Legacy of Huci: Why and how Ainu elderly women maintain their roots

Authors

Masako Kubota, Florida International UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

2009

Document Type

Essay

Rights

default

Abstract

Ainu means "people” or “humans” in their language and refers to the indigenous people of Japan. Despite the assimilation policies and persistent discrimination, Ainu have maintained their culture. Their continuous efforts finally achieved official recognition by the Japanese government in 2008, recognizing the Ainu as indigenous people of Japan. The purpose of this essay is to examine why and how contemporary Ainu people preserve their culture amid oppression, and to examine Ainu women’s role, especially the elder women called huci. To find these answers, I conducted a content analysis of 57 interviews of Ainu persons presented as articles in the Hokkaido Newspaper. Specifically, I used the processes of focused and open coding to find factors in the interviews that addressed my questions. Through my findings, first, I observed the core elements of Ainu culture, and second, I examined reasons for maintaining Ainu culture: 1) meeting emotional needs 2) meeting economic needs, and 3) meeting social needs. Third, I examined 1) ethnic tourism, 2) story telling, and 3) local and international indigenous gatherings that are core ways how the Ainu preserve their culture amid oppression. Additionally, I have observed elder women’s significant roles that help to preserve and transmit Ainu culture to the next generations. I argue that ethnic tourism and gatherings serve distinct but interconnected functions in preserving and transmitting Ainu culture–whereas ethnic tourism is more oriented to profit, the market, and professionalism, gatherings are more oriented towards community and the daily lives of “average” Ainu.

Recommended Citation

Kubota, Masako, "Legacy of Huci: Why and how Ainu elderly women maintain their roots" (2009). FIU Graduate Research. 2.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/graduate-research/2