Ainu Stories: Contemporary Lives By The Saru River.
Stephanie Steele
Textiles Sustainability Specialist | Organic Food Growing | Food-Fibre-Fashion Communicator
Ainu Stories: Contemporary Lives By The Saru River was a free exhibition at Japan House London, showing November 16th 2023 — April 21st 2024.
The Ainu are an indigenous people living mainly in Hokkaido. This exhibit highlighted some facets of the culture to help give voice and expression to disappearing traditions and language. Developed in collaboration with the people of Nibutani, a community of 300 people, there are more than 200 works not previously shown outside of Japan.
I visited on my birthday in december, travelling to knightsbridge (where I never normally go) purely to see the textiles, but was surprised and delighted by many of the object designs, and learnt about a culture I previously knew nothing about. This review provides insight to some of the works on show, with context from the well-considered guidebook.
Ainu.
Words from the exhibition guidebook:
“The Ainu have lived for centuries in the north of the Japanese archipelago, especially in Hokkaido, but also in northern Honshu, Sakhalin (Karafuto) and the Kuril Islands. Ainu culture as we understand it today began to take form in around the 13th century, with the introduction of metal implements and lacquerware through increased contact with neighbouring lands. The Ainu lived by fishing, hunting and plant gathering. They also played an important role in trade exchanges between what is now Russia and China and the ethnic Japanese to the south, on Honshu.
Hokkaido, Nibutani and the Saru River.
Hokkaido.
To put it into context, Hokkaido (literally ‘north sea road’) is Japan’s northernmost and largest prefecture, and its second-largest island. Nibutani is a rural community of just over 300 people with Biratori Town, a municipal area with a population of roughly 4600 people. It lies on the Saru River basin, 20 kilometres upriver from the Pacific Coast, and compared with other areas of the island has less harsh winters. Officially there are one third of the Nibutani community registered as Ainu, though it’s thought 80% are of Ainu descent, and regardless, they all participate in each other’s cultural activities.
Saru River.
The Saru River has its source in the Hidaka mountains and flows for 100 kilometres to the Pacific Ocean, but often gets clogged with sediment and reeds during rainfall. The Nibutani Dam is on the river. The place names around here have Ainu origin, and spiritual connections to particular landscapes continue to be celebrated.
The Nibutani Dam was completed in 1997, though with sustained local opposition. A case filed against the construction resulted in the Sapporo District Court recognising the Ainu as ‘indigenous people’, leading to lessons learned in terms of approach to the construction of another dam upriver. The Biratori Dam was built in 2022 to work with the Nibutani Dam for water supply, flood management and hydroelectric power. However, this one has a process of assessment, monitoring and mitigation from an Ainu representative under the Ainu Cultural Environment Conservation Research Office to understand the impact of the dam and protect the Ainu cultural landscape.
Tourism.
Nibutani lies on a main road between Sapporo (main city) and the hot spring resorts of eastern Hokkaido, and so in the mid-1960s it became an important rest stop for tourists. Weaving and woodcarving production increased, and restaurants and workshops selling Ainu craft souvenirs developed. This followed on from the postwar economy that saw a boom in domestic tourism. Weavers and carvers found additional income from selling barkcloth robes and wooden trays, and leading carving classes.
However, a new expressway linking the airport to eastern Hokkaido was built in the 1990s so tourists no longer passed through Nibutani.
The carved wooden bears — cikuni ani a=kar kimunkamuy — were first introduced as souvenir items in 1924 after Tokugawa Yoshichika of southern Hokkaido visited Switzerland and saw carved wooden bears being sold there. The Ezo brown bear is Japan’s largest land animal and is revered by the Ainu as the embodiment of Kim-un-kamuy — the spirit-deity of the mountains. It’s possible then that the carved bears were just something to reintroduce this deity into daily lives, as there are similarities on Ainu ritual headdresses from earlier times.
Food culture.
Most of the ingredients for popular Ainu dishes come from wild vegetables and seasoned with fish oil and animal fat. One of the fundamental etiquettes of Ainu food culture is to only take what you need, and when harvesting mountain vegetables, to ensure the roots remain. This ties into the need to protect their forests, because this is where their food comes from alongside timber for their crafts.
Their extensive knowledge of processing plants for medicinal use slots into place names, whereby they serve as a reminder for where ingredients can be found, such as sikerpe (fruit of the Amur cork tree). Dishes include:
The utensils are made from different woods and are made with different shapes to suit the variety of dishes. For example, the sito-pera needs to be a flexible fine-grained wood such as maple or magnolia that can withstand immersion in boiling water to dish out dumplings. Otherwise, ladles are made of different spindle woods and kept separate to avoid mixing the flavours of rice porridge and soup. Other objects shown included a chopping board with dishes for the bits you’ve chopped up; generally these were well-considered designs with simplistic shapes suited to their function, and yet no less beautiful to behold.
