Special Exhibitions

Special Exhibition
AINU PURI: The Life of Indigenous Ainu People
Term：18th Nov. 2021 - 22nd Jan. 2022

We have English explanation part in this exhibition. 

In the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and for many years thereafter, the policy of the Japanese government was to assimilate the Ainu, because cultural and linguistic diversity were considered to be impediments to the formation of a modern nation. This policy resulted in an increasing degradation of indigenous culture from 1897-1906, during which time the process of establishing a “national language” and a “standard language” was being promoted. While this trend was ongoing, however, studies on peripheral cultures were also being called for, in order to identify the linguistic lineage of the Japanese language and to trace its historical development. Against such a backdrop, linguist Kyosuke Kindaichi (1882-1971), who later became a professor at Kokugakuin University, began recording and documenting the language and customs of the Ainu. Studies were also carried out by Kindaichi’s student at Kokugakuin University, Itsuhiko Kubodera (1902-1971), who collected a massive amount of the Ainu’s oral literature. Scholars associated with Kokugakuin University were therefore the drivers of the initial research endeavors.
　This exhibition presents ethnological materials owned by Kokugakuin University Museum and Kokugakuin University Library, as well as rare books belonging to the Kindaichi Memorial Collection of Kokugakuin University Hokkaido Junior College, which are related to the Ainu. It is being held to mark several recent events, including the enactment of the “Act Promoting Measures to Achieve a Society in Which the Pride of Ainu People is Respected” in 2019, the launch of the Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park in 2020, and this year’s 50th anniversaries of the deaths of Kindaichi and Kubodera.

*Flyer

*List of Works