An Ainu Hunter in Biratori

On NHK World, you can now see the story of an Ainu hunter, Atsushi Monbetsu, in the town of Biratori. (You can watch it for FREE) I first met him while I was making my documentary. Even though my documentary focuses on elders, he appears in my film at the annual Cipsanke, which is a canoe festival.

At that time, he sat behind some elders when they performed a ritual, but in this documentary, he is the leader of the ritual and prays in the Ainu language.

As I wrote in the blog about London in March, I was very happy to see that young people were there to promote Ainu culture. I was also excited to see Atsushi on the poster for the event in London at a train station. More and more young people have been making Ainu culture more visible, especially in the past few years.

My dream is to invite Ainu people, especially the younger generation, including Atsushi, to New York and have interactive events, such as film screenings, food and craft workshops, dance performances, language seminars, and exhibitions.

If this happens, this would be the first event of its kind in North America.

I recently took a trip to Biratori to lay the groundwork for this project. The London events were very successful, but I believe the New York events can be even bigger and better. Hopefully more details will soon follow and my dream will come true!

Ainu exhibition in London

A 5-month exhibition, ‘AINU STORIES – CONTEMPORARY LIVES BY THE SARU RIVER,’ is currently happening at Japan House London. It started November 16, 2023 and will end April 21, 2024. In conjunction with the exhibit, Japan House London has held in-person Ainu-related events: language workshops, dance performances, craft demonstrations, food tastings. These were led by people from the Ainu community of Biratori where I filmed my documentary ‘Ainu-Indigenous People of Japan’. They held two screenings in January, and both screenings were sold out!! I couldn’t attend the screening but the staff emailed me about the feedback, which was 100% ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good.’ I was really happy to hear that. 🙂 Here are some of the comments.

-The film was simply excellent! Very informative.

-It deepened my understanding of the Ainu in an enjoyable way.

-We have been to Hokkaido and we enjoyed watching the documentary, reminiscing about our time in Japan, and learning about the Ainu people.

-I’ve not heard much about the Ainu before except for derogatory comments. This showcased efforts to prevent loss of their culture.

In January, my Ainu friend told me that a fourth group from Biratori was going to London to perform an Ainu dance and cook Ainu dishes, so I decided to go to see them at the end of February.

First of all, I was really happy to be reunited with my friends from Biratori. As they had some free time before their performance in the evening, we went sightseeing, had lunch, and caught up. One of the most important things I learned from my friends was that many young people have started living in Biratori and working to preserve and promote Ainu culture.

The exhibition and events were just fabulous!!! All of the events were completely sold out. I was especially impressed by the exhibition. Their main emphasis is on modern Ainu culture, which is rare. Japan House London shot new video material in Biratori, and interviewed many people ranging in age from 20s to 80s about various topics, from crafts to language to hunting to cuisine.

Since my film’s focus is on elders, some people may think that when the time comes and these elders pass away, Ainu culture will disappear. However, these events and the exhibition are proof that Ainu culture is alive and well because young people are working with these elders and adding their own modern twists; for instance, using Ainu patterns on cellphone cases and water bottles.

During the final period of the exhibition, another group from Biratori is going to be in London on March 21 to hold a workshop about wood carving. In April, they will show two short films about canoe making and traditional Ainu sake featuring Shigeru Kayano, the first Ainu member of the Japanese Parliament. The date just has announced! It will be April 16, 6pm-7:15pm. Please see here for more details.

It was thrilling to see my friends from Biratori in the spotlight and being applauded. I want this kind of event to happen all over the world, including Japan.

This exhibition will end on April 21st. But… I understand that everyone cannot make it to Lonodon. HERE IS GOOD NEWS!!! You can see the virtual exhibition here.

Nibutani Ainu Crafts Exhibition in New York City

I was very excited when my friend in NYC informed me about this exhibition. The gallery was having a reception the following day. Right away, I sent an email to my friend’s contact at the gallery to see if I could attend the reception, and they said yes!

When I got there, I was surprised and happy to see how good the turnout was because I hadn’t seen any publicity about this event in any Japanese news sources in NYC.

They selected a perfect combination of traditional and contemporary crafts. I recognized many familiar names from the Nibutani region in the town of Biratori, which is where I made my documentary.

The highlight of this exhibition is the Nosaku project. These are contemporary crafts and are just-finished products. It’s the first time these artworks have been displayed in the U.S.

In fact, I didn’t see or even hear about the project in Nibutani when I visited last summer.

The artwork is tableware made from tin. It’s a collaborative project between Nibutani and Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, an area that has been known for its metal casting for over 100 years. The complete information is here.

I was especially happy to see that most of the artists are young people. They use traditional Ainu patterns that are unique to Nibutani. As I was leaving, the gallery gave me a cutlery rest, as a souvenir which I am now using at home. You can purchase these crafts if you’d like.

This is a unique opportunity to see Ainu crafts in person, so, I strongly encourage you to go to see the exhibit. For more information about Nibutani Ainu Craft, see here.

Nibutani Ainu Craft Exhibition

When: March 1-11, Wednesday – Saturday, 12pm-5pm

Where: Onishi Gallery

521 West 26th Street Lower Level, New York, NY 10001

The first embroidered garment is made by Maki Sekine, the second one is made by Sumire Kaizawa

Ainu’s traditional dance at the Tokyo Olympics

I have never seen Ainu dance like this!! This is a special dance performance created for the Tokyo Olympics.

I knew that some Ainu people from each region had practiced for a few years before 2020 to perform at the opening ceremony but the Ainu dance was eliminated from the program in the winter of 2020 because of the time limitation, according to a newspaper I read.

After postponing one year due to the pandemic, Ainu dancers gathered with more participants from each region in Sapporo, where the marathon races took place.

In each region has unique Ainu pattern. Please pay attention to the clothes when you watch all videos.

Ainu doesn’t have a written language, so dances have an important role in communication. What do you see from the dance?

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Category Archives: Ainu related news

Stage 1 | Tomakomai | August 5th, 3pm

Stage 2 | Sappro | August 5th, 7pm

Stage 3 | Mixed regions | August 6th, 3:30pm

Stage 4 | Biratori&Urakawa | August 7th, 5:50am

Stage 5 | Obihiro & Lake Akan | August 8th, 6am

Biratori

Tokyo/Nibutani *Nibutani is a region in the town of Biratori

Shiraoi

Lake Akan & Obihiro

Sapporo