture A article from the Japanese government promoting their official approach to language and culture revitalisation. Japan Times, 2022.
Maintaining and Preserving Traditional Ainu Culture
アイヌ文化について / Ainu Culture An explanation from the Upopoy, the National Ainu Museum and Park.
Ainu Culture and the Ainu People explained by the Akanko Ainu Kotan
Promotion of the Ainu culture Information form the Foundation for Ainu Culture, the official government-funded organisation set up by the 1997 Ainu Culture Promotion Law, emphasizing the "the restoration and preservation" of traditional cultural skills and making the Japanese public more aware of Ainu culture
Present-Day Ainu Culture A description from the Foundation for Ainu Culture that emphasizes restoring ceremonies and protecting and preserving traditional dances
See and Learn in the Kotan Cise in the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum
Sharing and Promoting Ainu Culture on the Internet
Indigenous Ainu university student shares her culture with the rest of Japan on YouTube Maya Sekine, a Japanese university student with Indigenous Ainu roots has taken to YouTube to share her culture and language, which she has learned to embrace over the years, on her Sito Channel.
TOKYO応援宣言「開会式に登場!?先住民族・アイヌの歴史と文化を世界へ」The video tells the story of a young Ainu woman, Maya Sekine, about how she didn't reveal her Ainu identity to others when she was young but came to identify publicly as Ainu and now works to promote understanding of Ainu culture and language including on YouTube. TV Asahi, 8 Jul 2019.
Creating New Forms of Ainu Culture
The Ainu Rebels were a group of young Ainu people who combined Ainu dance and music with reggae, hip hop and rap to promote Ainu culture and express their pride in their Ainu identity to non Ainu people .
Oki
Oki is an Ainu Japanese musician. Wikipedia.
Oki Official Website Website for Oki, a musician with a Japanese mother and Ainu father and his Oki Dub Ainu Band that plays music that fuses Reggae, African music and Electronica with Ainu folk melodies.
Interview with OKI Kano, Ainu Tonkori musician who combines Ainu music with reggae, dub and other contemproary froms of music in his Oki Ainu Dub band. charlie's hunt for sound, 2022.
Ainu Musician, OKI – Roots 1999 "When I realised the origin of my blood, I knew this blood was going to be burning" says Oki, "but first I had to find out how to make it burn". With the release of his second album, "Hankapuy", it's clear that Oki, a musician of mixed Japanese and Ainu (indigenous Japanese) blood has come a long way on his own personal journey and in the process has created a startling album. Far Side Music. 14 Nov, 2014. Includes some videos of Oki.
Discussion of the Ainu New Law of 2019, Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, and the Promotion of Ainu Culture not Rights
Law enacted to recognise ethnic Ainu minority as indigenous people "The law requires the central and local governments to promote Ainu culture and industry, including tourism, in order to correct long-standing socioeconomic disparities faced by the group. But some Ainu have criticized the legislation, saying it will not do enough to reverse historical discrimination." Kyodo News, 19 Apr 2019.
ウポポイ（民族共生象徴空間） The website of Upopoy, the National Ainu Museum and Park
UPOPOY National Ainu Museum and Park Official website and National Ainu Museum and Park ”UPOPOY”, JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organisation). These are two official views that emphasize learning about Ainu culture.
Upopoy – A gate to self-identification and living in coexistence Includes the views of two University of Hokkaido professors involved in setting up Upopoy, University of Hokkaido
Aiming at Olympic boom, Japan builds 'Ethnic Harmony' tribute to indigenous Ainu, This article includes views from Ainu people that Upopoy may just become a theme park and not recognise the discrimination Ainu people experienced historically. It also discusses the issue of an apology to Ainu people from the Japanese government for the discrimination they have suffered. Reuters, 19 0ct 2019.
