I am proud to announce that my film Ainu – Indigenous People of Japan was selected as a finalist for the Video Librarian’s Best Narratives and Best Documentaries of 2025!
I was surprised to hear the news, as my film was made in 2019, so I was glad to receive the recognition.
Please click below to see the review.
2026 is the centennial of the birth of Shigeru Kayano, who was the first ever and, so far, the only Ainu Cabinet Member in Japan’s parliament.
Those who watched our documentary, Ainu—Indigenous People of Japan, know that Reiko Kayano is Shigeru’s wife. I went to the town of Biratori last year and visited Reiko. She is genki, or doing well, living in the same house where the couple worked hard to keep Ainu culture alive.
Their son and grandson also live in the same neighborhood and are still keeping Shigeru’s legacy alive by continuing his Nibutani Ainu language class, Ainu community FM radio station, and Kayano Shigeru Nibutani Ainu Museum. Shigeru’s grandson and his wife run a hostel right next to the museum.
I first went to the town of Biratori in 2008, which was two years after Shigeru passed away. This year is also the 20th anniversary of his passing. What a special year! I really wish I could have had the chance to have met him in person. Luckily, we have lots of books he wrote and archival videos that we can still watch. I hope everyone appreciates the people who took the time to make these recordings!
In this special year, there will be a lot of events celebrating Shigeru’s centennial in Biratori. I will try to keep you updated and get the word out as much as I can. I am planning to go there to film some interviews this year.
Are you thinking that Japan is too far away to visit? I have some good news for you, especially people who live on the East Coast. Guess what ? Stay tuned…. I will let you know as soon as I can.
In the meantime, here are some resources available in English to get to know more about Shigeru Kayano. He published over 100 books and essays, but unfortunately, many of them are only in Japanese. (Actually, I am rereading some of the books to refresh my memory.)
Books written by Shigeru Kayano
The Ainu: A Story of Japan’s Original People
The Goddess of the Wind and Okikukrumi (FREE)
Videos *Full versions are only available for institutions, but you can take a peek.
Toronto Kamuy – The Spirit of Sake made by *Shiro Kayano
Language is the Proof of People made by *Shiro Kayano
*Shiro Kayano is Shigeru’s son
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!
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.
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
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?
No translation needed. Just feel and think, and enjoy.
These are 30 seconds TV commercials from different regions.
I’d like to introduce you to some new documentaries on NHK World. NHK is the public broadcaster in Japan. It’s free! Please watch before they’re disappeared.
Rediscovering Ainu Heritage Part1 and Part2
It’s about the lives of young people who have Ainu roots. Mai Ishihara has a mixed ethnic background and identifies herself as a Hidden Ainu. Daiki Kuzuno learns the Ainu language from a Japanese man who had learned the Ainu language from Daiki’s grandfather.
It features Marewrew, three Ainu singers who mostly sing Upopo, which is singing in a round. This is a beautiful short documentary.
Giving a Voice to Minorities: Fukunaga Takeshi
This is an interview with Mr. Takeshi Fukunaga, who made Ainu Mosir, which won Best Feature at the Guanjuato International Film Festival, and Best Narrative Feature (Special Jury Mention) at the Tribeca Film Festival. This interview contains behind the camera information and why he decided to make this film.
During the three months between my first and second visits to Biratori, I took my first trip to Colombia to donate some second-hand video equipment and to teach filmmaking to the Nasa people who live on top of the Andes Mountains.
This was my first close encounter and living experience with indigenous people. The place I visited was a refugee camp that was formed after the explosion of a sacred volcano, called Grandfather by the Nasa people. The volcano awoke after 500 years of sleep.
I learned many things but I will have to save the details for a future post.
After my trip to Colombia, I flew to Hokkaido and stayed at the Kawananos, who are the people who offered to let me stay at their house.
I told them about my experience in Colombia and showed them some photos and videos. They were impressed and Kazunobu, the husband, called someone and told this person “An interesting woman is staying at my house. I want you to meet her.”
Soon after Kazunobu took me to visit the Nabesawas, who later became the second subject in my film.
Tamotsu Nabesawa is half Ainu and half wajin (a non-Ainu person living in Japan). He is one of the rare people who can actually speak Ainu and grew up surrounded by Ainu culture.
He loves making crafts influenced by Ainu culture for himself. When I started talking about the Nasa people, who live on the other side of the world, he found similarities between the Ainu and the Nasa, especially some customs in certain rituals.
Over the next ten years, I often visited the Nabesawas, and they sometimes offered to let me stay over.
Mr. Nabesawa usually spoke in Japanese, but he often spoke Ainu as well. One day, he asked me something in Ainu, and I had no idea what he was saying.
Then he laughed and told me “When someone visits, the first thing an Ainu asks the visitor is whether you will stay over or not. If they’re just visiting, we offer non-alcoholic drinks. If they are going to stay over, we offer alcoholic drinks and food and get ready for a long chat.”
I don’t remember how many nights I stayed over at the Nabesawas, but I remember sitting next to him, chatting, laughing, eating, and drinking.
He knew more about the Ainu than most of the community.
I didn’t film him much until 2016, when I started making my documentary about the Ainu. However, I wish I had started filming him as soon as I met him because he passed away in 2018.
But at the same time, because he and I had a bond before filming, he felt much more comfortable when I did film him.
Sorry about the short notice. Remember? Ainu – Indigenous People of Japan was selected on the Nippon Connection Film Festival 2020 in Germany last year, and Replay! this year?
This year, it’s happening right now, again online so you can watch some films.
They included two Ainu films. Please check this out.
Glad to hear that the film was selected up to semi-finalist at January 2021 at Rome Prisma Independent Film Festival