The Foundation for Research Act on Promotion of Measures for Reali- Ritual and Promotion of Ainu Culture zation of a Society in which the Pride of e following projects are being the Ainu People is Respected implemented to promote the (Ainu Measures Promotion Act) measures for Ainu culture and from natural phenomena to animals and plants, and even to dissemination and enlightenment In May 2019, the “Ainu Measures Promotion Act” of knowledge of the people about Ainu tradition, etc. came into eect. human beings but get detrimental in the form of natural e purpose of this Act is to realize a society in which the disasters and diseases. Ainu people respect those as “gods” 1. Promotion of comprehensive and practical Ainu people can feel pride in leading their lives as an that are essential to human beings and beyond human research on the Ainu Human Rights of the Ainu ethnic group and in which the pride of Ainu people as an capabilities. 2. Promotion of the Ainu language ethnic group is respected and thereby to contribute to 3. Promotion of Ainu culture the realization of a society of coexistence with mutual when gods protect them and provide food to them. 4. Dissemination and enlightenment of Ainu respect for personality and individuality by recognizing Hoping that such lives will continue, the Ainu people traditions, etc. the Ainu as an indigenous people and providing for the To Understand Ainu pray to gods. 5. Restoration of Ainu traditional life space basic principle etc. relating to the promotion of Ainu Praying to gods involves a variety of rituals. A leading Ainu Culture Center measures. one is iomante. Culture and Tradition 6. Administrative operation of Upopoy (the National Ainu Museum and Park) Housing Iomante (Sending back the spirits of e Foundation operates Ainu Culture Center to animal gods) support Ainu people living in the Tokyo metropolitan e Ainu lived in houses called cise in the Ainu area in their cultural activities and disseminate and language. eir houses were built of woods, grasses and Iomante is a ritual to send back the spirits of animal enlighten knowledge about Ainu tradition and culture. other natural materials. Preferring to use durable and It is open also to the public free of charge. To learn Ainu hard-to-decay materials, people chose chestnuts and tradition and culture, you can read books, borrow the Ainu people regard high to kamuy mosir or the gods’ oaks for pillars and alders for joists and beams. ey DVDs and videos, and choose learning opportunities world. used locally abundant plants for walls and roofs that such as experience programs. required a large amount of materials. For instance, reed divine world, when they descend to the human world, Location: 3F, Unizo Yaesu 2-chome Bldg. 4-13 Yaesu was popular in Iburi and Hidaka, dwarf bamboo grass in 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028, Japan Kamikawa, and barks in Nemuro in eastern Hokkaido. Tel: 03-3245-9831 Traditional building skills have been succeeded to the they appear like them –so it is considered. Open: 10:00-18:00 present generation. You can witness restored traditional Closed: Sundays, Mondays (If a Monday falls on a cise in various parts of Hokkaido nowadays holiday, it is open), the day after Holidays and December homeland through iomante, the Ainu people make a wish 29 through January 3. that gods will visit them again. Ruumpe If you have any questions about this leaflet, Cotton garment that has an applique of rags please contact the following office: of white cotton, silk and narrow-sleeve clothing torn into shreds. Piping is given for their pasting Human Rights Measures Promotion Section, and for decoration. Human Rights Division, Bureau of General Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government itsfour squares of the spread sheets. Tel: 03-5388-2588 /Fax : 03-5388-1266 Information recorded can be translated to voice reading with a dedicated device. Print number (31) 36 All photos courtesy of Foundation for Photos : Courtesy of Foundation for Research Harpoon hook － Tool for salmon Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture. and Promotion of Ainu Culture fishing, etc Appearance of cise Five-stringed zither－tonkori Tokyo Metropolitan Government History of the Ainu What is Ainu? Food Culture Language Since old times, the Ainu kamuy Believing that food was the p eople have b een l iving i n meaning god. It is also used for the ethnic group as a whole. blessings bestowed by natural language of Japan, though Hokkaido and neighboring In its long history, however, the word Ainu came to be gods, the Ainu people acquired it order is similar, but vocabularies regions. Many Japanese from mainland Japan began to misunderstood and sometimes carried a derogatory only as needed, thanking to gods. advance to these regions in the 15th and 16th centuries. utari Gradually, free trade activities of Ainu people came to be meaning “fellow beings”. In recent years, the word Ainu gathering, they hunted wild animals and gathered wild has been back in use since there is nothing malicious in the plants for food. Chishima (Kuril) Islands, and the northern part of the regulated and their very daily lives were eroded. meaning of the term itself. Tohoku region of mainland Japan. However, today, even In the Meiji era (1868 - 1912), the national government they lived, their main food supplies were Yezo deer, hares those who can speak their unique language lead their daily lives using the Japanese language. introduced new land measures and limited hunting one history, art, etc. to their children by word of mouth. after another. Living territory of the minority population of Clothing Among Ainu oral literature, a heroic epic yukar is the collected edible leaves and stalks of wild garlic called most representative. Ainu’s distinctive customs, compelled them to learn the pukusa, butterburs and ostrich fern from spring to In addition to animal names in Japanese of “tonakai” or reindeer, “rakko” or sea otter, “shishamo” or shishamo Japanese language in schools, and promoted assimilation only materials but designs and patterns. Characteristics of summer, while from summer to fall, they gathered walnuts and berries of mulberries, crimson glory vines and so on. smelt, etc., It is believed that many place names are derived from the Ainu language, such as “Noboribetsu” and “Wakkanai”. people of agriculture promotion and education were not with wild vegetables in season as well as porridge of grains such as millet. Today, in order to inherit the Ainu language to future generations, the Ainu language classes and various other After the World War II, the environment of life and On occasions of rituals and festivals, they prepared special cuisines such as simmered dishes of seasonal activities have been expanded in Hokkaido and other education of the Ainu people was improved and enhanced beautifully patterned clothes that you see at museums and regions. gradually. In 1997, the Hokkaido Former Aborigine Ainu people today take mainly Japanese food and Protection Act, promulgated in the Meiji era, was repealed Clothes at rituals and ceremonies were accompanied by and the “Ainu Culture Promotion Act” was enacted. ornaments such as headbands, earrings and necklaces of Useful Ainu Greetings glass balls. When people walked around in the hills and Under these circumstances, though, they have inherited Because the United Nations General Assembly adopted their food culture by aptly arranging time-honored the “Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples” 1 Hello. / How do you do? irankarapte the back of hands as well as leggings. Iyayraykere in September 2007, the two houses of the Japanese Diet In daily lives today, Ainu people do not wear their cuisines for rituals. unanimously adopted the “Resolution to Recognize the distinctive clothes. 3 Bon voyage. / Good bye. apunno paye yan Ainu as an Indigenous People” in June of the following However, when they take part in rituals or perform traditional music and dances, Ainu people have come to be dressed “Advisory Council for Future Ainu Policy,” the national Japanese katakana or Roman characters nowadays. time-honored costumes again. launched “Council for Ainu Policy It’s thanks to the recent trend of Promotion” in January 2010 and revaluation and restoration of h as since b e en promoting Ainu tradition and culture. Traditional Ainu cuisine: cipor rataske (upper left), boiled pukusa (upper right), rataskep of measures step by step. pumpkin (center) and amam ipe (bottom center ＝cooked rice mixed with millets) Bark-fiber clothes : attus.