Month: November 2005

Today Ota-sensei, an Ainu language teacher, came to my cross-cultural class to deliver his version of Hokkaido/Ainu history, Part II.

Although I think what he said had a lot of importance for the students, I was dismayed to see most of them doing other schoolwork, sending text messages on their cell phones, or whispering with their friends. They seemed bored, much like they do in any lecture setting, which is why I rarely lecture…I hate teaching to sleeping brains.

This lack of interest in Ainu history may be just a sign of an overall disinterest in history (It’s true I have been told often that Japanese students hate history because of the dry lecture-format and due to all the ‘facts’ they had to memorize when studying for the university entrance exams), but my heart was heavy and I could do little during his talk to wake them up, but I did touch some of the whisperers on the back and give them a resigned look…but that didn’t work well, as soon they were back to talking about the upcoming weekend, the dentist visit, or their part-time jobs.

But still, at least a small part of their hearing may have taken in some of the information, and that is better than nothing at all, I hope. Now, my dear readers, I have to turn to work on my paper, which has a structure up finally, but no plaster on its timbers yet. I am not motivated to write though because I am exhausted–my son has the penchant for resisting sleep lately, which makes me sleep-deprived. I don’t have the luxury that he has to sleep two hours at nursery school, the lucky boy!

In my cross-cultural seminar this past Friday, I had the privilege of having Chisato “Kitty” Dubreuil give my students a slideshow/talk comparing Ainu and Native American political histories.

She is the only active Ainu scholar who is an expert in Ainu art history, Japanese art history, and Native American & First Nations art history. She has served as a co-curator of the wonderful Smithsonian exhibit on the Ainu people, was editor of a book (scroll down) that complements the exhibit with much more detail, and she also recently published a book on the work of the contemporary Ainu artist/sculptor, Bikky Sunazawa.

Her talk served as an excellent introduction into a viewpoint my students never had an opportunity to learn in the Japanese school system.

After her talk, her husband, David, of Huron and Mohawk descent, and the Chikabumi Ainu leader, Kenichi Kawamura, and the tonkori musician, Oki Kanou, all added their opinions on what they see as the main concerns facing Ainu people today.

Issues mentioned covered topics such as legal actions to revise the Ministry of Education’s textbook, land and human rights, the challenge of mixing new art with the traditional, continued school, marriage, and employment discrimination, as well as the silencing of Ainu voices in mainstream culture.

Chisato showed the students the 2006 textbook. She read the two bits about the Ainu in the book. The Ainu appear as part of a footnote on one page and then again in a sentence about their involvement as trade partners with Japan. She told the students, “Suddenly the Ainu appear in the textbook, from nowhere.” And I could add that they just as instantly disappear in mainstream society, without any recognition of the very long, rich history & culture they still have.

I hope that this event will mark the beginning of my students’ search for a more inclusive truth about Japan as a multi-ethnic nation.