David L. Howell
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520240858
- eISBN:
- 9780520930872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520240858.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Policy toward the Ainu during the Meiji period reflected the state's dual program of bringing peripheral peoples within the polity as Japanese nationals while at the same time attacking those ...
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Policy toward the Ainu during the Meiji period reflected the state's dual program of bringing peripheral peoples within the polity as Japanese nationals while at the same time attacking those elements of Ainu society and economy deemed incompatible with their eventual participation in the nation as civilized moderns. The Ainu became increasingly vulnerable during the Meiji period. The Welfare Policy for Former Aborigines within Nemuro Prefecture sought to promote family and communal farming among the Ainu, with improving education a secondary objective. The Meiji state conducted an aggressive and extremely disruptive experiment in social engineering on the Sakhalin and Kuril Ainu. It is shown that although the policies implemented in both cases were similar, the response of the Ainu differed in a number of important respects. The Japanese government's policies did great violence to Ainu culture and without question weakened Ainu ethnic identity.Less
Policy toward the Ainu during the Meiji period reflected the state's dual program of bringing peripheral peoples within the polity as Japanese nationals while at the same time attacking those elements of Ainu society and economy deemed incompatible with their eventual participation in the nation as civilized moderns. The Ainu became increasingly vulnerable during the Meiji period. The Welfare Policy for Former Aborigines within Nemuro Prefecture sought to promote family and communal farming among the Ainu, with improving education a secondary objective. The Meiji state conducted an aggressive and extremely disruptive experiment in social engineering on the Sakhalin and Kuril Ainu. It is shown that although the policies implemented in both cases were similar, the response of the Ainu differed in a number of important respects. The Japanese government's policies did great violence to Ainu culture and without question weakened Ainu ethnic identity.
Mark J. Hudson, Ann-Elise Lewallen, and Mark K. Watson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824836979
- eISBN:
- 9780824870973
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824836979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
In 2008, 140 years after it had annexed Ainu lands, the Japanese government shocked observers by finally recognizing Ainu as an Indigenous people. In this moment of unparalleled political change, it ...
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In 2008, 140 years after it had annexed Ainu lands, the Japanese government shocked observers by finally recognizing Ainu as an Indigenous people. In this moment of unparalleled political change, it was Uzawa Kanako, a young Ainu activist, who signaled the necessity of moving beyond the historical legacy of “Ainu studies.” Mired in a colonial mindset of abject academic practices, Ainu Studies was an umbrella term for an approach that claimed scientific authority vis-à-vis Ainu, who became its research objects. As a result of this legacy, a latent sense of suspicion still hangs over the purposes and intentions of non-Ainu researchers. This book seeks to re-address the role of academic scholarship in Ainu social, cultural, and political affairs. Placing Ainu firmly into current debates over Indigeneity, the book provides a broad yet critical overview of the history and current status of Ainu research. With chapters from scholars as well as Ainu activists and artists, it addresses a range of topics including history, ethnography, linguistics, tourism, legal mobilization, hunter-gatherer studies, the Ainu diaspora, gender, and clothwork. The book aims to reframe the question of Ainu research in light of political reforms that are transforming Ainu society today.Less
In 2008, 140 years after it had annexed Ainu lands, the Japanese government shocked observers by finally recognizing Ainu as an Indigenous people. In this moment of unparalleled political change, it was Uzawa Kanako, a young Ainu activist, who signaled the necessity of moving beyond the historical legacy of “Ainu studies.” Mired in a colonial mindset of abject academic practices, Ainu Studies was an umbrella term for an approach that claimed scientific authority vis-à-vis Ainu, who became its research objects. As a result of this legacy, a latent sense of suspicion still hangs over the purposes and intentions of non-Ainu researchers. This book seeks to re-address the role of academic scholarship in Ainu social, cultural, and political affairs. Placing Ainu firmly into current debates over Indigeneity, the book provides a broad yet critical overview of the history and current status of Ainu research. With chapters from scholars as well as Ainu activists and artists, it addresses a range of topics including history, ethnography, linguistics, tourism, legal mobilization, hunter-gatherer studies, the Ainu diaspora, gender, and clothwork. The book aims to reframe the question of Ainu research in light of political reforms that are transforming Ainu society today.