Woodcarving.
Decorative woodcarving plays an important role in the transmission of Ainu artistry from generation to generation, and remains a crucial element of the area’s tourist industry. The production of ita (carved wooden plates or trays) has been named an ‘Officially Designated Traditional Craft’ in Hokkaido, alongside the weaving of attus (barkcloth textiles).
The ita were once used for serving food, but seems that now they are an artefact for collection, made from walnut or katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum). They are carved with such motifs as: morew (gentle spirals), ayus (thorns), sik (eye shapes) and ram-ram (fish scales). In Nibutani, the skills required for carving decorative ita are being passed on to the next generation by five expert woodcarvers. In total, 11 woodcarvers from Nibutani created ita specially for this exhibition.
Woodworking tools require a variety of shaped blades for different carving techniques: knives and v-shaped blades for carving fine lines; broad chisels for flattening surfaces; round chisels for carving morew swirls. Some are also specifically for carving ceremonial inaw.
Clothing and textiles.
Robes.
The rope — or amip — are vivid expressions of Ainu identity, the designs of which vary region to region, and are worn for certain ceremonies and performances of song and dance — both for their own cultural needs, and for tourism. Attus amip — barkcloth robes — are closely associated with Nibutani, and were at one point important items of workwear, however are not often worn today because they’re rarely made. Attus are identified by strips of embroidered indigo-dyed cotton sewn onto the collar, hems and upper back of the barkcloth robe.
As cotton fabrics became available to Ainu communities in the 19th century through trade with the main Japanese island of Honshu, cotton garments became more popular. This includes the cikarkarpe (embroidered robe), which is overlaid with embroidered cotton strips.
Most often worn in the Saru River Basin area is the kaparamip (thin robe), which is distinguished by the extent of white cotton appliqué patterns on an indigo blue robe.
Weaving.
Attus, as mentioned above, is the clothing made from barkcloth, specifically the inner bark fibres of elm (Ulmus lacinata) and linden (Tilia japonica). The fibres are twisted into yarn and woven into cloth on a backstrap loom, fitted via a wooden brace worn around the back of the weaver’s waist and attached to a fixed object at the other end to create tension in the warp threads.
The necessary raw material grows in abundance around the river basin, with records from the early 18th century showing how significant the production was. As it is durable, breathable and water resistant, the robes became popular as workwear for fishermen, as well as an important trade commodity. Today attus production is a cooperative venture among various members of the community, with no gendered restrictions on roles, though traditionally the bark stripping was carried out by men while weaving was done by women. Children were also given the task of bark-stripping in exchange for pocket money. There are only a few attus weavers left in Nibutani, and a beautiful video showed one craftsperson.
As part of a backstrap loom, the wosa (heddle) separates the warp (made from barkcloth threads) allowing the weft threads to pass through, and then the pera (paddle) is used to tighten the weave. The tools shown are made from Sakhalin fir (heddle) and maple (paddle).
Hunting, fishing and foraging.
Textiles and functional clothing were shown to be inherent to the practices of hunting, fishing and gathering for the Ainu people. Though very durable and somewhat minimal in the shaping, these garments and objects were ornately decorated. It wasn’t explained why, but it seemed to adhere to the principle of ritual and storytelling.
Salmon skins were used to create shoes; it takes the skin of four salmon to make one pair of adult boots, with the dorsal fin used as the sole to prevent slipping on the ice. The word cepker comes from ci ‘we’, ep ‘eat’ and ker ‘shoes’, and this pair shown were made recently as part of research and learning for members of the Nubutani community.
The konci (hood) featured flaps over the shoulders, presumably for extra durability, and it seems would be worn over the top of the robe. As robes were short, the hunter would also need hos (leg coverings) and tekunpe (hand warmers), both of course embroidered. The latter would traditionally be made by a woman and gifted to a man she liked; if he enjoyed the gift, he would carve her a menoko-makiri (woman’s knife) in return.
Though not directly attributed to hunting or fishing, tools were required and valued for the creation of ornate garments so of course these were also highly ornate themselves. Needles — cispo — would need to be kept safe, and were pinned to a strip of red cloth that would in turn be enclosed in a tube fastened with a coin. They were usually made from the shinbone of a small animal such as fox or racoon, or from the wood of the climbing hydrangea. With the increasing availability of cotton thread and metal needles in the 19th century, decorative reels were carved from walnut.
Song and dance.
