The Ainu: The Indigeous Peoples of What is Now Japan

By Fynley Calder-Rasmussen

The Ainu (アィヌ) people are the Indigenous peoples of the lands that became Japan. “Ainu'' is the word in the Ainu language for “human” or “people''. The Ainu people historically and presently reside in the northern part of Japan, Hokkaido, as well as the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin. While both rich and deeply embedded in their respective lifestyles, the Ainu peoples have a very different culture to the rest of Japan in a multitude of ways. The Ainu people are skilled hunters and gather a large portion of their diets. The Ainu people's dress and traditions are equally rich with customs, men growing out their beards and hair, women doing the same as well as tattooing their mouths to celebrate and mark their journey into adulthood.

In terms of spiritual beliefs, the Ainu peoples are animalists—meaning that they believe that all animals are different gods! From what I have read, the Ainu peoples worship many gods. However, the bear is the most highly regarded and is known as kamuy in the Ainu language, a word simply for “God”. One of the many rich and traditional Ainu practices is called lotame where a bear cub is raised in the community then sacrificed once it is grown. This process is done with importance, as it is meant to release the kamuy within themselves into the spirit world.

The bear carving, carefully structured and wrapped, represents a god, good luck, and more. Photo by Chris Willson, taken from https://hakaimagazine.com/features/prejudice-pride/

When Japan started moving into the region, the colonization of the Ainu started, with religious practices such as the lotame being outlawed and banned under Japanese colonial rule. Starting in the fifteenth century, the Ainu peoples were forcefully displaced to the northern region, all while simultaneously having their hunting and fishing practices, language and culture outlawed. The Ainu people also had to give up their way of life and adopt Japanese names if they wished to continue living without consequence from the Japanese government. Furthermore, the little land the Ainu people were allotted in the north was done with little kindness, as their communities were consequently closest to the Russian border. The Japanese saw this as an opportunity to have their own “scapegoats” in a way; a peoples before their own for Russia to invade before the rest of Japan. Japan continued to grow and settle into a country itself, further stripping the Ainu of their rights and sovereignty.

Along with the attempted erasure of the culture, Ainu individuals were also forced into Japanese marriages, forced to assimilate with the surrounding Japanese culture, as well as forced into enslavement at times. The Ainu, of course, resisted, resulting in wars dispersed throughout Japan’s history, including The Koshamain’s War in the middle of the 15th century. Koshamain was an Ainu leader who led a successful battle in 1457. They destroyed twelve Japanese forts before being killed by two Japanese armies. Koshamain and his army fought bravely, but the Japanese armies had larger numbers and little mercy, resulting in this loss.

Only in 2008 did the Japanese government officially recognize the existence of the Ainu as Indigenous peoples on the legislative level. Not only was this a notable act in itself, even though overdue, this act officially reversed a former, existing act. This former act was put into place in 1899 and it declared the Ainu as “former” Indigenous people.

A blessing ceremony in 2008. Shinrit Eoripak Ainu Kawamura holds the red cup filled with sake. Photo by Franck Robichon, taken from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-prepares-law-to-finally-recognize-and-protect-its-indigenous-ainu-people/2019/02/15/2c85a0d8-3113-11e9-ac6c-14eea99d5e24_story.html.

Actions such as the one made in 1899, along with years of the attempted erasure of Ainu culture, contributed to most of the Japanese population being unaware of the existence of the Ainu in Japan; however, there are reconciliatory and revitalization efforts being made. For example, in 1994 an Ainu activist, Kayano Shigeru was elected to the Japanese parliament. While being the first person of Ainu descent to be elected into such a position, this also led to many more legislative acts that would protect Ainu culture, something drastically different than Japan and the Ainu have seen in the past. There are also many activists and communities focusing on language revitalization of the Ainu language, but like all colonial nations, there is still more to be done to help reconcile and decolonize Japan.

Kayano Shigeru passed away in 2006, but he wrote a book titled Our Land Was a Forest, an “Ainu memoir”, as Shigeru described. For further reading and more information, you can visit this webpage that also offers the book as an E-book! https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kayano-shigeru/our-land-was-a-forest/9780813346434/