Japan’s Indigenous Ainu community don’t want a theme park – they want their rights This article explains Ainu criticisms of the new Ainu Law for ignoring Ainu rights, problems with the return of Ainu remains (the bones of the dead) and for making the Ainu into a tourist attraction to attract people and money to Hokkaido by creating Upopoy. It describes, in paragraphs 3 & 4, Ainu leaders and Ainu Associations that are critical of government policies in various ways, as well as explaining in paragraph 8 that the Ainu Association of Hokkaido has participated in government policy-making processes but that 80% of Ainu do not feel represented by it. Equal Times, 10 December 2020
Other information on Ainu Culture
Ainu-Maori Cultural Exchange project (Organized by Shimada Akemi san) – from 'Ready For' (Cloud funding service)
Kotan-pet project – Sapporo International Art Festival
Yukar of Ainu People Information about the tradition of Ainu epic oral poetry from the UNESCO Asia Pacific Cultural Centre.
Ainu Language
Ainu Language
Voices and Stories
TOKYO応援宣言「開会式に登場!?先住民族・アイヌの歴史と文化を世界へ」The video tells the story of a young Ainu woman, Maya Sekine, about how she didn't reveal her Ainu identity to others when she was young but came to identify publicly as Ainu and now works to promote understanding of Ainu culture and language including on YouTube. TV Asahi, 8 Jul 2019.
Efforts underway to save Ainu language and culture A article from the Japanese government promoting their official approach to language and culture revitalisation, it includes more about Sekine Maya san's story and her work to teach the Ainu language on You Tube, Japan Times, 2022.
＜平取＞アイヌ文化学習を広めるには 平取町教委の初代担当係長・関根健司さん（５１） A short interview with Sekine Kenji san, who is not Ainu hmself, but has become a leader in the teaching of the Ainu language and is a curator of the Nibutani Ainu Cultural Museum. He is Sekine Maya's father. 先住民族関連ニュース 2022
Explanation and Analysis
Ainu language An article that looks at the relation of the Ainu language to other languages, its speakers, its phonology (system of pronunciation), its typology and grammar, systems for writing it in katakana, and oral (spoken) literature in Ainu. Wikipedia.
Will the Ainu Language Die? This article goes a very basic overview of the situation of the Ainu language and Ainu history. Talking It Global, 31 May 2004.
A brief explanation of the Ainu Language from the Foundation for Ainu Culture, the official government-funded organization to promote Ainu culture set up by the 1997 Ainu Culture Promotion Law. See also this organization's アイヌ語ポータルサイト
In Japan, the Ainu language is largely unknown and unloved, but linguists are fascinated by its mysteries PRI, 26 May 2016
Ainu-English Word List A list of Ainu words and phrases translated into English.
アイヌ学習と民族教育機関設立に向けて The study about the Ainu learning and the idea of founding the educational institutions for Ainu people. It has a list of universities which has classes of Ainu culture and language. 上野 昌之、日本大学
アイヌ語の現状と復興 佐藤知己、北海道大学
Ainu Language Classes and Language Revitalisation
Biratori-cho Nibutani Ainu Language School Moved by the idea that "The Ainu language must be taught to the children of Nibutani," the school opened in 1983 as the "Nibutani Ainu-go Juku (Nibutani Ainu Language School)" for the local primary and secondary school children. Foundation for Ainu Culture.
Promotion of the Ainu Language from the Foundation for Ainu Culture
Aynu itak: On the road to Ainu language revitalisation by Kylie Martin, 2011. A long article that looks at the historical decline of the Ainu language after Japan colonized Ainu lands, the current situation of the langauge and ways to revitalise it from an language ecology perspective.
Ten Linguistic Issues in Japan: The Impact of Globalization By Junko Saruhashi and Yuko Takeshita Includes a short section on maintenance and revitalization of the Ainu language. OECD
Language Maintenance Practice Vs Internationalization Policy in Japan By Yuko Igarashi and Joseph F Kess. Includes a short section on the Ainu language, no date.
