[source : https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles]
In previous article, which was introducing Rishiri Island, I shortly mentioned about Ainu people in Japan. Today, I am going to explain some historical sites where you can experience and feel Ainu people, culture, and their life. The Ainu are indigenous people in Japan, especially in Hokkaido Prefecture, and their culture settled down in Japan a lot in advance than mainstream Japan. The number of officially registered Ainu people in Japan are about 25,000; however, it is estimated that more than 200,000 Ainu people are living in Japan.
As I described in previous article, Japanese government, long time ago, thought Ainu culture is not developed and uncivilized. Ainu people have been discriminated by society until now, knowingly or unknowingly, and this made them becoming isolated from living harmoniously with mainstream Japan. This different eyes toward Ainu people made them hide their name, language, and culture. Some Ainu people moved to big city tried hard to live like a mainstream Japanese; however, they needed to come back to their hometown if any other people knew they are actually Ainu.
The Origin of Ainu
The Ainu people are said to be residing not only in Hokkaido but also Kuril Island and Sakhalin in Russia. There is no certain established theory about where the origin of Ainu people and their language come from; however, there are some theories on this subject. One of the strongest theories is that they are remnants of Jomon people, who are thought to be inhabitants of Japan around 14,500 BCE ~ 300 ACE. A new type of descent called as Yayoi people landed into the island of Japan after 300 ACE and they introduced agricultural techniques.
Jomon people smoothly integrated with Ainu people but it seems like their living radius did not reach to northern Japan. Physically Ainu people are very different from mainstream Japanese people. They look more like a European rather than Asian as full-blooded Ainu people used to have blue eye, wavy hair, and light skin. It is nearly impossible to distinguish whether the person is pure Ainu or not since Ainu had been married to Japanese. Sometimes they deny to be Ainu for protecting themselves from discrimination.
Lake akan ainu kotan
[source : http://en.kushiro-lakeakan.com/things_to_do/2950/]
Lake Akan Ainu Kotan, which can be translated as Lake Akan Ainu Village in English, is the largest Ainu village in Hokkaido prefecture. Similar to other indigenous villages in the world, this small village earn money by performing traditional dances and selling hand craft products. Of course, there are restaurants where you can try traditional Ainu cuisine as well.
Lake Akan Ainu Kotan also provides experience course such as craft woodcarving and embroidery but reservation is needed in advance. In addition to this, sometimes there is a condition that more than 5 people should book for this event to be held. The cost per one person varies from JPY 200 to JPY 1,600. However, the entrance fee itself is free so it’ll be a good experience to have a look around this village. It takes about 4 hours by car from downtown Sapporo.
nibutani ainu culture museum
[source : http://www.town.biratori.hokkaido.jp/biratori/nibutani/]
Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum is comparatively easy to access since it takes below 2 hours from downtown Sapporo to get here by car. You can also use public translation, which takes about 2 hours and a half. Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum preserves Hokkaido and Ainu’s history and culture. You can find a lot of traditional items such as clothes and boats, which were used by Ainu people.
Traditional Ainu houses are rebuilt in this area and you can learn about Ainu culture only with JPY 400 entrance fee. Many things are exhibited such as the knives they used for hunting, clothes they wore for special events, and the boats made by Ainu techniques. You will find how Ainu people lived under harsh Hokkaido weather without damaging or harming nature. It literally means that they lived along with nature.
sapporo pirka kotan
[source : https://hokkaidoguide.com]
Sapporo Pirka Kotan is an Ainu cultural center. Ainu Cultural Center teaches visitors about history, lifestyle, and art of Ainu people. You can observe, feel, and experience traditional woodcarving crafts of Ainu people. There are total more than 300 items exhibited in this culture center and most of them you can actually touch and try. It takes only 40 minutes by car from downtown Sapporo and admission is JPY 200 for adults.
The outdoor area where you can find two houses, which are chise(house) and pu(storehouse) and you can enter this area for free. However, you need to buy tickets for entering exhibition room. If you want to read some descriptions and explanations about the exhibited items, you need to have Japanese language ability. However, personally I don’t think having Japanese ability is necessary.
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