insights from frontier Japan

My first recollection of contact with the Ainu was when I was 10 or 11 years old, during a visit to Shiraoi on a school study trip. I can remember an enormous statue standing tall at the entrance of Poroto Kotan, a former cultural site now replaced by Upopoy, the National Ainu Museum. You may think that 10 years old is a little late considering I grew up where the Ainu's presence is supposedly the strongest in all of Japan. If you take New Zealand as a contrast, children grow up watching the All Blacks perform the haka, and many learn to sing the national anthem in the Maori language. That kind of quotidian contact with the indigenous culture didn't occur in my childhood, something I only started questioning after living in New Zealand.

September 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Chiri Yukie (1903 – ‘22), a native of Noboribetsu and keeper of Ainu culture and traditions in the Meiji and Taisho periods. As well as the full-scale filming of a new movie about her, this year will also see a variety of commemorative events planned at the Chiri Yukie Memorial Museum in Noboribetsu. Chiri’s work continues to be released in multiple languages, and is expected to reach more than 20. In recent years, many related books have also been published, increasing the number of opportunities to come into contact with Yukie’s lifestyle. It looks like 2022 will bring Chiri Yukie’s achievements into the limelight once again.

On December 12, approximately 80 people enjoyed a mini performance of the ‘mukkuri,’ a traditional Ainu musical instrument, and ‘digeridoo,’ a wind instrument of the Australian Aborigine, at ‘The Knot Sapporo’ hotel in Chuo-ku, Sapporo.

On December 13, the Ainu began making ‘satcep’ (dried whole salmon), a traditional preserved food of the indigenous people, at the Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, a hub for the revitalization of Ainu culture in the town of Shiraoi in central Hokkaido.　

‘Hunting time: Kucha’ a monitor tour in which participants could experience Ainu-style camping was held from October 8 to 10 at Akanko Onsen, Akan-cho in the city of Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido. Participants stayed in ‘kucha’ (small, temporary huts) made from pine trees, and came into contact with part of the Ainu culture. The Akan Tourism Association & Community Development Organization, which sponsored the event, is aiming to introduce the program as a new sightseeing tour from 2022.

On September 29, the Ainu Association of Kushiro held the ‘40th Kamuycep Festival’, a traditional Ainu ceremony to welcome salmon and pray for an abundant catch. Twenty-five people wearing traditional dress offered thanks for the blessings of nature in the ceremony, which was held by the Shinkushiro River in the city of Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido.

An Ainu cultural and academic research group in the town of Bihoro in the Okhotsk region, which is involved in the preservation of Ainu culture, held a ‘cipusanke’ (boat launching ceremony) for a ‘itaomacip’ (timber boat) used by the Ainu for open sea voyages, at Ranshima Beach in the city of Otaru in central Hokkaido on September 19.

The Onbetsu Town Administrative Center in the Eastern Hokkaido city of Kushiro started selling two new folding fans made from "fukigami paper" and featuring Ainu designs. Fukigami paper is a type of Japanese paper made from the peels of butterbur, a special plant grown in the town. Two artists from the Akanko Hot Spring area created the design with assistance from General Incorporated Association Akan Ainu Consulting. The designs were inspired by butterbur growing in Onbetsu.

The Foundation for Ainu Culture manages the Ainu culture revival hub "Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park" (Shiraoi Town). In order to heighten awareness of ancient Ainu ceremonial dances that have been passed down through generations in various areas around Hokkaido, the Foundation has started inviting culture preservation societies from different areas to perform dances at Upopoy. Up through February of next year, culture preservation societies from various areas will teach about the characteristics and traditions of their areas through their dances.