アイヌ語学習・教育用資料の電算化・集積・公開を可能にする情報ネットワーク構築のための基礎研究 井筒勝信、北海道教育大学旭川校 Ainu Language Education as a Rural Education: Basic Research for Creating IT-Assisted Resources for Ainu Language Learning and Teaching. Katsunobu Idutsu. Hokkaido University of Education. 2007.
公益財団法人 アイヌ文化振興・研究推進機構（アイヌ文化財団）The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture "FRPAC" Information in English here on promotion of the Ainu language.
アイヌ文化交流センター in Tokyo
Language standardization
日本の言語政策における統一性と多様性 The asademic paper about language standardization, and the influences from it. ソジエ内田恵美
文化を定量化する試み～“言語の標準化”と活版印刷の関係～ The influences from language standarization for ethnic groups. 佐々木優、早稲大学、15 Apr, 2019
Ainu People and Culture on Tokyo
Ainu People and Culture on Tokyo
"TOKYO Ainu features the Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, living in Greater Tokyo (Tokyo and its surrounding areas), who are and actively in promoting their traditional culture in a metropolitan environment away from their traditional homeland, Hokkaido. Shedding a common assumption that all Ainu live in Hokkaido, the film captures the feelings, thoughts and aspirations of Ainu people that who try to follow the Ainu way no matter where they live."
Ainu Living in Tokyo - Getting To Know the Indigenous People of Japan by Osamu Hasegawa "The Japanese government colonized places where the Ainu traditionally lived, and positioned them as an extinct ethnic group. I believe that the lack of awareness regarding the Ainu is the result of an intentional effort." Japan for Sustainability, 24 Dec 2009.
Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive The article looks at the ways that Ainu people in Tokyo are maintaining and renewing Ainu culture, and at a documentary film being made about the Ainu. Japan Today, 1 Mar 2009. (New link added 02 May 2013).
Ainu Associations in Greater Tokyo An overview of some Ainu organisations and events in the Tokyo area.
Charanke Matsuri: "The festival ties the earth to the heavens. The dance connects people to the universe". The Charanke Festival is a major event bringing together the Ainu and Okinawan communities in Tokyo. It all started more than 20 years ago from a connection between an Ainu and Okinawan feeling a sense of kinship, and developed into the event it is today. More info here.
千葉県君津市 カムイミンタラ 2005年7月末、千葉県君津市、森に囲まれた亀山湖近くの南斜面に、この施設はオープンしました。
Documenting Urban Indigeneity: TOKYO Ainu and the 2011 survey on the living conditions of Ainu outside Hokkaido 都市に住む先住民––記録映画「東京アイヌ」および北海道外に住むアイヌの2011年度生活実態調査 by Simon Cotterill. The main part of the article on the film Tokyo Ainu gives some background to the making of the film and the history Ainu people and organizations in Tokyo before discussing how the film shows the reality of lives of Ainu people living in an urban Tokyo, not the stereotype of rural Ainu life in Hokkaido, explaining for example why Ainu people moved to Tokyo. The second part on the 2011 Survey on the Living Conditions of Ainu outside Hokkaido explains some of the differences between the Ainu Association of Hokkaido and some Ainu organizations in Tokyo and criticisms by Tokyo Ainu of the way the Ainu Policy Promotion Council approached Ainu people in Tokyo as part of it's survey on Ainu Outside of Hokkaido. The Asia-Pacific Journal Vol 9, Issue 45 No 2, November 7, 2011. (The abstract for the article summarizes it as follows: "If acknowledged at all, Japan’s indigenous population the Ainu are usually represented as a rural, exotic group, bound to ancestral homes in Hokkaido and the Northern territories. Yet, large numbers of Ainu, perhaps even the majority of their population, now live in urban centres outside Hokkaido. The recent documentary TOKYO Ainu challenges traditional, detrimental representations of Ainu culture as solely rural and sedentary, and records the complex contemporaneous reality of urban indigeneity lived by those Ainu within Greater Tokyo.")
