Ainu Culture 日本語

The Ainu are an indigenous people who have lived in northern Japan, especially Hokkaido, and have developed a unique language and a rich culture including a traditional dance.

Well-known Ainu Culture

Dance
The Ainu people dance during ceremonies or get-togethers with friends. The dance is called “The Traditional Ainu Dance,” and has been both designated as an important intangible folk cultural asset of Japan and inscribed on the UNESCO ICH list.

Language
There are a lot of places in Hokkaido whose names come from the Ainu language. For example, “Muroran” comes from Mo ruerani, which means “a small downslope” and “Shiraoi”comes from Shirauoi, which means “the place where many horseflies are.”

Foods
The Ainu people sustainably hunted wild animals and gathered plants, boiling, grilling, or stewing them. One of the common dishes is Chep Ohau a clear soup with sliced salmon.

Clothes
Some traditional Ainu clothes were made from the inner bark of elm or Japanese linden trees, or out of fish skin from salmon and trout.

Musical Instruments
Mukkuri, a jaw harp made from a kind of bamboo and Tonkori, a five stringed instrument mainly used by the Ainu who lived in Sakhalin, are both well known.

The Symbolic Space for Ethnic Harmony

In the hopes of reviving and revitalizing the disappearing Ainu culture and helping to spread more information about it, the Japanese Government made a cabinet decision regarding a basic policy for the development and management of “The Symbolic Space for Ethnic Harmony.”
The Symbolic Space for Ethnic Harmony will be built in Shiraoi town in Iburi and will be open to the public in 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The development of the space, which will include a National Ainu Museum, is now in progress.

Find out more about Ainu Culture: The Foundation for Ainu Culture

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Ainu Culture

Ainu Culture 日本語

Well-known Ainu Culture

The Symbolic Space for Ethnic Harmony

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