Lecture #18: Ainu
Ainu are the only indigenous ethnic minority of Japan recognized by the Japanese government (as of 1997; see below). A very small minority. Official population figure is about 25,000, and has been remarkably constant over the last 200 years (see stats below). Ainu culture found in Kuril islands and Sakhalin as well as Hokkaido.
Some Key Ainu Words
Ainu = People Moshiri/Mosir = World
Ainu Moshiri (“The Quiet Land Where Humans Live”) = The Ainu land, Hokkaido.
Utari = Comrade, fellow
Kamuy / Kamui = Gods
Chise= An Ainu house
Kotan= A hamlet of 4 or more chise
Ekashi = Headman, senior male of kotan
Kotankorokur = Bigger headman, for group of kotan
Ukocaranke Lit. "To let words fall mutually." = Ainu practice of settling disputes by arguing extensively. (Kayano 1994 p. 25). Cf. Quaker tradition.
Aysirosi = Ainu coat of arms (Japanese: kamon家紋). "An inscription carved at the end of a poisoned trap arrow used for hunting bear and deer.
Aysirosi of Shigeru Kayano’s ancestors (Kayano 1994: 24)
Iyomante = Ainu bear-killing ritual
Ainu view of nature:•If you take anything from nature, you must ‘return the spirit to the gods’ (kamuy). Hence in the Iyomante, the spirit of the dead bear is sent back to the gods. Not just animals – trees, fruit etc. have spirits (similar to Shinto belief: pantheistic 汎神論).
•Sekuma-Pause-Kamuy – Bear gods
•Kamuy Ni – Tree gods
•Kamuy Nonno – Flower gods
•Failure to return the spirit will be punished – by bad luck, disease etc. (Sjoberg 1993: 59). Traditional beliefs and respect for nature have prevented Ainu from taking too much – Ainu society reckoned to be ecologically sound.
Gender practices
Women generally viewed as inferior.
* Separate toilets for men and women behind the chise.
* Women’s labor valued lower than men’s (less dangerous, not done in groups…)
“In our society we men take care of important tasks. It is our belief that women, because of their awful smell, which comes from menstruating women, will chase the Kamuy away from us. We cannot afford this. It is too risky to let women handle important tasks. Clearly, you must see that.”(Ainu Ekashi [headman] interviewed in Hidaka by Katarina Sjoberg in 1988 (Sjoberg 1993: 60).
Japanese as seen by Ainu
Shisam シサム / Shisham / Shinsham = “Fellow traders”
Shamoシャモ = impolite form of Shisam, “people you can’t trust.”
Wajin和人= Mainland/Yamato Japanese. “People of Wa.” “Yamato people.” (Japanese term often used by Ainu
Folkcrafts
Nowadays Ainu designs are very popular with Japanese and other non-Ainu people, especially wood-carving and fabrics. Perhaps the most famous item is the tunic, woven from bark fiber (attush) or cotton (chikarkarpe, kaparamip, ruunpe). For some beautiful examples, use these words as internet search terms or check out the Ainu Museum site:
Ainu-Wajin History
Ainu used to be called ‘Emishi’, and Hokkaido ‘Ezo’ (sometimes Romanized as ‘Yezo’).
“Their men and women live together promiscuously, there is no distinction of father and child. In winter they dwell in holes, in summer they live in nests. Their clothing consists of furs, and they drink blood…” Account of Emishi in the Nihonshoki (historical records composed c.720 a.d., claiming to describe Emishi several hundred years earlier), in Siddle 1996: 27.
No agreement among archaeologists on the origins of the Ainu, but probably at least two ethnic groups populated Ezo in prehistoric times. By the 9th centurythere were 2 distinct cultures: Satsumon and Okhotsk. Today’s Ainu are thought to be descended from the latter.
13th Century. Emergence of today’s Ainu culture on Hokkaido, the Kurile islands and Southern Sakhalin.First records of trading with clans living in North-eastern Honshu.
15th century. Wajin trading settlements dotted around southern Hokkaido. Wajin hunters, blacksmiths and traders active.
1456 Wajin blacksmith kills an Ainu in a quarrel over a blunt knife. Major diplomatic incident.
1457 Ainu led by Koshamain destroy all but 2 settlements. Wajin almost expelled from Ezo. A century of intermittent warfare follows.
1551 Leading Japanese clan in northeast, the Kakizakis, reaches peace and trade agreement with local Ainu. Trading profits to be split 50-50.
Kakzakis take possession of small stretch of land on southern tip of Ezo… first incorporation of Ainu land into mainland Japan.
1599 Kakizaki family takes clan name ‘Matsumae’ 松前藩
1604 Recognized by Tokugawa shogunate, a big step towards becoming part of Japan. Gets trade monopoly with Ezo, gradually starts to dominate trade with Ainu.
1653 Shakushain (legendary Ainu warrior-hero) becomes leader of Menashunkur Ainu, engaged in bitter territorial dispute with Shumunkur Ainu (both in Hidaka region, Southern Hokkaido.)