Ainu People, Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination
Ainu People, Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination
Booklet lists Ainu rights in U.N. declaration This article discusses a booklet published by Citizens’ Diplomatic Center for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (市民外交センター), a Japanese NGO chaired by Professor Hideaki Uemura, professor of international human rights law at Keisen University. The booklet, which was written to show Ainu people how they could make use of the Declaration to improve their conditions, explains that the Declaration gives Ainu the right to self-determination (to control their own affairs politically and economically), to practice their cultural traditions and to have ethnic education in their own language. Japan Times, 7 Nov, 2008.
Ainu lawsuit over fishing rights test case for much larger issues This article also discusses Ainu attempts to have their rights as indigenous people recognised. Asahi Shimbun, 18 Aug 2020.
After the Ainu Shinpō: The United Nations and the Indigenous People of Japan by Crystal Porter, Australian National University. After describing the passing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, this article explains that the Japanese government has ignored the collective rights and self-determination of the Ainu as an indigenous people, which are recognized in the Declaration and emphasized the superiority of individual rights over collective, Indigenous rights. New Voices in Japanese Studies, Dec 2008.
CEMiPoS Backgrounder on Ainu Rights Issues Download the full document here. This is quite a long document that "gives an overview of two important Ainu rights campaigns: the struggle for Ainu fishing rights and the struggle for the repatriation of Ainu human remains. In addition, it discusses the tension between the promotion of culture and the protection of rights, exploitation of Ainu culture, divisions within Ainu society, and the question of Ainu identity." In section 4. "Division of the Ainu society over the establishment of Upopoy and the repatriation of Ainu human remains", the document explains (p14) that only the Ainu Association of Hokkaido was consulted about the plans for Upopoy and other Ainu Associations were ignored. It goes on to argue for Ainu self-determintion and recognition that under the UN declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Ainu must be able to give their "free, prior, and informed consent" to decisions affecting them, such as the creation of Upopoy. CeMiPoS, 1 Apr 2021.
The Story of the Ainu And the remains of Japan’s colonial legacy by Amelie Marmenlind The section on 'The decolonization and controversy of Upopoy' explains that Upopoy was created only in consultation with the Ainu Association of Hokkaido not other Ainu groups, and that all official Ainu projects created by the government have been led by ethnic Japanese people not Ainu people. Metropolis, May 20, 2021.
From assimilation to recognition: Japan’s indigenous Ainu This article describes the process of recognition of Ainu people by the Japanese government largely from the perspective of Yuya Abe, Deputy Head of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido. Although this Association was involved in the discussions about the New Ainu Law and Upopoy and largely welcomed them, Abe recognizes that the Law does not include commitments to return land, resources or political control to Ainu people and has been divisive amonst Ainu groups. He points out that half of the land in Hokkaido is state-owned and much is wilderness so it could easily be returned to Ainu people. Minority Rights Group, Jan 2020.
The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence This article explains the history of colonization, dispossession and assimilation of Ainu people by the Japanese state, before analyzing the Law for the Promotion of Ainu Culture in 1997. In the final section, 'Continuing Controversies', it argues that the law is based on a kind of co-existence or reconciliation that only recognizes Ainu culture as a timeless sphere separated from politics and everyday life - and notes that reconciliation is not a phrase used widely in Japanese. Cultural Survival Magazine, Dec 1999.
Recognition at last for Japan's Ainu An article about the history of the Ainu people and Japanese settlement on of their lands, which discusses their recognition as an indigenous people in 2008. BBC News, 6 Jun, 2008.
Toward Ainu- and Japan-Specific Indigenous Policies Teruki Tsunemoto, LL.D., Center for Ainu & Indigenous Studies Hokkaido University, Japan A presentation which discusses different definitions of indigenous people as well as Japanese government policy towards Ainu people.
