{"id":11383,"date":"2017-01-24T06:05:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T06:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revoscience.com\/en\/?p=11383"},"modified":"2017-01-24T06:05:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T06:05:20","slug":"research-museum-park-augur-well-increased-understanding-ainu-people-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/research-museum-park-augur-well-increased-understanding-ainu-people-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Further research, museum, park, augur well for increased understanding of Ainu people, culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is Part II of an article about Hokkaido University\u2019s Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, the only national institution in Japan that studies the Ainu of Japan and other indigenous peoples around the world.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Planned site for the Symbolic Space for Ethnic Harmony (Poroto Kotan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This section is based on an interview with the center\u2019s director, Professor Teruki Tsunemoto, who discusses issues surrounding Ainu people and the government\u2019s plan to establish a national museum and other facilities in 2020 in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, to promote Ainu culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hokkaido Imperial University, the predecessor of Hokkaido University, started its Ainu studies in 1939 by establishing a northern cultural research office, consequently producing such scholars as Shinichiro Takakura, whose work on Ainu culture and Hokkaido history is still regarded as classic. Ainu cultural studies were further invigorated by linguist Mashiho Chiri\u2014himself of Ainu origin\u2014who joined the office in 1943 and became a professor at Hokkaido University\u2019s Faculty of Letters in 1958. His death in 1961, however, effectively interrupted Ainu linguistic studies for decades, and slowed other areas of Ainu-related research.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Greetings before Traditional Ainu dance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Professor Mutsuo Nakamura\u2014a constitutional scholar involved in discussions which generated the 1997 Ainu Culture Promotion and Dissemination of Information Concerning Ainu Traditions Act\u2014was keen to rejuvenate the university\u2019s Ainu-related research when he served as president from 2001 to 2007. He believed it was necessary to establish an institution that was independent of any faculty and capable of conducting interdisciplinary research, spanning, for example, the fields of legal science, history, linguistics, cultural anthropology, museology and archaeology.<\/span><\/p>\n

His vision was realized in 2007 when the university created the Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe conduct our research by standing alongside Ainu communities and meeting Ainu people face-to-face, rather than merely reading books and papers,\u201d said Professor Teruki Tsunemoto, director of the center. \u201cWe want to offer proposals based on policies that match reality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tsunemoto explained that, following the enactment of the 1997 law, there have been some notable changes in the attitude of Ainu people, engendered by various programs aimed at promoting Ainu culture. Ainu people have become more receptive of their culture, compared to the past, when they were often the subject of rampant discrimination and had few opportunities to learn about their own language, traditional dances and other cultural issues, according to Tsunemoto.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a 2013 survey conducted by Hokkaido\u2019s Office of Ainu Measures Promotion, 64.2 percent of the Ainu people surveyed said they either \u201cproactively want to learn the Ainu language,\u201d or \u201cwant to learn the language if they are provided with opportunities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"This is a promising sign, considering that the Ainu tongue is on UNESCO\u2019s list of endangered languages.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Ainu language is no longer spoken daily\u2014due to the government\u2019s assimilation policy that began over a century ago\u2014it is difficult to estimate how many people can speak it fluently. \u201cSome people in their 70s or older are often able to speak the language, while others are able to comprehend it, but unable to speak it themselves,\u201d Tsunemoto noted. \u201cYet, many others use Ainu terms in daily conversation.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The promotion of Ainu culture will be further boosted with the opening of the National Ainu Museum, which is set to open its doors as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics get underway.<\/span><\/p>\n

During a June 2014 Cabinet meeting, the government endorsed a plan to establish the Symbolic Space for Ethnic Harmony\u2014comprising a museum, a park that allows people to experience Ainu culture, and a memorial facility to house the ancestral remains of Ainu people\u2014in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shiraoi was chosen over rival locations including the town of Biratori and the city of Kushiro because it has mountains, a lake, rivers, and is located by the sea\u2014all key elements in Ainu culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShiraoi was the only place that had all these features,\u201d Tsunemoto said. \u201cAccess is good, too. Express trains stop at the station and the facility is also close to New Chitose Airport.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies is helping the government plan the establishment of the Symbolic Space.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s designed to enhance understanding of Ainu culture and hand it on to future generations,\u201d Tsunemoto explained. \u201cA lack of understanding of the Ainu people is the root cause of various types of discrimination, as well as the opposition over special support measures for them. I hope people will learn about the Ainu by visiting the museum and the park, and get first-hand experience of their culture\u2014developments that are likely to help solve the problems faced by Ainu people,\u201d Tsunemoto added.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is Part II of an article about Hokkaido University\u2019s Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, the only national institution in Japan that studies the Ainu of Japan and other indigenous peoples around the world. This section is based on an interview with the center\u2019s director, Professor Teruki Tsunemoto, who discusses issues surrounding Ainu people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","category-social-science"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",87,65,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",448,336,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",96,72,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/4163.jpg",150,113,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Other<\/a> Social Science<\/a>","tag_info":"Social Science","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}