Changes

From the 16th century or so (or perhaps earlier) onwards, Ainu society was organized into small communities called ''[[kotan]]''. There was no overall Ainu chief or king, or any sort of government administration or bureaucracy; the ''kotan'' was, more or less, the largest social (or political) entity in Ainu society.

From the 16th century or so (or perhaps earlier) onwards, Ainu society was organized into small communities called ''[[kotan]]''. There was no overall Ainu chief or king, or any sort of government administration or bureaucracy; the ''kotan'' was, more or less, the largest social (or political) entity in Ainu society.

''Kotan'' were self-organized, usually locating themselves near a river or seashore. They did not "own" land in any manner resembling modern concepts of ownership, but simply occupied a given territory and were associated with it. The men of a given ''kotan'' would hunt and fish in their area, chiefly bear and salmon, while the women farmed, mainly millet and vegetables, for a year or two on a given plot before allowing that spot to return to nature. Ainu never engaged in rice cultivation, but purchased rice from the Japanese, who called themselves ''Wajin'' (和人), among other terms, to identify themselves in contrast to the Ainu Other. The Ainu, meanwhile, used the word ''shisam'', meaning literally "the great and nearby," to refer to outsiders.

''Kotan'' were self-organized, usually locating themselves near a river or seashore. They did not "own" land in any manner resembling modern concepts of ownership, but simply occupied a given territory and were associated with it. The men of a given ''kotan'' would hunt and fish in their area, chiefly bear and salmon, while the women farmed, mainly millet and vegetables, for a year or two on a given plot before allowing that spot to return to nature. Ainu never engaged in rice cultivation, but purchased rice from the Japanese, who called themselves ''Wajin'' (和人), among other terms, to identify themselves in contrast to the Ainu Other. The Ainu, meanwhile, used the word ''shisam'', meaning literally "the great and nearby," to refer to outsiders, and words such as ''kur'' and ''utar'' to refer to other Ainu groups (e.g. from a different region) or other indigenous tribes, e.g. from the nearest parts of the Asian mainland, or from Sakhalin and the Kurils.

 

Ainu men often wore their hair and beards long. Their clothes were wrapped with the left side on top, the opposite of Japanese customs, and they wore fur boots, which were quite unlike the straw sandals (''[[zori]]'' or ''[[waraji]]'') Japanese were used to. The Ainu did not grow rice, though they did buy it (or trade for it) from the Japanese; their diet included a lot of deer, bear, and fish (especially salmon). They had no written language, though Japanese scholars later developed a system of representing Ainu sounds in Japanese ''[[kana]]'' through the introduction of a handful of new symbols.

==Ainu-Japanese Relations==

==Ainu-Japanese Relations==

For lengthy periods of time in the Edo period, there was a degree of fluidity of movement between Ainu and Japanese society, with some Japanese moving out beyond the borders of [[Matsumae han]], and essentially joining Ainu society, while some Ainu shaved their beards, cut their hair, and adopted Japanese customs and lifestyle. (Some Ainu also maintained, to a degree, their Ainu identity and lifestyle while living within Japanese society.) It is said that some Ainu even fought alongside the samurai armies of the Matsumae clan (then called the [[Kakizaki clan]]) in the Sengoku period, being known especially for their poisoned arrows. [[Tessa Morris-Suzuki]] points out the significance of this conception of Japanese as something people could become - something grounded more in culture and societal behavior than in racial or ethnic identity.<ref>Morris-Suzuki. p22.</ref>  

For lengthy periods of time in the Edo period, there was a degree of fluidity of movement between Ainu and Japanese society, with some Japanese moving out beyond the borders of [[Matsumae han]], and essentially joining Ainu society, while some Ainu shaved their beards, cut their hair, and adopted Japanese customs and lifestyle. (Some Ainu also maintained, to a degree, their Ainu identity and lifestyle while living within Japanese society.) It is said that some Ainu even fought alongside the samurai armies of the Matsumae clan (then called the [[Kakizaki clan]]) in the Sengoku period, being known especially for their poisoned arrows. [[Tessa Morris-Suzuki]] points out the significance of this conception of Japanese as something people could become - something grounded more in culture and societal behavior than in racial or ethnic identity.<ref>Morris-Suzuki. p22.</ref>  

Indeed, as the Japanese began to sense a threat from Russian encroachment in the 1740s, and especially around the 1790s-1800s, "Japanization" of the Ainu was pursued with greater fervor. The Ainu may have been considered outsiders, and on the periphery, but it was still considered "our" periphery in the eyes of the Japanese, a place and a people with whom the Japanese had a long relationship, and from whom the Japanese got fish, furs, and much other important commerce; there was a fear of losing all of this to the Russians. Some shogunate officials and other thinkers and writers suggested that the shogunate ought to seize Ezo, the [[Kurile Islands]], and [[Sakhalin]], in order to fend off the Russians and claim the Ainu (and the economic benefits they represented) more securely for Japan.

Indeed, as the Japanese began to sense a threat from Russian encroachment in the 1730s-40s, and especially around the 1790s-1800s, "Japanization" of the Ainu was pursued with greater fervor. The Ainu may have been considered outsiders, and on the periphery, but it was still considered "our" periphery in the eyes of the Japanese, a place and a people with whom the Japanese had a long relationship, and from whom the Japanese got fish, furs, and much other important commerce; there was a fear of losing all of this to the Russians, who were actively building Russian Orthodox churches in the Kurils and elsewhere, and converting the native peoples. The shogunate's assimilation efforts were directed, therefore, not at the Ainu living closer to Matsumae-chi, but at those living nearest the areas of Russian encroachment, in order to solidify the Japaneseness of the Ainu there.

 

Some shogunate officials and other thinkers and writers suggested that the shogunate ought to seize Ezo, the [[Kurile Islands]], and [[Sakhalin]], in order to fend off the Russians and claim the Ainu (and the economic benefits they represented) more securely for Japan.

Indeed, in [[1799]], and again in [[1807]], the shogunate laid claim to lands in these areas, returning them to the responsibility of the Matsumae clan only in [[1821]], after fears of Russian encroachment subsided. At that time, policies or attitudes about the Japanization of the Ainu were reversed. Discursively, it lent greater power and legitimacy to the Matsumae clan, and to the shogunate, to appear to have a foreign people submitting themselves to Japanese dominion; the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma han]] engaged in similar discursive activities in their relations with the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]].

Indeed, in [[1799]], and again in [[1807]], the shogunate laid claim to lands in these areas, returning them to the responsibility of the Matsumae clan only in [[1821]], after fears of Russian encroachment subsided. At that time, policies or attitudes about the Japanization of the Ainu were reversed. Discursively, it lent greater power and legitimacy to the Matsumae clan, and to the shogunate, to appear to have a foreign people submitting themselves to Japanese dominion; the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma han]] engaged in similar discursive activities in their relations with the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]].