Ainu museum and historical village

The Ainu solutions to cold weather and snow. Look familiar?

One of our many cultural experiences here in Sapporo was the trip to Hokkaido's Ainu museum. I forgot the exact details of where the museum is, but the trip out there took well over an hour from where we live in Ainosato. For me, the chance to learn more about the Ainu was definitely something I was looking forward to, and I made sure to bring my camera with me!

The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, and only recently has there been a positive motion towards preserving and promoting this unique culture and its history. Everything I saw in the museum and attached historical village reminded me of Canada's own history with the people we call first nations. In some ways, these memories are not pleasant. Studying Canadian history has only shown the difficulties and misunderstandings that occur between cultures, and some of the troubles that have come up in both Canada and Japan show a similar - if sad - part of human nature. Thankfully, much is being done now to strenthen Ainu cultural practices, which include textiles and clothing, music and traditional tools and weaponry. Like Canadian First Nations' people. the Ainu devised many natural and simple solutions to cold weather, snow, and the difficult jobs of hunting shelter building. Because of my interest in archery, I was also drawn to the hunting tools used by the Ainu, and was surprised to see that they used metal-bladed knives. Our tour guide said that these blades were only available because the Ainu commonly traded with the nearby Russians, and on occasion with the Japanese mainlanders.

Professor Otsu and her lesson adaptation on a game she found in Australia

In an effort to combine two separate blog entries, this style of proto-international commerce reminded me of Dr. Otsu's University lecture from last week. Professor Otsu is the principal at the University's attached Junior High School, and also a professor at the University. She invited the four of us to her lecture on globalization and economics last week. The lecture was really more of a giant  game, and better yet, a game I had played before. We were invited to participate, as the premise of the game was quite simple, and didn't demand much or any Japanese language on our part! heheheeheh


Needle cases. Notice the valueless Japanese coin attached to the end.

 I had played a similar game in my junior high school as a student, almost 20 years  ago. Groups are made which then inherit a country name, as well as a collection of natural resources and tools. The object of the game is to 'refine' these natural materials into complex products or widgets, and then to sell them back to the teacher or professor. Because the game begins with a diverse mixture of countries and pre-existing wealth, the outcomes of the game are somewhat predictable, and generally favour already wealthy nations.

I made need to actually make another blog entry to fully describe the usefulness of this game, but I guess I could just stop here and say that the imbalances of value in less technologically advanced civilizations can lead to some extremly interesting outcomes. In the case of the Ainu, it displays itself in the fact that a sewing needle was considered so valuable- around 100 salmon's worth- that it was carried in a special case around owner's neck. The base of the needle holder is actually a Japanese coin, some denominations of which have a hole in the center. What is considered valuable or purposeful in one culture is often lost in another culture, and can find a completely new purpose. Another more vivid example was a special container which was traded to the Ainu. Its original purpose was to hold the severed head of a Japanese Samurai, but according to our guide found other uses in the culture of the Ainu people.