Ethnographies

The Ainu live mainly in Hokkaido, in the northern part of the Japanese archipelago. They have mastered special and unique hunting and fishing skills, which were their main economic activities for a long time. However, since the Meiji period (1868–1912), their unique way of life has been lost as the government restricted hunting and fishing and forced people to relocate. Today, only a few of the traditional fishing methods are permitted under a special permit system to preserve traditional culture.

The number of native speakers of Ainu has declined sharply as a result of the Meiji government's assimilation policy, as Japanese was taught in schools and the opportunity to speak Ainu at home gradually disappeared. The study of the Ainu language is now being pursued more intensively and efforts are being made to revive it on the basis of surviving documents and materials. The Ainu have a unique worldview in which everything in nature has a soul. Not only natural phenomena such as fire, water, trees, animals, and thunder, but also tools used in everyday life were respected for their inherent kamuy. They were treated with care and respect, as in the most important iyomante ritual. Traditional dances are performed at such festivals and family celebrations. They incorporate their own Ainu patterns into embroidery and wood carving.

(Based on texts by Keisuke Okada)