Hiwasaki, L., Ziomek, K. L., Hudson, M. J., Watson, M. K., Picard, D., Wallace, R. H., & RUSSELL, C. (2000). Ethnic Tourism in Hokkaido and the Shaping of Ainu Identity. Pacific Affairs, 73(3), 393-412. https://doi.org/2672026

Ethnic Tourism in Hokkaido and the Shaping of Ainu Identity on JSTOR

A)5Nelson H. H. Graburn, "The Evolution of Tourist Arts," Annals of Tourism Research vol. 11 (1984), pp. 393-419; and van den Berghe and Keyes, "Tourism and Re-Created Ethnicity."

B)62 Such interactions are described in David Suzuki and Keibo Oiwa, The Japan We Never Knew the Journey of Discovery (Toronto: Stoddart, 1996); in Mieko Chikkup, Kaze no Megumi: Ainu Minzoku no Bunka tojinken (Blessing of the Wind: Culture and Human Rights of the Ainu) (Tokyo: Ochanomizu Shob6, 1991); and in "'Kysei no Tsubasa' wo Ainu kara Sekai e (From Ainu to the World: 'Wing of Co-existence')," Komei vol. 385 (1994), pp. 116-23. For a discussion on the Ainu's participation in the worldwide movement of indigenous peoples, and the commonalities between the Ainu and other indigenous peoples in terms of the experience of colonization, the recent "cultural renaissance,"

political mobilization and engagement in the "politics of memory," see Siddle, Race, Resistance and the Ainu, pp. 19-25, 185-86.410

Annotation: o

  Lisa Hiwasaki: Public affairs

University of Rhode Island

Ph.D. in International Development, Yokohama National University, Japan

M.A. in Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Canada

B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton College, Minnesota 

Focus of the research: The focus of the research is to understand the shaping of the Ainu and Northern Japan through tourism. It shows how tourism affected the Ainu publicly as well as their livelihoods as well as their social experiences. 

The major issues discussed per topic were how the Ainu were seen and recognized, the role of tourism, Ainu Culture and identity, craftsmanship, geography, influences and beliefs, Ainu-Waijin relationships, and understanding the Ainu. The research was investigated through traveling through Hokkaido and other Northern areas of Japan.

• Low, Morris. “Physical Anthropology in Japan: The Ainu and the Search for the Origins of the Japanese.” Current Anthropology, vol. 53, no. S5, Apr. 2012, pp. S57–68. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1086/662334.Physical Anthropology in Japan: The Ainu and the Search for the Origins of the Japanese | Current Anthropology: Vol 53, No S5 (uchicago.edu)

• -A)Askew, David. 2004. Debating the “Japanese” race in Meiji Japan: toward a history of early Japanese anthropology. In The Making of Anthropology in East and Southeast Asia. Shinji Yamashita, Joseph Bosco, and Jeremy Seymour Eades, eds. Pp. 57–89. Oxford: Berghahn. 

• -B)Frisch, John. 1963. Japan’s contribution to modern anthropology. In Studies in Japanese culture: tradition and experiment. Joseph Roggendorf, ed. Pp. 225–244. Tokyo: Sophia University.

Outline: The first scholarly source “Physical Anthropology in Japan”  highlights the origins of the Ainu Culture and its relationship to the origins of Japan. It contains 8 different subtopics, an abstract, and an epilogue. The abstract contains the article's reasoning, what they hope to answer, and a general outline of the different people in Japan. 

The first subtopic explains the interest in the research of anthropology in Japan. It talks about when the Japanese quickly understood the importance of archeological records in the Meiji Era. This meant that they were able to understand and enjoy their past. Multiple paragraphs state the Japanese should study their history themselves. One important debate topic I noticed was that in the last paragraph of the first subtopic, it says “He argued that the Ainu could be traced back to Japan’s Neolithic people.

In the second subtopic titled “Ainu Studies,” we learn a brief history of the Ainu people. It immediately denotes the last sentence in the last paragraph, saying “he suggested that the Koropokguru people were the Jōmon people and were unrelated to the Ainu. “Koropokguru” was a term used by the Ainu to refer to earlier people of short stature who had lived in Hokkaidō. Furthermore, the next few paragraphs highlight the characteristics of the Ainu people, calling them out for their “fine beard, moppy hair, and sparkling eyes.” They criticize them for their dirty clothing and appearance, and lack of creating a good first impression. 

The next subtopic Anthropology and Empire highlights that the study of the Ainu culture helped understand and define the mainstream Japanese culture. Thus defining mainstream culture as more urban, the Ainu were seen as primitive. Then further down this article, showcases in museums and different buildings show what the Ainu may have looked like. This was regarded as potentially infringing on their rights so the Japanese stopped showcasing them nearly as much. The rest of the topic covers Japanese imperialism and westward expansion in Japan. 