Recognition for a People Who Faded as Japan Grew It was only a few weeks ago that the Japanese government finally, and unexpectedly, recognized the Ainu as an “indigenous people.” Parliament introduced and quickly passed a resolution stating that the Ainu had a “distinct language, religion and culture,” setting aside the belief, long expressed by conservatives, that Japan is an ethnically homogeneous nation. New York Times, July 3, 2008
Upper and Lower Houses of the Diet of Japan recognize the Ainu as Indigenous People This articles discusses the Japanese government's recognition of the Ainu as an indigenous people after the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples but also the government's refusal to recognise Ainu people as indigenous before this. Asia Pacific Human Rights Center, 7 Jun 2008.
Ainu and Okinawan Human Rights- United Nations Forum on indigenous issues Various organizations urged the Japanese government to fully realize the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and address human rights violations against the Ainu and Okinawan communities at the tenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues convened at the United Nations Headquarters, New York from the 16th to 27th of May, 2011
Ainu People Today - 7 Years after the Culture Promotion Law By Yoichi Tanaka. The Ainu people are still struggling for the full recognition and acceptance by the Japanese society of their culture and language, and for the recognition in law of their rights as an indigenous people. An article from 2004, before the Japanese government recogmised the Ainu as an indigenous people in 2008.
Ainu People's Burial Remains (Bones)
Ainu People's Burial Remains (Bones)
Japan's indigenous Ainu battle for return of ancestors "Japan's long marginalised and little known indigenous people, the Ainu, are engaged in a protracted and symbolic struggle to have the remains of their ancestors brought home." New Zealand Herald, 2 Jun, 2013.
Return the Ainu remains to Ainu Kotans Hokkaido University Declassified Document Research Group
Remains of Ainu People in Australia to Be Returned to Japan Jiji-Press, 2023
Remains of Sakhalin Ainu, who faced troubled history, set to return to Japan for 1st time The Japanese and Australian governments have agreed that the remains of four Indigenous Ainu people held in Australian museums will be returned to Japan. Mainichi, 2023. Japanese version
Ainu People and Cultural Tourism
Ainu People and Cultural Tourism
Experiencing Ainu culture An official overview focusing on Ainu culture as a tourist attraction, rather than looking at the history of the Ainu people and their colonisation and dispossession by the Japanese state. Japan National Tourism Organisation.
Japan's 'vanishing' Ainu will finally be recognized as indigenous people This article includes a brief overview of Ainu history, tells the Story of Oki Kano, an Ainu musician who mixes Ainu music with reggae and other genres, and looks at different views about the New Ainu Law of 2019 including the lack of an apology to Ainu people and whether it tries to turn them into a cultural exhibit and deny them their rights and self-determination. CNN, 23 Apr 2018.
Scholar urges fresh look at rich Ainu heritage This article discusses the views of Shunwa Honda, a scholar on indigenous ethnic groups. Honda argues that Japan still doesn't listen to the voice of Ainu people and he notes that some Japanese see Ainu as a people of the past in the Hokkaido whilst in reality they are people who live in today's society whilst preserving their history and culture. Japan Times, 10 Jul, 2012.
Ainu Crafts - Patterns with a Prayer Information about an exhibtion being held at the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo from April 2nd (Tue) - June 2nd (Sun), 2013.
The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence By Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Cultural Survival Quarterly, 1999. This article looks at the history of colonisation of Ainu people and critically analyses the Ainu Cultural Promotion Law of 1997.
Gender and Kinship in Ainu Communities
Gender and Kinship in Ainu Communities
Ainu Shamanism: A Forbidden Path to Universal Knowledge by Sakurako Tanaka. This article discusses the historical development of Ainu spiritual beliefs and the gender roles connected to them. It explains how a gender division of labour developed in Ainu Shamanism with men as masters of ceremonies and women as mediums who communicated with spirits and taking medical roles healing people who were ill. Later Ainu Shamanism become dominated by female healers and mediums. The article also includes the story of Aiko, an Ainu medium, healer and midwife (who helped women give birth), and concludes by arguing that recent Ainu cultural revitalization has focused on public ceremonies such as Iyomante (the bear-sending ceremony) but has excluded the role of women in Ainu Shamanism. Cultural Survival, Summer 2003.
