JapaneseJapaneseSociety Society of Cultural Anthropology Japanese Review of Cultural AnthropologM vol.4, 2003 lt Anthropological Studies of the Ainu in Japan: Past and Present YAMADA Takako Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies Kyoto University Abstract This article reviews the main trends in anthropological studies of the Ainu in Japan, from the past to the present. During the Edo period, detailed doeuments on the life and culture of the Ainu were already being published, along with official accounts of explorations produced for specific purposes. Ainu studies in the Melji era developed further, ranging from travel literature to studies of Ainu ethnic origin, language and mythology Following the work of CHAMBERLAIN, BNI)CHELOR, PILSuDSKI, and MuNRO, YosHIDA and KINDAIcHI began to study the language and fblklore ef the Ainu in the 1910s. After that, even though folklore studies flourished, ethnological studies of the Ainu only started in Japan with a joint survey by anthropologists and ethnologists in 1951. While few studies have been carried out on the social aspects of Ainu culture, so that various aspects ef traditienal Ainu social organization remain in dispute, recent ethnological studies do shed light on the contemporary issues confronting the Ainu, such as tourism, cultural revitalization, ethnicity anrf identity Accounts of the Ainu in Japan have thus focused successively on their ethnic origins, their folklore and religion, and finally their ethnicity and identity Key words: Ainu studies, ethnic origin of the Ainu, fblkloristic studies, language, mythologyl religion, ethnological studies ofthe Nnu, discourses on the Ainu, ethnicity and identity Introduction Ifwe define Japanese Ainu studies as consisting of all the studies conducted in Japan on the Ainu and their culture, the field now includes more than 3,500 volumes according to the NII-Electronic Library Service JapaneseJapaneseSociety Society ofCulturalof Cultural Anthropology fo YArvIAI)A Takako Ainu Bibliqgraph{y (IRIMoTo 1992). Studies have been carried out in a variety of disciplines, including ethnologM anthropologM folklore, archaeology) linguistics, geography and history might academic study of Ainu in Japan started in the Melji It be thought that the the "Ezo" period. However, a number of reports based on expeditions to (renamed Hokkaido in the Melji period) were published in the Edo period, especially in its later years when the defense of the national boundary against invasion from the north became a serious political concern of the [[bkugawa Shogunate. Those documents written before the Melji period are generally "kyu-ki" categorized as (archives), but they are valuable even today for an understanding of the life and cukure of the Ainu. Most were reprinted during the 1970s and 1980s. Hokkaido and the Ainu were thoroughly explored during the Edo period, marking the real beginning of Ainu studies in Japan, In the early days of the Melji period, many European scholars also published works on the Ainu, and these eventually encouraged further studies of Ainu anthropology and folklore by the Japanese. In this review article, I will explore the history ofAinu studies, concentrating especially on ethnological werks and those closely related to ethnological themes. I explore the distinctive characteristics of Ainu studies in Japan, as well as the problems involved in this field, [[b accomplish this, I look first at the documents published during the Edo period, befbre describing the different trends in Ainu studies after the Meiji period. Explorations of Hokkaido and the Ainu dui'ing the Latter Part of the Edo Period Pioneering reports on the Ainu by foreign observers include documents such as the Relatione deZ Ragno di fe2o [An Account of the Land of Ezo] sent to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Rome by the Italian missionarM Father de Ange!is, who visited Hokkaido in 1618 and 1621 (KoDAMA 1941). In contrast, no accounts based on first-hand investigations by Japanese were published until the eighteenth century One example is that of SAKAKuRA Gebjiro, a clerk ofthe Tbkugawa Shogunate Mint, who made a study of gold and silver mines in Holrlsaido and referred to the Ainu in his essaM Hbhhai Zuihitsu [An Essay on the Northern Sea] (SAKAKuRA 1739/1972). Others include Matsumae-shi [A History of Matsumae] by MATsuMAE Hironaga (17811 1972), 7b-yu-lei [A Narrative of My [[lravels to the East] by HEzuTsu [[bsaku (178411972), and deo Shui [Gleanings of Ezo] by SA]ro GenrokuTo (178611972), The [[bkugawa Shogunate also dispatched several expeditions to Ezo. MoGAMI [[bkunai, who joined an expedition in 1785, wrote E2o Zoshi [An Account of Ezo] (MoGAMI 1790/1972) and Exo Zoshi Kbhen [An Account ofEzo, Part 2] (MoGAMi 1800f1972). HATA