Japan as a Homogenous Nation, the next subtopic talks about the Department of Anthropology in Japan, and physical anthropologists who settled in Seoul, South Korea. These people believed that the Japanese had evolved from the Jomon people with very little mixing from outside immigrants to the country. 

The next section, Postwar Studies, describes Japanese anthropology even after WWII, suggesting they were still interested in the birth of their nation. Further in this section, the Japanese tried to use physical anthropology to further suggest they are promoting the homogeneity of the Japanese people to strengthen the country's confidence. The next two paragraphs, talk about how technology changed during the 1950’s and 1960’s and what that did to affect the studies of anthropology. One important thing that came out of the technological revolution was Statistical analysis (with a computer)! After the war, Japan saw high immigration rates from Korea. This new feature along with many more brought social problems into Japan. This made it so Japan had to start using biometrics and physical anthropology to analyze these problems to find a solution!

Since anthropology relies on the direct historical and anatomical analysis of a species, or of an origin, you need to see the bone structure and skeleton of a species. So, in this subtopic Collection and Return of Ainu Skeletons, we will be talking about how the various bones and pieces were arranged and transported. First, it talks briefly about people who got caught stealing bones and artifacts, and ended up getting arrested! In the third paragraph, it talks about an excavation “Kodama” did with more than 1,000 Ainu skeletons. The subtopic also talks about the rumors that see the Ainu as a dying race. However, the Ainus are not dead, yet! As one of the writers in this story had been in Japan at the time, he had the chance to meet and see the Ainu population! He saw them yelling at him, thinking they were accusing him of grave robbing (which he wasn’t). In the end, he saw they were warning him of a bear trap which he wasn’t aware of at the time. The rest of the topic talks about trading bones, artifacts, and other things between museums, as well as some information about the Ainu relationship with other peoples. 

The second to last subtopic, Japan and Southeast Asia, starts with a very important question! It is the major question driving Japanese descendants… The question is if the Japanese today have descended from the Jomon people or other immigrants in the Yayoi period. The modern Japanese appear to be descendants of both the Yayoi and the Jomon. Some physical anthropologists argue that over ¾ of the Japanese gene pool can be traced to the Korean peninsula. The Human Genome Organization believes that the Japanese migrated Northward from the Korean Peninsula. 

The last subtopic The Ainu as an Indigenous People shows how the Ainu people are perceived as well as assimilated into Japanese society. This final subtopic summarizes the Ainu's contribution to Japan, its history, and what being indigenous means to them. The Ainu are seen as remnants of a proto-Japanese culture that failed to evolve and thus are subdued to the broad banner of the Japanese and have become a part of Japanese culture. 

Kitagawa, Joseph M. “Ainu Bear Festival (Iyomante).” History of Religions, vol. 1, no. 1, 1961, pp. 95–151. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061972. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Ainu Bear Festival (Iyomante) on JSTOR

-A)"The Ainos of Yezo, Japan," pp. 429-502 in Report of the U.S. National Museum, 1889-90 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1891).

-B)Scandinavian Lapps see Carl-Martin Edsman, "Bear Rites among the Scandinavian Lapps," Proceedings of the IXth International Congress for the History of Religions (Tokyo: Maruzen, 1960), p. 30

 Annotation:

Joseph M. Kitagawa

Scholar

 University of Chicago Divinity School

PhD

the focus of the research is on the Ainu Bear Festival and other Ainu-related traditions. It was carried out through mostly external research. 

the major issues discussed in this reading were the Ainu culture, fantasy or tradition, and the traditions of Ainu culture versus other cultures. What I found interesting about this source is that the Ainu Bear Festival is very gory.

1. The Foundation for Ainu Culture. “公益財団法人 アイヌ民族文化財団.” Ff-Ainu.or.jp, 2014, www.ff-ainu.or.jp/web/english/details/post-5.html.

公益財団法人アイヌ民族文化財団 (ff-ainu.or.jp)

My media comes from the Ainu Cultural Foundation, a news source as well as a personal website. You can look more into their Facebook, language, culture, and more on this website! It is a public website, and there is no specific author involved, however, it is an author who works for the foundation and they must work very closely together.  The purpose of using this resource is to closely mark and find common interests and questions concerning the Ainu. 

2. W, Sarah. “The Ainu.” Tofugu, 8 Nov. 2013, www.tofugu.com/japan/ainu-japan/.

The Ainu Peoples of Japan (tofugu.com)

Tofugu is a famous blog channel used to create news, and information, and provide media and information to the public. This article was written by Sarah W, an intern whose relationship with this topic is that she works at Tofugu, using her work to write about various Japanese topics. The purpose of using this article was to have more imagery in my research. 

