Ainu Success

The first article, "Ainu Success: The Political and Cultural Achievements of Japan's Indigenous Minority," briefly discusses Ainu activism during the last two centuries but mainly focuses on the Ainu Cultural Promotion Law of 1997 as well as the Resolution of the Ainu as an Indigenous People of 2008. The article evaluates these two pieces of legislation positively. It also describes in detail, however, where they fall short. It describes a "broken triangle" that consists of the Japanese government, the Ainu, and international organizations such as the United Nations. While the Japanese government and the Ainu both interact with international organizations, these are separate engagements. Moreover, the Japanese government's interactions with the Ainu remain largely one-sided: the Ainu today still have trouble directly influencing the Japanese government. While progress has been limited, however, the article sees positive recent political gains by the Ainu. Cotterill also interprets indigenous cultures and politics as quite intertwined, like the earlier essays, but he worries less that cultural developments hinder political power than does Sasaki. The two pieces of legislation sequentially led to the further fostering of Ainu culture in various forms: performances, exhibits at museums, and development of sites for tourists, among others. In addition to being significant practices on their own, these performances encourage future political activism. The second article, "Documenting Urban Indigeneity: TOKYO Ainu and the 2011 Survey on the Living Conditions of Ainu outside Hokkaido," reminds us that many Ainu live outside Hokkaido and pursue both cultural and political activism where they are. The article discusses TOKYO Ainu (dir. Moriya Hiroshi, 2010), a documentary film that focuses on Ainu people living in Tokyo and tells of their life histories and political activism. According to one study, the number of Ainu living in Tokyo in 1989 was equal to one-tenth of the Ainu population in Hokkaido. Like Cotterill's first article, the film showcases the accomplishments and the challenges that remain for the Ainu in the 2010s

Ethnology · Indigenous · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Japanese History and Culture · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies · Law

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