Each region’s dance has its own characteristics, for example, those of Biratori refer to birds found by the banks of the river: Chak piyak (flight of swifts), Huntori hunchikap (ravens bathing in the water), Hararaki (crane playing in the wetlands), Anna hore (birds flapping their wings). In Nibutani the children learn Ainu dance as part of their Ainu language classes. Videos played examples of the celebratory dances and songs in action.
Dances are accompanied by singing, and traditionally these are led by women with emphasis on voice effects and rhythm. Upopo are songs sungs while sitting around the lid of a treasure box (sintoko) while beating out a rhythm in rounds known as ukouk. If sat in a dwelling to sing, participants will sit on woven bullrush matting — nikap-unpe — made from stems of the bullrush, and interspersed with elm bark dyed using oak or walnut (for black) and alder (for red) to create pattern.
Ceremonial festivals are usually when the cikarkarpe (embroidered robes) are worn.
Ceremonial practice.
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Tools.
Rituals in the Ainu community are carried out by representatives and were originally developed as a way of keeping order in the world. “The Ainu belief system is based on the notion that, in addition to the world of humans (aynu), there is another world where the kamuy live in human form. In the human world, kamuy can exist as animals or plants”.
“When an animal that embodies a particular kamuy — such as a bear, salmon or owl — was caught, its spirit (ramat) was sent home to the world of the kamuy with a prescribed ceremony, leaving its physical form behind as a gift to the humans.”
The notion is that those kamuy sent away with gifts would want to return. But ramat can be found everywhere and indicates the interconnection between Ainu and the natural world. The leaders of ceremonies will wear robes and make offerings of inaw (hand-carved sticks with wood shavings), calling on the kamuy for protection, food and good health. Every August in Nibutani there is a boat-launching festival called Cipsanke, where prayers and offerings are made for the safe passage of canoes on the Saru River.
Inaw come in different lengths and purposes depending on the purpose: personal, communal rituals, or burned at the end of a ceremony. They’re made by stripping away bark, then repeatedly making curled shavings using a inawke-makiri (knife). A group of inaw are placed at the nusa (ritual altar) outside of a cise (home) beyond the sacred window. For example, the kike-chi-noye-inaw is placed upright at the altar and is dedicated to the kamuy important to that family. The chi-e-horka-ke-p is shaved in a downwards direction and can be placed at the altar, at the window, or at a water source.
In Ainu culture, a sword is a ceremonial instrument. Blades can be made from metal or wood, and they’re either worn by men during ceremonies, slung across their bodies from right shoulder to left hip, or they are hung above the iyoykir (treasure platform) in the north-eastern corner of the home near the sacred window. Dances using swords are performed to ward off evil. Ceremonial quivers and arrows would be displayed on the treasure platforms during the iomante (bear festival), though these are no longer celebrated.
Clothing.
Hekokarip — women’s headbands — are black with no embroidery, and are worn tied at the back, unless there is a celebration in which case they are tied at the front of the head. Embroidered matanpus (headband) were originally only worn by men, and given by women to keep the man’s long hair tied back while hunting. Rekutunpe (choker) are pieces of plain base fabric decorated with coins or brass fittings from lanterns.
Robes would be worn, and though the cikarkarpe is distinguished in this exhibition as being for ceremonies, an image in the exhibition booklet shows dancing occurring with participants all wearing the kaparamip in the style shown below.
Language.
The Ainu language is distinctive from Japanese and has been passed down by word of mouth, with versions varying from region to region. For most of its history, this language was never written down, although today both an adapted form of Japanese katakana and the Latin alphabet are used.
Evidence of the Ainu language can be found in places names across Hokkaido, Tōhoku, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, such as pet and nai i.e. ‘river’ found in the place names Abetsu and Wakkanai. Some Japanese words have their origins too in the Ainu language, such as shishamo (smelt, a popular small fish), rakko (sea otter), konbu (kelp seaweed) and tonakai (reindeer).
This language is listed as ‘Critically Engandered’ by the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, so while it isn’t extinct yet, the language is only now kept alive through the efforts of those prepared to learn, rather than native speakers (who have died). Primary schools now devote time to teaching it.
Cultural landscape and restoration.
Cultural landscape.
Cultural landscapes refer to areas that represent the “combined works of nature and humankind”, expressing a “long and intimate relationship between peoples and their natural environment” [UNESCO]. In 2007, the surroundings of the Saru River Basin were designated an Important Cultural Landscape by the Japanese government. In Biratori this refers to ultilisation of the forest and river, including sacred Ainu sites; the maintenance of the agricultural landscape, including grazing; and present-day efforts to revilatise the culture.
However, the Ainu were essentially forcibly removed from their culture when in 1869 the Japanese Meiji government officially incorporated the lands of the Ainu into the territory of Japan. Subsequently, certain customs — such as tattoos for women and ear piercings for men, salmon fishing using weirs, and hunting with poison arrows — were banned, plus the Ainu population was required to learn only the Japanese language, and policies were implemented to assimilate the Ainu into ethnic Japanese (Wajin) ways.