Ainu People and Other Indigenous People and Cultures
Ainu People and Other Indigenous People and Cultures
Learning from Asli for Ainu rights The Orang Asli village of Penderas in Kuala Krau, Pahang recently received visitors from Japan. They came on a study tour to learn how Malaysian NGOs organise communities to present to and even challenge the government on issues concerning them.
Ainu musician Oki brings the world to Hokkaido An interview with Oki, a musician with a Japanese mother and an Ainu father, whose band, the Oki Dub Ainu Band, mix Ainu music with reggae, dub and other world musics. Japan Times, Aug. 28, 2008.
Ainu Maori Exchange Help indigenous Ainu youth get to New Zealand for an exchange with Maori to study methods for cultural survival. Indiegogo.
Ainu-Maori Cultural Exchange project (Organized by Shimada Akemi san) – from 'Ready For' (Cloud funding service)
Ainu ‘rebels’ mix it up to get message across "Mina Sakai wanted to improve the status of her people and their self-esteem in a way that would also entertain ordinary people...She performs traditional Ainu dances and music mixed with rock and hip-hop." Japan Times, 22 Nov, 2007.
Ainu Pride Productions An organisation run by a non-Ainu person, W. Lonnie Ding-Everson, with close Ainu connections, that aims to connect Ainu people with the wider non-Japanese. world. See also the Ainu Pride blog and Ainu Pride Facebook page.
Ainu People In Russia
Ainu People In Russia
Ainu in Russia Wikipedia
Russia’s Ainu Community Makes Its Existence Known – Analysis This article looks at the existence of Ainu people in Russia and the significance of this for the territiorial dispute between Russia and Japan about the Northern Territories/Kurile Islands. Eurasia Review, 10 Apr, 2011
The Ainu: one of Russia’s indigenous peoples A radio broadcast and article from Voice of Russia Radio, 4 May 2011.
Russian Ainu leader calls for greater respect An interview with Alexei Nakamura, who leads the Ainu community on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, about the situation of the community and his calls for the Ainu to have a role in discussion between Japan and Russia about the development of the Northern Territories/Southern Kuriles. Nikkei Asian Review, 3 Mar 2017.
Ainu people lay ancient claim to Kurile Islands The hunters and fishers who lost their land to the Russians and Japanese are gaining the confidence to demand their rights Independent, 21 Sep 1992.
Education about Ainu history, culture and discrimination
Education about Ainu history, culture and discrimination
アイヌ民族に関する教育 This is a website of Sapporo city's government about education about Ainu. The textbook of Ainu and the state of the event about ethnic education. 札幌市, 4 Jun, 2020.
「アイヌ民族の学習」を進めるために This is a report about how Ainu peopleare taught about in elementary and junior high schools and insociety. 西村浩充, Nov, 2012. The Story of the Ainu And the remains of Japan’s colonial legacy by Amelie Marmenlind The section on 'Ainu in today’s Japan' discusses the lack of knowledge of Ainu amongst many Japanese people, the tendency of museums to show focus on Ainu culture as something of the past, as well as some new initiatives to increase awareness of Ainu culture. Metropolis, May 20, 2021.
In Japan, the Ainu language is largely unknown and unloved, but linguists are fascinated by its mysteries This is an an article and podcast mainly about the Ainu language, but it also talks about the lack of education about Ainu people at school, and the lack of awareness of Ainu people and language in Japan, especially at the start of the article and podcast. PRI The World, 26 May 2016.
Indigenous Ainu group in Japan to appear in 35 textbooks, 6 subjects This article explains the increase in information about Ainu people in school textbooks after the passing of the new Ainu Law. The article suggests that some textbooks focus on Ainu culture while some explain the discrimination the Ainu have experienced, but it is not clear how much the textbooks will make the history of colonization and assimilation clear. Hokkaido Shimbun, 1 April 2020.
