The indigenous people of Hokkaido - AINU

In one of the recent posts, I told you about the Akan National Park and Lake Akan, where the biggest population of Ainu people is living. I'm sure, you heard this word before, but what exactly is Ainu?

The Ainu are the indigenous people of Japan, more precisely of Hokkaido (and also the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin). The word aynu means human in Ainu language, though nowadays there is almost nobody who can still speak this language. This is because the Ainu were suppressed and discriminated for many decades. They were stripped off their land, customs and language by law, in an attempt to assimilate them to the Japanese culture. By the time this law was lifted in 1997, Ainu culture was already at the brink of extinction, and it took many more years for the government to officially recognize the Ainu as Japan's indigenous people (2008). With the new law of recognition and support passed in 2008, the Ainu culture is making it's way back up.
Now, there are many institutions and museums where you can learn about Ainu culture.

 

A great place to learn about Ainu culture is the Ainu Museum Porotokotan in Shiraoi, approx. 2hours by train from Sapporo station.  This is a small outdoor museum at the shore of Lake Poroto with traditional houses, a small indoor museum, animal barns and daily performances on Ainu culture.

 

 

 

 

Another Ainu village is Ainu Kotan at Lake Akan. It's bigger than Porotokotan, but quite far away. I wrote about it in a recent post.

 

Many museums in Sapporo and Hokkaido also have displays on Ainu culture, such as the Historical Museum of Hokkaido or the small museum on the grounds of the Hokkaido University Botanical Garden, that has a small collection of Ainu artifacts.

Whatever place you choose, the Ainu culture is definitely worth exploring! 

 

To the official website of Khaosan Sapporo 

Written by Irene