Members of the Ainu community at Nibutani now act as representatives to advocate for the further understanding of Ainu culture.
Iwor Restoration Project.
In 2008, this project was initiated in Biratori to reconstruct spaces that would provide the necessary natural resources to enable Ainu culture to thrive in the future. During the 19th century, many of the coniferous trees in the area were felled, so one of the project’s aims is to assist the growth of native tree species with a hundred-year outlook, and an immediate goal of welcoming back the Kotan-kor-kamuy or kamuy — a spirit-deity who guards the local environment and who appears in this world as a large owl.
Other activities include restoration of the village space, or kotan, in Nibutani. Along with developing areas around the river and forests, the village restoration will support continued transmission of Ainu culture through the materials grown and used.
1910 Japan-British exhibition.
This exhibition at White City in London celebrated the ongoing Anglo-Japanese Alliance and promoted Japan as a modern civilised nation. To show that, like Britain, Japan was an imperial power, they showcased exhibits from Japan’s new territories and colonies, one of which was the Ainu of Hokkaido. Ten Ainu visited with a recreated traditional house and reenacted village life for visitors, with the first Ainu baby born outside of Japan returning with them.
Dr. Neil Gordon Munro.
This physician, collector and writer [1863-1942] dedicated the last years of his life to raise awareness of Ainu culture, building a house in Nibutani for he and his Japanese wife. Noticing the Ainu’s living conditions had changed since being forced to give up their hunting and gathering lifestyles for subsistence farming, together the pair gave free medical treatment to the Ainu. They also opened their house for storytelling and singing, and so upon building trust, recorded Nibutani life via photography; along with collected items, there is a glimpse into Ainu culture in that changing pre-war time period.
Isabella Bird.
A traveller, writer and photographer originally from Yorkshire, Isabella Bird journeyed on horseback across Japan reaching the northernmost area of Hokkaido, and so encountering the Ainu. She was able to gain simple communication, and recorded what she saw. However, it is stated that colonial gaze she emits through her observations are not palatable today. Here is something relatively readable, but causes eye rolls:
“The women are occupied all day, as I have before said. They look cheerful, and even merry when they smile, and are not like the Japanese, prematurely old, partly perhaps because their houses are well-ventilated, and the use of charcoal is unknown. I do not think that they undergo the unmitigated drudgery which falls to the lot of most savage women, though they work hard.”
Strangely this horseback journey relates to how the Hidaka region of Hokkaido is known as Japan’s leading horse-breeding area for racing thoroughbreds. Because of the mild winters and hilly landscape, it’s suitable for grazing and raising livestock.
Takeaways.
This was frankly a larger exhibition with more artefacts and information than I anticipated. It took up the whole downstairs of Japan House, while the upstairs was dedicated to the shop and café. It must have taken a lot to compile all of that and figure out how to display it all! There are plenty of works not shown, and honestly, I didn’t read or watch everything as I’d had a bit of exhibition overload (I’d already been to Saatchi and was going to the Design Museum).
However, I don’t think it’s necessary to cram in all of the stuff because with even a fragment of the exhibit you’re able to get a taster of the Ainu people. Obviously they are a multi-faceted community, and respecting all the elements that make their culture unique realistically requires you to dive into everything, but seriously, they have a lot going on. It’s credit to the curators that you could visit this exhibit in parts and still glean insight.
I’d say as well that they pragmatically included discussion points surrounding colonialism, extraction and assimiliation. While these narratives are heavy, the curators dealt with them in a way that seemed to say, yeah ok this happened and it wasn’t great, but the Ainu people have been able to adapt and fight back. This is their story now, this is who the Ainu are, this is what you should know and understand about them.
In terms of textiles it definitely did deliver, from the embroidered robes to the process of making barkcloth thread to the videos of the weaver. But the clothing made from salmon skin, the bullrush mat, the woodworking tools, the foraging equipment, the kitchen utensils… all of this served to highlight the wisdom of plants and materials, and the Ainu’s ingenious design mindset, creating functional durable items that were still minimal even when ornately decorated. It was a reminder that each culture has wisdom of this sort, knowledge to be retained and nurtured, learnings to be passed down and iterated on.
Thank you for reading.
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Stephanie Steele is the founder of Steele Studio, a space that educates everyday folk on the interconnectedness of our food, fibre and fashion systems through community courses and workshops. As an organic food grower and textiles sustainability specialist, she otherwise writes about art, textiles, plants, running and systems design.
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Originally published at www.stephaniesteele.co.uk/blog on February 25th, 2024.