1655 Both groups accept Matsumae clan offers to mediate, but incidents continue.
1668 Shakushain’s men ambush and kill Onibishi, while he is conferring with leader of local Wajin miners.
1669Shakushain succeeds in uniting Ainu in uprising against Matsumae clan. 200 to 400 Wajin killed.Matsumae clan sends army with firearms; rebellion suppressed.Shakushain invited to peace negotiations and treacherously assassinated.
1789 Last major Ainu uprising. 71 Wajin killed in Kunashiri and Nemuro.
Uprising put down by Matsumae aided by local Ainu leader; 37 Ainu executed.
1821 Matsumae Clan given full control of southern Ezo by Bakufu (Shogunate).
Ainu forbidden to speak Japanese or practice Japanese customs.
Workers sent from Honshu to develop Ezo bring new diseases. Ainu population reduced sharply.Ainu Population in Western Ezo declined from 9,068 in 1798 to 4,384 in 1854
1855 Bakufu commences assimilation policy. Ainu are to be ‘Japanized.’ Now they MUST learn Japanese and practice Japanese customs.
1869 Northern island (Ainu Moshiri in Ainu language) renamed from Ezo (sometimes romanized as ‘Yezo’ to ‘Hokkaido’ (北海道,lit. ‘North Sea Land’).
1899‘Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Law’ (北海道旧土人保護法)passed: in force until 1997.Key point: Ainu encouraged to abandon traditional hunting & fishing lifestyle and settle down to become farmers. Land allocated to those who agree to do so.
20th century Hokkaido development Japanese government starts building railways, coal and metal mines, fishing ports etc. in Hokkaido. Natural resources needed for hunting, fishing, gathering are impounded or destroyed.Ainu used as part of the labor force to develop the island, alongside convicts and indentured laborers.
Summary of Japan’s vacillating policies toward Ainu
Japanese side / Ainu Policy / ObjectiveShogunate (幕府）pre-1821 / Turn Ainu into ‘civilized’ Japanese / Assimilation
同化、同質化
Matsumae clan (松前藩）post 1821 / Forbid Ainu from using Japanese language, customs / Separation
区別化
Meiji 明治govt
1869-1899 / Preserve culture of ‘dying’ Ainu race / Separation / extinction
Meiji govt 1899 / Grant Japanese citizenship, teach Japanese / Assimilation
Rise of Ainu ethnic movement
1930 Launch of Ainu Association アイヌ協会）, a moderate group that favors assimilation with Japanese.
1945 Loss of momentum as Japan’s pure-blooded ideology strengthens (Nihonjinron)
1961 Ainu Kyokai renamed Utari Kyokai, using Ainu word for ‘Our People’
1963 Membership is just 770.
1968-1973: Expansion
1968 Japanese govt celebrates 100 years of developing Hokkaido, angering Ainu.
1970s Movement grows, helped by mounting international support for indigenous peoples.
1973 1st Utari welfare measures: ¥12 billion of national and local govt funding, administered by Utari Association.
1976 Utari Membership 8,540 (2,103 households; nearly half Ainu population)
Utari Association’s nature
•Made up mainly of wealthy farmers and businessmen; close links to LDP; 3 main campaigning issues: education, housing, livelihood.As Japan gradually becomes aware of responsibilities to Ainu, government money starts to become available for Ainu culture preservation projects etc., Utari Assoc increasingly cooperates with Govt. Young radical Ainu suspect ‘co-option’ and leave Utari Association.
1980 Japanese government denies Ainu exist in statement to UN.
1986Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone’s famous statement that “there are no ethnic minorities in Japan.”
1992 Ainu representatives invited to testify before UN Committee on Indigenous Rights.
1994 Shigeru Kayano elected to the upper house of the Diet for the Japan Socialist Party.First Ainu ever elected to national parliament. Makes inaugural speech partly in Ainu.
1997 Govt finally recognizes Ainu status as independent ethnic group: “The Ainu, who lived in Hokkaido before the arrival of Wajin at least at the end of medieval times, have been recognized as a race that has original traditions and that developed a unique culture including the Ainu language, which is based on a different linguistic system from the Japanese language, as well as original manners and customs.” (Prime Minister's Office Announcement No. 25; September 18, 1997)
July 1997Ainu Rights Law passed
•Replaces 1899 Hokkaido Former Aborigine Protection Law; recognizes the Ainu as the indigenous people of Hokkaido; requires municipal governments to protect and promote Ainu culture… but no mention of land rights.
Who is Ainu? 1997 law defines an Ainu person as: (1) A person who considers himself or herself to be Ainu, OR (2) a person of Ainu ancestry, OR (3) a person who has become Ainu by marriage or adoption.There is an opt-out clause: you can choose not to be Ainu.
Is everything OK now?
Not necessarily. Announcing a 2000 report on effects of the new law, Kazuyuki Yamamaru, 51, chairman of the Ainu Museum in Shiraoicho, Hokkaido, said that even after the enactment of the law, many Ainu people still did not want to reveal their identity for fear of discrimination. The concept of cultural pride was not widespread.•Asked if they had recently faced discrimination, such as being rejected by potential marriage partners, 12.4 percent said yes -- up 5.1% points from the previous survey held in 1993, before the enactment of the new law. 15.7 percent of the pollees, a rise of 5.6 points, said that they had heard of other Ainu people suffering discrimination (as reported in Yomiuri Shinbun).
