The Japanese government plans to open the National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Japan in April 2020. It plans to attract overseas tourists before the Tokyo Olympics. The goal in the first year is 1 million visitors.

"After 2000 years, one country, one nation, one language and one dynasty has lasted 126 generations of emperors to this day. The only country like this is Japan."

Japan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso at the New Year State Affairs Report on November 13 The above remarks were published on the Internet, causing an uproar in the political circles.

Taro Aso delivered a speech at the New Year State Affairs Report. /ANN video screenshot

For a long time, Japan has claimed to be a single-ethnic country and promoted the "theory of Yamato national excellence." In fact, Japan is a multi-ethnic country, and last year, it legally recognized an indigenous ethnic group for the first time.

According to the "Asahi Shimbun" report, in April 2019, the Japanese government passed the " Ainu Policy Promotion Law", clarifying in legal form that "the Ainu are an indigenous ethnic group." The bill prohibits differential treatment and prohibits infringement of the rights and interests of the Ainu people. The government has an obligation to deepen the people's understanding and knowledge of the Ainu people through education, publicity and other means.

Taro Aso's gaffe once again focused people's attention on the "original owners of Hokkaido " - the Ainu people. Why have they been "hidden in the snow" for so long?

"Disappeared Nation"

At the United Nations General Assembly in December 1992, an elderly man wearing a patterned hat and national costume slowly came onto the stage and said that the Ainu people were deprived of their place of residence and denied in Japan. The dilemma of traditional culture. He was Giichi Nomura, the then chairman of the Hokkaido Compatriots Association, and hoped to fight for the indigenous rights of the Ainu people on the international stage.

Giichi Nomura speaks at the United Nations General Assembly. / United Nations website

However, Japanese government representatives rejected Nomura’s request at the time and stated that “ethnic minorities defined in the United Nations Statute of Human Rights do not exist in our country.”

According to the website of the Hokkaido Ainu Association, the Ainu people have had trade relations with the Yamato people as early as the 13th century. They are distributed in Sakhalin , Hokkaido, Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. Many Japanese scholars believe that the Ainu are the "Ezo people", but this has not been officially confirmed.

Ainu distribution map. /CNN video screenshot

Compared with the Yamato people, the Ainu people have obvious physical differences. They have darker skin color, lower foreheads and beards, deep eye sockets, strong bodies, and extremely thick hair. They are the most hairy people in the world. One of the races.

Ainu portraits. / Hokkaido Ainu Association website

The Yamato and Ainu people were originally on the same side. With the evolution of history, the Yamato people expanded eastward and extended to the northeastern region. The encounter between the two ethnic groups caused friction. In 1457, the Battle of Hushemayin broke out on the Toshima Peninsula in southern Hokkaido. The Ainu people, who had long had a grudge against the Yamato people, launched an attack on the Yamato people. In the end, Takeda Nobhiro led his army to defeat the Ainu. Afterwards, the Toshima Peninsula became a river. The Matsumae Domain during the Todo period.

A piece of "Portrait of the Barbarian Chiefs" by the Edo painter Uyizaki Namibiki. The picture shows the leader of the Ainu people. /Wikipedia

After that, a series of wars took place between the Ainu and Yamato people. In 1869, Emperor Meiji moved the capital to Edo and renamed the new capital Tokyo. In that year, the area where the Ainu lived was officially included in the administrative scope of Japan and was renamed "Hokkaido".

The Ainu people have changed from "hosts" to "guests" in Hokkaido.

According to the "Japan Times", the Japanese government during the Meiji period regarded the Ainu as "old natives". Since the promulgation of the "Hokkaido Old Natives Protection Law" in 1899, the Ainu people have been forced to learn Japanese, adopt Japanese names, and are even strictly prohibited from any traditional activities such as hunting, fishing, and sacrifices. The Ainu gradually became a "disappeared nation".

UNESCO released a video describing the process of assimilation of the Ainu people.

During the assimilation process, the Ainu population and language suffered. According to research by the Japanese Speech Society, although the Ainu once had 19 dialects, they were eventually reduced to only two. In 2009, the Ainu language was listed as a "native mother tongue to be exterminated" by UNESCO. There are less than a hundred people who can speak Ainu fluently.

“The United States is a multi-racial country, and education is not easy.Japan is a single-ethnic country, so education acceptance is high. "Former Prime Minister of Japan Yasuhiro Nakasone once publicly stated at a meeting of the Japan House of Representatives that Japan is a single nation.

Record of Yasuhiro Nakasone's speech / Japanese Parliament website

In 1997, Japan enacted the "Ainu Culture Promotion Law", including Human rights protection, revitalization of national culture, creation of cultural funds, etc., but their status as indigenous people was not officially recognized until 2008, when the Japanese government recognized them as Hokkaido’s indigenous peoples, but this has not been made clear in legal form for more than 10 years. In considering how to fulfill the promise to an indigenous group

the new bill lacks "apology"

The Japanese Cabinet passed the "Ainu Shitoshi Promotion Law" last year, and the central and local governments will be responsible for the revitalization of industries and tourism dedicated to the Ainu people. But it did not include the Ainu's rights to self-determination and education. Many Ainu people reported that the government did not consult all Ainu groups when drafting the bill.

Ainu people in national costumes / NHK video.

Ainu elder Shimizu told CNN that the new bill is missing an important part: apology. "Why doesn't the government apologize?" "The Japanese forcibly colonized us and wiped out our culture. Without even acknowledging this, they want to turn us into museum exhibits. "

The Japanese government plans to open the National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi-machi, Hokkaido, Japan, in April 2020. It plans to attract overseas tourists when the Tokyo Olympics is approaching. The goal in the first year is 1 million visitors.

Ainu Ethnic Museum. / Twitter

According to data from the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, Japan’s total population was 126 million in September 2019, and the Yamato ethnic group accounted for approximately 99%. In addition, there are other minority groups, including the Ainu. The "Hokkaido Ainu Life Survey" shows that there were approximately 23,782 Ainu people living in Hokkaido in 2006, and this number dropped to 13,000 in 2017.

Most Ainu people tend to hide their ethnic group. Because of their gender, or simply not knowing their origins, it is difficult to estimate the precise number of living Ainu people. Jeffry Gayman, an Ainu researcher at Hokkaido University, said that the actual number of Ainu people may be higher than the survey. 10 times higher

Beijing News reporter Chen Qinhan

editor Li Guojun proofread by Liu Jun