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Traditional Ainu designs at the Ainu Museum in Hokkaido CC BY-SA 2.0
The Ainu Museum, Hokkaido, Japan CC BY-SA 2.0
Traditional Ainu designs, Ainu Museum, Hokkaido CC BY 3.0
Inspired by Japanese innovation and hosted in Sapporo, the iSummit ’08 logo was carefully crafted to reflect the traditional culture of its host country, as well as the energy and spirit of the meeting of Internet activists from around the world. The logo incorporates the traditional Ainu design element of morew (pronounced mo-le-oo) a swirl pattern used frequently in Ainu wood carvings. The colours flow from the bottom left to top right corner, symbolising the four key iSummit themes: Learn, Create, Show and Play.
A Brief Introduction to the Ainu People
The Ainu (or Utari, as they sometimes prefer to be called) are an ethnic group who are indigenous to Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands (which lie between Japan and Russia) and Sakhalin island, between Hokkaido and Russia. It is estimated that around 150 000 people with Ainu heritage are currently in Japan, although these numbers are not totally reliable, since many Ainu people have, historically, hidden their heritage to avoid discrimination.
Although the origins of the Ainu people remain unclear, they have often been considered Jomon-jin, or natives to Japan from the Jomon period. According to Ainu legend (known, collectively, as Yukar Upopo), "...the Ainu lived in this place a hundred thousand years before the Children of the Sun came." Research shows that Ainu culture has been in existence since around 1200AD. Their economy was based on fishing, hunting and farming.
From the 1400s onward, the Ainu came into contact with the Yamato people (the dominant ethnic native group in Japan) who were expanding their territory northwards. After Shakushain's Revolt in the late 1600s and the Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion in 1789, the Ainu and their lands came under the control of the Japanese. During the Meiji period (1868 to 1912) they were further marginalised as their language was outlawed, and they were forced to farm land allocated to them by the government.
The Preservation of Ainu Culture in Japan
Since then, the Ainu have worked hard to protect their culture to ensure that it is passed down to each generation. Notable preservers of this culture include Yukie Chiri, a transcriber and translator of yukar epics (Ainu epic tales) who authored Ainu Shinyou-syu in 1923, and introduced yukar epics to a wider audience. Another notable Ainu woman was Chiri’s aunt, Matsu Kannari (also known as Imekanu), a missionary and epic poet. She transcribed Ainu oral literature into the Roman alphabet, producing over 134 volumes during her lifetime. Hokuto Iboshi, Takeichi Moritake, Yaeko Bachelor and others have also explored ethnic identity by expressing Ainu points of view and feelings in the form of tanka (31-syllable Japanese poems) and other poetry.
Spiritual Culture
One of the severest consequences of the restrictions placed on the Ainu since the Meiji era, has been the loss of their religious freedom. The Ainu are traditionally animists, believing that everything in nature has a ‘kamuy’ (spirit or god) on the inside. The ceremony to send back bear spirits, the most important and most grand Ainu ceremony, was banned. The ceremony of receiving new salmon became difficult to perform in the wake of salmon fishing prohibitions. In the decade from 1975 to 1984 a restoration of ceremonies was called for. These ceremonies have subsequently been carried out in many places since the early 80s. The practice of offering prayers for the Ainu ancestors is also being practised once again.
Preservation of Ainu Culture
Since the enactment of the 1977 Law for the Promotion of the Ainu Culture and for the Dissemination and Advocacy for the Traditions of the Ainu and the Ainu Culture, cultural, oral traditional and conservation activities by the Ainu have become more significant. In addition to the restoration of spiritual culture, the restoration of lifestyle elements, such as the construction of houses, building of boats and sewing of clothes, has been carried out by the Ainu throughout Hokkaido as well as by those living on Honshu, particularly in the Kanto area. Twenty conservation councils have been established in Hokkaido, 17 of which have had their traditional dances designated as “significant intangible folk cultural assets” by the Japanese government. These conservation councils participate in the Ainu Ethnic Cultural Festival and the Ainu Cultural Festival, which are held annually.
The Role of Design in Ainu Culture
Clothes and other articles had Ainu motifs that were embroidered or made from patched cloth. These motifs included whirlpool and parenthetical patterns. The Ainu believed that patterns on the cuffs and hems of clothes prevented evil spirits from entering through those openings. These patterns are similar to those on clothes worn by other ethnic groups living in coastal areas and on Skahalin, indicating the extent to which their mutual exchanges influenced each other.
This text was adapted from Together with the Ainu - History and Culture from The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture (FRPAC)
tags: johannesburg south africa media-events isummit-08 sapporo japan japanese culture ainu people isummit08
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