Awakimaru, later renamed MuRAKAMI Shimanojo, accompanied a large-scale expedition dispatched in 1798 by the Shogunate and wrete Egov'irna Kihan [Natural Wonders of Ezo Island], which skillfu11y pertrayed the life ofthe Ainu with fille pictures (HATA 17981 1982). Another important source is Higashi Ezo-chi Dochu-ki [A Record of My [[ravels in Eastern Ezo] (Unknown 1791). The nineteenth century witnessed a more active exploration of Hokkaido, INo Tadataka NII-Electronic Library Service JapaneseJapaneseSociety Society of Cultural Anthropology Anthropological Studies of the Nnu in Japan: Past and Present 77 surveyed Hokkaido in 1800 and drew the territory's first fine map, which was supplemented by MAMIyA Rinzo after an additional survey in 1810. A work entitled Higashi Ezo-ehi Kizhu Basho 7ttigaisho [A General Description of Each District in Eastern Ezo] was published in 1809, although the author is unknown. This key document systematically described not only the topographM production, population, and settlement patterns of each district but also Ainu subsistence activities, fbod processing, storage and consumption. TAMAMusHI Sadayu, a samurai from the domain of Sendai who accompanied an expedition dispatched by his feudal lord, published a diary of his travels, IVb,u-hoku-hi [An Account of a Journey to the North, Hoklcaido] (TAMAMusHI 1857), while SmMA Giyu, a samurai from the domain of Saga in Kyushu, who aecompanied a tour of inspection of Hokkaido by the magistrate of Hakodate, also reeorded the tour in his diary, Ailyu-hohu-ki [An Account of a Journey to the North, Hokkaido] (SHIMA 1857), Among the archives published before the Melji period, a series of works by MATsuuRA Takeshiro are panicularly important as material for Ainu studies. MAi]suuRA made a series of expeditions to Hokkaido in 1845, 1846, 1849, 1855, 1857 and 1859, visiting the interior more frequently than any other Japanese explorer, and producing detailed written accounts (MATsuuRA 185011970, 185611978, 1857/1982, 1858/1985), He made the 1857 and 1859 expeditiens as an oMcial researcher for the [lbkugawa Shogunate, studying the geegraphy of Hokkaido, especially the rivers and mountains. As he was well acquainted with the Ainu language, he wrote the finest accounts of the Ainu firom that period. For example, 7ttkeshiro Klxiho Nikhi [A Diary of Takeshiro's Vbyage] (MATsuuRA 1856/1978) deseribes not only the topography with place names in the Ainu language and bird's-eye pictures but also the number ofhouses, the demographM and the names ofthe inhabitants in each settlement, comparing the results with those of fbrmer investigations. Bo-go 7bzai Ezo Sansen Chiri 7brishirabe Nisshi [A iDiary of Geographical Explorations in Eastern and Western Ezo in the Year of Earth-Elder Brother-Horse] (MA];suuRA 185811985), the style of description of which fbllows that of 7?iheshiro Ktziho Nikki, deseribes for each settlement the number of households, the names of their members, ages, kin or family relationships, and notes on social roles. It also deseribes in detail the animals and plants, products, and subsistence econom}L The works of Miy]]suuRA are highly valued as ethnographic materials fbr exploring Ainu culture during the late Edo period, ' Ainu Studies in the Melji Period: From [[beavel Literature to the Study of Ethnic Origins, Language, and Mythology i European scholars took the initiative in Ainu studies during the final years of the Edo period and the early Meiji period, The Ainu attracted great interest among Europeans in terms of their racial characteristics because they were viewed as a Caucasoid population in the Far East. Although he himself had never visited Japan, August PFizMAiER of the University of Vienna published a book on Ainu vocabulary (PFIzMAIER 1854). IVbert S. BIcKMoRE visited "The YUrappu, Mori, and Ylikumo in Hokkaido and wrote several articles such as Ainos, or NII-Electronic Library Service JapaneseJapaneseSociety Society ofCulturalof Cultural Anthropology 78 YAMADA Takako Hairy Men ofYesso," based on his investigations of food, ornaments, marriage, household, and beliefs (BIcKMoRE 1868a, 1868b, 1869). Ernest SATove who visited Hakodate, Yamakoshi, and Ylikume in 1867 and 1870, Thomas BLAKisToN, who visited Hokkaido in 1869, Isabella L. BmD, who traveled through Hokkaido in 1878, and XM DENING, who visited the Iburi and Hidaka regions in 1876, also discuss the Ainu in scattered references in their books (SATow 1870; BLAKIsToN 1872; BIRD 1880; DENING 1877). The Ainu werb also of great interest to Europeans because, like prehistoric Europeans, they practiced the bear festival (iomante), and several articles of the festival were written by European researchers (GuNzBouRG 1894; HILGENDoRF 1876; ScHEuBE 1880, 1882, 1891). ScHEuBE, a German anthropologist