From the Meiji period onwards, and especially in the 1950s-60s when there was a "Hokkaidô tourism boom," demand for souvenirs and the like spurred the (re)creation of much Ainu art, including especially wood-carved objects.<ref>Gallery labels, National Museum of Japanese History.</ref>
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The Ainu were officially recognized as an indigenous people in 1997.
The Ainu were officially recognized as an indigenous people in 1997.