Coming of Age in Ainu Culture
A look at the coming of age practices in historic Ainu culture.
Location: Hokkaido, Japan
Traditional Ainu Childhoods
In traditional Ainu culture, children did not receive their names until they were two or three years old. Before then, parents called their babies nicknames like "little excrement." Because spirits hated dirty things, this was thought to protect the infant from harm.[1] Once a child was old enough, his or her family threw a small party and chose a name. A good name described the child's character, and it could be changed if the child was sickly.[2]
Children stayed close to their mother during their first years. Boys eventually went with their fathers to learn how to hunt, fish, pray, and tell stories. Girls practiced the arts of weaving, embroidery, singing, dancing, and cooking.[2][3] When a girl reached 12 or 13, she began working on her tattoos. Her female kin helped her slowly fill in her mouth tattoo. Without it, she could not be married. These tattoos protected women from the influence of harmful spirits. Arm tattoos were optional, and usually completed after marriage.
Boys did not undergo a formal adulthood rite in most areas. At the age of 15, both genders started wearing adult clothing and hairstyles. Young men were often given more dangerous hunting tasks from their elders. At this time, children were expected to honor a betrothal or choose another person to marry. Newlyweds then moved into their own home and began their own families to begin the cycle again.[4][5]
Changing Lifestyles Under Japanese Influence
The traditional patterns of Ainu childhood were interrupted by the Meiji Restoration. Japan, seeking cultural unity, established schools that forbade the use of their language. Ainu students were taught to forget their own culture, take Japanese names, and speak Japanese. The educations they received were substandard, and their language nearly went extinct. At integrated schools, Ainu children were often bullied. All of this encouraged generations of Ainu people to put aside their own culture and blend into that of Japan.[6][7]
Youth in Modern Ainu Society
In 2008, after decades of political activism, the Ainu succeeded in gaining recognition as a separate culture from the Japanese. This was accompanied by new pledges to improve opportunities in the Ainu community. Many young Ainu people, however, must still choose whether to embrace their heritage or pursue a career in larger Japanese society. Modern Ainu activists focus on increasing youth engagement and preserving Ainu languages.[8]
Bibliography
"Life of Ainu," Ainu Museum, Ainu Museum, accessed November 06, 2016.
John Batchelor, The Ainu and Their Folk-lore (London: Religious Tract Society, 1901), 242-256.
Kirsten Refsing, Early European Writings on Ainu Culture (Tokyo: Edition Synapse, 2002), 103.
Batchelor, 223-234.
Richard B. Lee and Irven DeVore, Man the Hunter (Chicago: Aldine Pub., 1969), 76.
Brian J. McVeigh, Nationalisms of Japan: Managing and Mystifying Identity (Lanham, MD: Rowman Littlefield, 2004).
Nana Sato-Rossberg and Judy Wakabayashi, eds., Translation and Translation Studies in the Japanese Context (London: Bloomsbury, 2012).
Philippa Fogarty, "Recognition at Last for Japan's Ainu," BBC News, June 06, 2008, BBC, accessed May 18, 2017.
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