3.Héliez, J. (2023, November 17). Discovering the fascinating Ainu culture in Japan. ROPPONGI. https://roppongi.fr/en/discovering-the-fascinating-ainu-culture-in-japan-tradition-spirituality-and-heritage/‌Discovering the fascinating Ainu culture in Japan (roppongi.fr)

This media is directly related to information of the Ainu Art, crafts, spirituality, etc… The media is designed to give us information. Justine Heliez was the author of this article. Justine is an author who writes her work, and talks about many different subjects that have to do with Japan, like traditional crafts, celebrations, and the police. I used this source to understand the Ainu from the perspective of their daily work life. 

4. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Ainu | Definition, Culture, & Language.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 May 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Ainu.‌Ainu | Definition, Culture, & Language | Britannica

On Brittanica, a general knowledge encyclopedia page, is the source of the information provided. Micheal Ray was the provider of the information regarding the Ainu in this sense. His history regarding this topic includes his degree in history, aside from this he works as a freelance writer for Britannica. His purpose in writing this was to give a large audience of people a small amount of simple information regarding the Ainu. 

5. Lessons about conservation from the Indigenous Ainu of Japan | UCSB Sustainability. (n.d.). Sustainability.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://sustainability.ucsb.edu/lessons-about-conservation-from-the-indigenous-ainu-of-japan/‌Lllessons about conservation from the Indigenous Ainu of Japan | UCSB Sustainability

This resource comes from the University of Santa Barbara. A lab intern for Santa Barbara, Dylan Ruan, wrote this article. He is a development writer, and his relationship with the context of the Ainu is to understand how they conserved. Dylan is inspired by conservation and environmentalism. I was interested in this source, and the reason I used it was because I wanted to understand more about how the Ainu conserved their environment. 

6. Tracing the Roots of the Ainu People: Insights from Genetics and Linguistics. (2023, September The Archaeologist. https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/tracing-the-roots-of-the-ainu-people-insights-from-genetics-and-linguistics

‌Tracing the Roots of the Ainu People: Insights from Genetics and Linguistics (thearchaeologist.org)

The media source is The Archaeologist, a media website that contains a lot of ads as well as bright colors! The “archaeologist editor group” created this resource. Their relationship is that they like tracing the various roots of different civilizations around the world. This source is relevant to me because it traces its archeological background. 

7. Ainu people of Japan. (n.d.). Bing. Retrieved March 28, 2024, The Saga of the Ainu language | The UNESCO Courier

This source by UNESCO is a magazine website that tries to acknowledge, protect, and preserve the Ainu. It was published by Kaori Tahara, who is a historian of the Ainu religion, and a graduate of a school in Paris. The reason I thought this article was useful was that it had short words and short paragraphs. However, it had very helpful and important information that made me understand this topic more. 

8. Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. “The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence.” Culturalsurvival.org, 2018, www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/ainu-beyond-politics-cultural-coexistence.‌The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence | Cultural Survival

My media source comes from Cultural Survival, a webpage dedicated to indigenous peoples' rights, communities, and resilience. Morris-Suzuki Tessa wrote this article. She is a Japanese-Korean historian who is renowned for all of her work towards the two countries. The reason I used this resource was because of its articles of resistance, controversies, and different laws. 

9. Cobb, Ellie. “Japan’s Unknown Indigenous Cuisine.” Www.bbc.com, 11 Aug. 2020, www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200810-japans-unknown-indigenous-cuisine.

‌Japan’s Unknown Indigenous Cuisine (bbc.com)

I got my resource from BBC. It is a famous news website, which highlights topics ranging from politics to history to where the best burger is on Earth. However, today they decided to have their topic be about the Ainu! Ellie Cobb was the producer of this article, who doesn’t have any relation to Japanese culture. I was interested in this article because it was made on BBC, so I was curious as to how valid this information would be compared to other sources I used.

10. Hunter, Justin. “Vitalizing Traditions: Ainu Music and Dance and the Discourse of Indigeneity.” Scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu, 1 Dec. 2015, scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/f8f1dc36-222d-40cc-ab0f-b00d04b3d976. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

‌Vitalizing Traditions: Ainu Music and Dance and the Discourse of Indigeneity (hawaii.edu)

The website I found here was an article made by the University of Hawaii. Justin Hunter published this article. His relationship with this topic is that he is a part of the Department of Music of Hawaii. The reason I chose this source was because I haven’t run across a source that highlighted Ainu dancing or music, and I thought this would have been a fun and important part of my research.