Ainu Living in Tokyo - Getting To Know the Indigenous People of Japan by Osamu Hasegawa This article explains the history of the invasion of Hokkaido, and assimilation and dispossession of the Ainu people, and why it is important for Japanese people to understand this history. He argues that "the history that most Japanese learn is only based on the Japanese perspective" and that lack of awareness that "the Japanese government colonized places where the Ainu traditionally lived, and positioned them as an extinct ethnic group" is the result of an intentional effort. Sustainability, 24 Dec 2009
History from Below: Japan’s Junior High School History Textbooks and the colonisation of Hokkaidō by Nocilas Henck, Keio University. A long academic article that looks at how junior high school textbooks explain Ainu history, particularly how the colonization of Hokkaido is described as modernisation and the development and discrimination and expropriation of Ainu people is not described accurately. ejcjs, 30 Aug 2015.
The Ainu Identity and japanese Human Rights Education Part 2.pdfThe Ainu Identity and Japanese Human Rights Education: Part Two by BJ Mahoney, Campana, 2015.
This is a long academic article that looks at
the problems with education about Ainu people in Japan focusing on three areas: 1. Survey with both Japanese and Foreign college students studying in Japan (pp. 222-226) looks at how much Japanese and foreign students learned at school about Ainu people and what they know about them including their history, and discusses the effects of a visit to an 'Ainu show' to see performances of Ainu culture; 2. Ainu Education: Question and answer survey with Japanese high school teachers (pp. 228-230) - looking at how much Ainu history is taught in Japanese high school;s and whether it is included in human rights education in Japan (one teacher says: “I taught human rights education and during this time I never taught about Ainu human rights. Even in meetings with other high school instructors over content teaching of human rights issues, the Ainu were never discussed as a relevant human rights issue.”; 3. Ainu Historical Revision (pp.230-231) about treatment of Ainu people in school history textbooks.
国民的理解の構築は いかに可能か？.pdf国民的理解の構築はいかに可能か？─オーストラリアの事例から─ by 窪田幸子 2011/09 An article that looks at understanding of Aboriginal people in Australia for ideas about developing awareness of Ainu people in Japan.
An Apology to Ainu People for their Treatment
An Apology to Ainu People for their Treatment
Japan's Ainu This video includes discussion of whether the Japanese government should apologise for the historical treatment of Ainu people. Aljazeera, 4 Feb 2010.
No Rights, No Regret: New Ainu Legislation Short on Substance by Higashimura Takeshi. This is an article that is critical of the new Ainu Law because it doesn't recognise Ainu rights or include apology to Ainu people for the discrimination they have received. Nippon.com, 26 Apr 2019. Asia-Pacific Human Rights Center, June 2019.
Going Native: Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive Part 2 Includes Hiroshi Imazu a lower house lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who led a group that wrote the resolution recognizing the Ainu as indigenous in 2008, explaining why he thinks Japan does Not need to apologize to the Ainu people for their historic treatment. Metropolis, 26 Feb, 2009.
Japan’s Indigenous Ainu community don’t want a theme park – they want their rights This article explains, in paragraph 2, that Ainu elder, Shizue Ukaji, wants "the government make a formal apology to us Ainu for the historical injustices imposed on us". Equal Times, 10 December 2020.
Shizue Ukaji explains in a little more detail why she wants an apology to Ainu people from the government as a first step in reconciliation between Japan and the Ainu at the bottom of p172 and top of page 173 in "A Quest for What We Ainu Are".
'Empty words': Rights groups say Japan's bill recognizing Ainu as indigenous group falls short This article reports on a meeting at the Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Club in which Ainu activists criticized the New Ainu Law which recognizes the Ainu people for the first time as “an indigenous group,” saying that despite the wording, it treats them as a tourist attraction and does not do enough to reverse the historical discrimination they have suffered or provide them an apology. Japan Times, 2 Mar 2019. See the video of the meeting on the right in Japanese with an English translation.
