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.
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.
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.
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 ‘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 stepping out of social stigma: Once invisible minority hopes new indigenous cachet ends legacy of discrimination "You are beautiful just as you are. Don't be afraid," Mina Sakai sings to a young, enthusiastic crowd in the language of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. This is an article about yoing Ainu taking pride in their identity through music and dance that mixes traditional Ainu culture with hip-hop and rap. It also looks at attitudes towards multiculturalism amongst young people in Japan today. Japan Times, Aug. 13, 2008.
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.
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.
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 hope U.N. move aids indigenous status quest This article, which was written before the Japanese Government recognised the Ainu as an indigenous people, reports on the hopes of Tadashi Kato, chief of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, about how the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples will benefit Ainu people. It also considers different arguments by the government and experts about recognizing the Ainu as an indigenous people and the consequences of such a decision. Japan Times, 13 Oct 2007.
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.
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.
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. 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: 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, at recent recognition of the Ainu as indigenous and projects to promote and share Ainu culture in Hokkaido but also at 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
The Ainu People Information about their history, population, and way of life, language and culture. The Ainu Museum.
Ainu: indigenous in every way but not by official fiat Following the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples in 2007 and shortly before the Japanese government recognised the Ainu as indigenous people, this article answers questions about the history and current situation of Ainu people - and also refers to the situation of Okinawan people. Japan Times, 20 May, 2008.
Ainu Revival: A feast of culture on Hokkaido menu Despite and because of their marginalization in Japanese society, Ainu people have been steadily acquiring the self-confidence to express themselves in an increasing variety of fields. Ainu politicians, writers, musicians, artists, actors and designers -- such as Shigeru Kayano, Oki Kano, Takashi Ukaji and Tamami Kaizawa among others -- are signs of the renaissance under way. Japan Times, June 27, 2004.
Diet officially declares Ainu indigenous "The Ainu celebrated a historic moment Friday as the Diet unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes them as indigenous people of Japan." Japan Times, 7 Jun, 2008.
Ainu hope U.N. move aids indigenous status quest This article, which was written before the Japanese Government recognised the Ainu as an indigenous people, reports on the hopes of Tadashi Kato, chief of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, about how the United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples will benefit Ainu people. It also considers different arguments by the government and experts about recognizing the Ainu as an indigenous people and the consequences of such a decision. Japan Times, 13 Oct 2007.
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.
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.
Diet officially declares Ainu indigenous The Ainu celebrated a historic moment Friday as the Diet unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes them as indigenous people of Japan. The unprecedented resolution was adopted by both chambers, acknowledging the Ainu's hardships from discrimination and poverty. Japan Times, June 7, 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.
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.
Ainu: Spirit of a Nothern People A major exhibition from 1999 to explore the ancient origin of the Ainu, their evolving relations with the Japanese, and the 20th century Ainu cultural rebirth. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture (FRPAC) Founded by the Hokkaido government and the Japanese Ministry of Education. The basic idea of our Foundation is to contribute to the realization of a society in which the ethnic pride of the Ainu is respected and to further the development of diverse national cultures through the preservation and promotion of the Ainu language and traditional culture and to disseminate knowledge on Ainu traditions to the nation. Projects include the promotion of Ainu language and culture.
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.