Ainu: Indigenous Peoples of Japan Return to Essay List

The Ainu are the last remaining indigenous people of Japan whose cultural foundation is based primarily on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. Ainu however are known to have existed in the northern reaches of Honshu, the Sakhalin islands north of Japan, the Kamchatka Peninsula and on the Kurile Islands of Russia. There are many theories surrounding the origins of the Ainu, but the most popular is that the Ainu were descended from the Jomon people, a hunter-gatherer society who lived throughout Japan as early as 13000 years ago (Crawford, 2000).

Ainu Man
Photograph by Christina Whitt

Ainu features are quit different from Japanese—Ainu are of larger stock, lighter complexion, most always have curly hair, and men are able to grow beards of great length. Their culture relies heavily on a deep oral history and tradition that they have kept alive through word of mouth, and only recently in written form. Ainu are animists and believe that there is a spirit or kamui within everything.

Being hunter gatherers and of less technological ability than the Japanese, they were naturally subjugated and forced into labor for little or no wages from the beginning of the period of the Japanese colonization of Hokkaido until post Meiji-era. The Ainu attempted revolts in 1669 and 1789 against the Matsumae clan who were in charge of Hokkaido during the Edo-era but these were quelled without a fight. In 1779, the Tokugawa government thought to begin their assimilation process of the Ainu. Ainu were ordered to adapt to Japanese manner of dress, ethics, agriculture, and to intermarry with the Japanese. This however sparked revolt with the Ainu and the Japanese government revoked their policies in order to avoid rebellion. During the 19th century, Japan competed with Russia in colonizing the region of Ainu Moshir, Kurile Islands and Sakhalin (Tanaka, 2004). In 1867 the Meiji government officially annexed the island of Hokkaido, giving it its present name (Hasegawa, 2004). In 1899 the Japanese government enacted the “Former Aborigines Protection Act” which limited the transfer of land by Ainu people, and placed their common property under the control of the governor of Hokkaido. Furthermore, the Japanese government had confiscated all the Ainu people's land 30 years prior and partitioned the confiscated land to Japanese colonizers (Ainu Association of Hokkaido, 1988). This law also forced Ainu children into the Japanese educational system. Aside from this act, other laws forced the learning Japanese use and forbade the use of the Ainu language—the very vessel from which their history and traditions were carried from one generation to the next. By giving the Ainu Japanese names and educating their children in Japanese primary schools, the Japanese sought to completely assimilate the Ainu into their culture.

Reconstruction of an Ainu Dwelling
Photograph Source Unknown

The Japanese did not officially recognize the Ainu as an ethnic minority until 1991 and did not repeal the “Former Aborigines Protection Act” until very recently in 1997 when a new legislation was enacted in the form of an Ainu Cultural Promotion Law that recognized the Ainu as a separate ethnic nation within Japan and pledged assistance in maintaining and transmitting Ainu culture. The law however, mentions nothing of indigenous rights, political representation, reparations or financial funds that Ainu leaders have been campaigning for since 1984 (Siddle, 1). Certainly, the conditions for the Ainu have improved when compared to the past. Despite this however, many Ainu are still unsatisfied with the progress and work to create a global awareness of their struggle.

In their plight, the Ainu have sought to make their existence known as a culturally unique entity on the international stage. This in turn has forced Japan into recognizing them as an indigenous people to international bodies such as the United Nations. However, despite the 1997 Cultural Act related to the Ainu, the Japanese still do not officially recognize the Ainu as such (even to the point of not recognizing the name Utari—much like Native Americans were called Indians for centuries); clinging to their misplaced ideals that Japan is a “homogeneous” society and that not being racially diverse has contributed to Japan’s success as a nation.