Academic articles and chapters in books
Academic articles and chapters in books
Chapter 7. Minority Groups: Ethnicity and Discrimination. In Sugimoto, Yoshio. (2003). An introduction to Japanese society. Cambridge [England] : Cambridge University Press. Available from: Chuo Library 中央書庫 309.152/S94 & Mike. Section V Indigenous Ainu.
Siddle, M. R. (2009) ‘The Ainu: Indigenous people of Japan’, in M. Weiner, (Ed). Japan's minorities: the illusion of homogeneity. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Available from: Chuo Library 開架 301.45/J35.
Siddle R. (1997). 'Ainu: Japan's indigenous people', in M. Weiner (Ed). Japan's minorities: the illusion of homogeneity. 1st Edition. London: Routledge. Available from: Chuo Library 総合政策 301.45/J35 & Mike.
De Vos, George A & Weatherall, William O. (updated Kaye Stearman). (1983). Japan's minorities: burakumin, Koreans, Ainu, and Okinawans. London : Minority Rights Group. Available from: Chuo Library 総合政策 323.1/D51.
After the Ainu Shinpō: The United Nations and the Indigenous People of Japan by Crystal Porter, Australian National University This article explores the significance of indigenous rights in Japan and how the Japanese Government uses the guise [strategy] of upholding individual rights to ignore indigenous rights in Japan.
The Plight of Ainu, Indigenous People of Japan by Mitsuharu Vincent Okada "This article describes the systematic introduction of policies (of forced assimilation and discrimination), which endangered the survival of Ainu as a people and continuance of their culture". It gives a clear overview of Ainu history and the colonisation of Hokkaido, as well as current issues facing Ainu people. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 2012.
Ainu Success: the Political and Cultural Achievements of Japan's Indigenous Minority by Simon Cotterill Japan's Ainu people have undergone suppression of their culture and livelihood, and subsequent denial of their existence. However, this article critically re-evaluates the Ainu's recent history in terms of their considerable achievements, such as international recognition and the Japanese government's 2008 declaration recognising their indigenous status. In spite of and often in reaction to continuing obstacles, the Ainu have successfully used international fora to advance towards their domestic goals. Simultaneously, they have often reshaped their culture to successfully engage with contemporary demands. Asia Pacific Journal, Japan Forum, March 21, 2011.
Documenting Urban Indigeneity: TOKYO Ainu and the 2011 survey on the living conditions of Ainu outside Hokkaido by Simon Cotterill. If acknowledged at all, Japan’s indigenous population the Ainu are usually represented as a rural, exotic group, bound to ancestral homes in Hokkaido and the Northern territories. Yet, large numbers of Ainu, perhaps even the majority of their population, now live in urban centres outside Hokkaido. The recent documentary TOKYO Ainu challenges traditional, negative representations of Ainu culture as only rural, and records the complex reality of urban indigenous life for Ainu within Greater Tokyo. The article compares the film TOKYO Ainu in broadening discourse and understanding of Ainu identity with the Japanese government’s recent living conditions survey released this year. Asia-Pacific Journal, Japan Focus, Nov 7, 2011.
Language Maintenance Practice vs. Internationalization Policies in Japan by Yuko Igarashi and Joseph F. Kess Department of Linguistics and Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives University of Victoria, B.C., Canada. Includes a section on the situation of the Ainu language in Japan.
Ten Linguistic Issues in Japan: The Impact of Globalization By Junko Saruhashi, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo and Yuko Takeshita,Toyo Eiwa University, Yokohama Includes a section on the maintenance and revitalization of the Ainu language.
Ainu Organisations and Organisations Working on Ainu Issues
Ainu Organisations and Organisations Working on Ainu Issues
Council for Ainu Policy Promotion / アイヌ政策推進会議 This is the government's body on Ainu policy: "The Council for Ainu Policy Promotion aims to comprehensively and effectively promote Ainu policy, taking views and opinions of Ainu people into consideration.
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