Learning from Ainu Culture to Transform Society

Abstract

Interest in the Ainu people and Ainu culture is growing, as seen in the establishment of a national center for Ainu cultural research and promotion, as well as the recent popularity of entertainment works featuring Ainu as main characters. Learning about Ainu culture carries two important meanings.

The first lies in the intellectual value of cultural understanding. Whether learners are Ainu or non-Ainu, it remains difficult to obtain comprehensive information on Ainu culture without pursuing higher education. Thus, it is meaningful to take advantage of opportunities to study the culture, to appreciate its richness and value. Furthermore, by comparing Ainu culture with that of the majority Wajin (ethnic Japanese), one can gain a deeper understanding of Japanese culture itself. In Japan, it is not easy to study the majority culture from a perspective free from "Japanese exceptionalism" or "uniqueness." Observing Japanese culture through the lens of Ainu culture allows for an objective viewpoint and leads to new insights.

The second meaning is social. While we recognize racial discrimination as a form of injustice, there is a tendency to see it as a problem specific to Western countries, and thus, we often fail to consider it as our own issue. However, Japan has also incorporated racialist ideologies since the modern period, which have shaped both academic research and policy decisions, and these influences continue to persist in transformed ways today. Racialist research has historically attempted to “prove” inherent differences in ability between “races,” and recognizing the injustice of such efforts is a starting point for reconciliation and coexistence among different ethnic groups. This is also a key emphasis in countries leading in Indigenous policy.

By reversing the gaze, reexamining the culture of those who historically defined others as “racially different”, and by making comparative observations, we come to understand that the perceived cultural divide, the notions of "advancement" and "backwardness," were often arbitrarily constructed. In this way, learning about minorities not only serves to restore the humanity of those who were marginalized, but also helps the majority regain the humanity it lost through the act of marginalization.