Shigeru Kayano
Sometimes called ‘Mister Ainu’. The single most influential figure campaigning for Ainu rights in the last 30 years. Check out his autobiography: Our Land Was a Forest (Kayano 1994), translated from the Japanese Ainu no Ishibumi (アイヌの碑,
朝日文庫1990年（元々１９８０年）４８３円）
A few extracts from Our Land Was a Forest:
On the environment in his hometown of Nibutani: “The azure horizon spreads in all directions, without a cloud in sight. The pine grove on the opposite shore of the Saru River is dark, but everything else in the vast landscape is pure white, covered by snow. The first time southerners see this Hokkaido winter scene, they are likely to feel it would somehow be wrong to step into it. I myself felt such reluctance when I first went south and faced the grass that everywhere made the earth green.” (Kayano 1)
On the history of Ainu forced labor (paraphrased): In 1858, shisam came to Kayano's family village of Nibutani and forced each household to supply laborers to work as fishermen at Atsukeshi, over 350 kilometers away... they went on foot through snow. Out of 116 villagers, 43 men, women and children were pressed into labor. Kayano's grandfather Totkaram, then 11 years old, was one of them. He hated the work so much that he deliberately cut off a finger in hopes he'd be sent home. The boss was unimpressed, but Totkaram finally did get himself sent home by coating his body with poisonous blowfish bile until his skin turned yellow. The pay: "As little as a sparrow's tear." One of Kayano's ancestors allegedly worked for a year at Atsukeshi and was paid with a single lacquer wine cup. (p36)
Kayano’s grandmother’s response to Shamo poaching laws after his father was arrested for salmon poaching: "My son caught salmon, offered some to the gods, and at the same time fed his children. Why is he punished for this? The wicked sisam are not punished for their catch -- I cannot understand this… The shamo law banning salmon fishing was as good as telling the Ainu, who had always lived on salmon, to die." (pp. 58-59)
On the Japanese taking of Hokkaido: The Japanese invaded Ainu Mosir: "If the 'Japanese people' borrowed rather than invaded the land of the Ainu, there ought to be a certificate of lease; if they bought it, there ought to be a certificate of purchase…Yet I have never seen such a certificate… in simple terms we have no recollection of selling or lending Ainu Mosir to the Japanese state." (p. 60)
On Japanese anthropologists who study Ainu: “In those days I despised scholars of Ainu culture from the bottom of my heart…They dug up our sacred tombs and carried away our ancestral bones. Under the pretext of research, they took blood from villagers, and in order to examine how hairy we were, rolled up our sleeves, then lowered out collars to check out backs, and so on… People not only were photographed from the front, the side, and an assortment of angles but induced to wear large number plates such as criminals wear in mug shots." (98-99)
Such experiences prompted Kayano to start building up his own collection of Ainu artifacts, and record Ainu songs and poetry, in an epic preservation project. Kayano has his critics – who accuse him of practicing‘salvage archaeology’, ironically encouraging people to look on Ainu as a primitive, dying out race. The debate continues.
Ainu Statistics
Ainu population in Hokkaido
Top row: Year. Bottom row: population.
1807 / 1822 / 1854 / 1873 / 1903 / 1931 / 1972 / 1979 / 1986 / 199326,256 / 23,563 / 17,810 / 16,272 / 17,783 / 15,969 / 18,298 / 24,160 / 24,381 / 23,380
Sources: Up to 1931: Government figures cited on Ainu Museum homepage
From 1972: Richard Siddle: ‘Ainu: Japan’s Indigenous People’ in Japan’s Minorities: The Illusion of Homogenity, ed. Michael Weiner, Routledge, 1997 p. 45. Next 2 tables also from that Siddle paper.
Households above minimum income level for local tax (%)
1972 / 1979 / 1986 / 1993Ainu / 24.6 / 44.2 / 47.1 / 53.1
All Hokkaido / 65.7 / 76.4 / 71.5 / -
Numbers receiving welfare (per ’000)
1972 / 1979 / 1986 / 1993Ainu / 116 / 69 / 61 / 39
All Hokkaido / 18 / 20 / 22 / 16
Bibliography
Shigeru Kayano, Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Mamoir (Westview Press, 1994).
Takako Yamada,The World View of the Ainu: Nature and Cosmos Reading from Language (Columbia U Press, 2002)
Richard Siddle, Race, Resistance and the Ainu of Japan (Routledge, 1996)
Richard Siddle: ‘Ainu: Japan’s Indigenous People’ in Japan’s Minorities: The Illusion of Homogenity, ed. Michael Weiner, Routledge, 1997
Katarina V. Sjoberg, The Return of the Ainu: Cultural Mobilization and the Practice of Ethnicity in Japan (Harwood 1993).
William Fitzhugh and Chisato O. Dubreuil, Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People (U of Washington Press, 2001)
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