This multilingual event will invite a group of four speakers to share their experiences and activities of Ainu language and culture revitalization. The panel consists of Naomi MIZOGUCHI, Film Director of Ainu | ひと (2019) (“Ainu – Indigenous People of Japan”), who will talk about why and how she made this documentary, including her friendship with the Ainu couple who invited her to stay home; Ainu language instructors Kenji SEKINE and Rino KIMURA will talk about their Ainu language revival activities in Nibutani, Hokkaido, a community with the highest Ainu population; and Maya SEKINE will discuss her activities of promoting Ainu culture based in the Tokyo capital area.
Attendees are encouraged to watch Naomi Mizoguchi’s film “Ainu | ひと” (2019) before joining the event. The film is available through UBC Library for UBC member with a CWL:
https://webcat.library.ubc.ca/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=12411127).
Date and Time:
Friday, March 31, 2023 | 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM (PT) / Saturday, April 1, 2023 | 8:30 am – 10:00 am (JPN)
Location: Online via Zoom
The event will be conducted in Ainu, Japanese and English.
Film synopsis: Ainu | ひと (2019) (“Ainu - Indigenous People of Japan”)
The Ainu are the Indigenous people of Japan. Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, was previously called Ainumosir, or land of the Ainu. The Ainu tradition has been disappearing seriously: the latest survey shows the population of the Ainu is less than 20,000 people in Hokkaido, and UNESCO has recognized the language as ‘critically endangered.’ This film is captured in Biratori town in Hokkaido, where many people with Ainu roots still live. It is also known as the hometown of the late Shigeru Kayano, who contributed greatly to the field of research on Ainu culture. Since 1869, as a result of the new Meiji government’s categorizing the Ainu people as ‘commoners’ in family registries, implementing assimilation policies, and developing their land, the Ainu culture has quickly declined. After 150 years, modern-day Ainu live joyfully in this town with Ainu’s traditional culture while adapting it to their current lifestyle. The main characters in this documentary are four Ainu elders, who were born in the 1930s. One who has experienced discrimination and poverty, another who makes traditional Ainu dress, one who remembers oral folklore told by her grandmother, and another who has observed traditional rituals, such as the bear sacrifice ceremony. They remember their parents and grandparents spoke in Ainu but they weren’t actually taught the language as parents believed that children will have a better life if they live as ‘Japanese.’ After many decades passed, they have tried to educate themselves and be proactive as local leaders. This documentary tells how Ainu cultural tradition is alive now through people’s efforts.
Panelists
Naomi MIZOGUCHI, born in Hyogo Prefecture, worked at a film production company in Japan before becoming a freelance filmmaker in 1995 and moving to New York in 2004 to study community media. In 2008, she co-established the non-profit-organization Cineminga, shooting a number of films with the active cooperation of Indigenous peoples in South America and Asia. She then founded her own film production company GARA FILMS in 2014. AINU – INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF JAPAN (2019 / NC ’20) is her first feature-length Documentary.
Kenji SEKINE works as one of the few Ainu language teachers in Japan. He teaches classes in schools and for children in Nibutani which is the largest Ainu community. He has been teaching the Ainu language for approximately 15 years and hosting conversation sessions in Ainu online and in person.
Rino KIMURA was born in Nibutani, Biratori Town, Hokkaido. She graduated from Sapporo University where she learned about the Ainu language and culture. She is currently engaged in promoting Ainu cultural revitalization through forming a musical group called “Ankeshi,’ whose main activity is to introduce traditional Ainu songs.
Maya SEKINE was born in Nibutani, Biratori Town, Hokkaido, she has been announcing in Ainu on the Donan Bus since April 2018, and she was a personality on Hokkaido STV Radio for the Ainu Language Radio Lecture. Currently, she is active in communicating about Ainu culture and the Ainu language by appearing on the YouTube channels called Shito Channel and Upopoy Radio.
