Director Takeshi Fukunaga is from Hokkaido, Japan. His second feature film, Ainu Mosir, follows an indigenous Ainu teenager in Hokkaido, Japan, as his community tries to preserve its cultural identity. Fukunaga was selected to develop the film with the support of the Cannes Festival’s Cinéfondation and the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab.
The Ainu people are indigenous people who predominantly inhabit Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. In Ainu language, “Ainu” simply means human. Ainu Mosir, the title I gave to my film, means land of human.
The Ainu lands used to be much more extensive, stretching northwards from Tohoku, in the northern part of Japan’s main island, to Sakhalin, the Kuril islands and the Kamchatka peninsula. That was before the lands were colonised by Japan and Russia.
Today, because of forced assimilation and oppression over the years, nobody’s first language is Ainu – although a number of people learn and practise it.
Ainu people are often called the “disappearing people”, a reference to their declining population. To me, this is an utterly disrespectful term – reflecting the paternalistic and indifferent attitude that still persists today.
It is true that Ainu are a minority in Japanese society, but that doesn’t mean their cultural identity is disappearing. In making Ainu Mosir, I met many Ainu people and saw how they maintain their identity – not just through tradition and culture, but also by how they carry themselves and hold a community together, and just by being who they are. Only Ainu people themselves have the right to decide who is Ainu or not – and, therefore, what state their culture is in.
Even though I was born and raised in Hokkaido, I didn’t have an opportunity to learn about or interact with Ainu people at a young age. Japanese schools seem to have made some progress in this area in recent years, but when I was at school the Ainu people and culture merited just a few sentences in a history book.
Making a film about the Ainu was my dream, a way for me to learn about them that I longed for for many years. As a Japanese filmmaker, I was very careful not to impose my preconceived notions on them, and sought out ways for the film to be a canvas for their voices.
The result is a narrative film that’s set in an Ainu community in Akan, Hokkaido – starring Ainu non-actors playing versions of themselves. The script was written through close communications with the Ainu people in Akan, and they were free to alter and improvise lines during the shoot as well. I was very fortunate to be able to work with incredible “non-actors” such as Kanto Shimokura, Emi Shimokura and Debo Akibe, and I couldn’t have made the film without the tremendous support from the community.
Ainu Mosir is supposedly the first film ever made about and starring Ainu people. In the few narrative films previously made about them, main roles have always been played by Japanese actors. This is not surprising, given that it was only in 2008 that the Japanese congress recognised Ainu people as indigenous.
While I’m happy to see steps towards a better representation of Ainu, we still have a long way to go to truly honour and listen to their voices. My keen hope is that this film will help raise more awareness about the Ainu people and bring a better understanding of them to a worldwide audience.
Experiencing Ainu: living towns and legends
The film alone, of course, will not bring viewers a full understanding of the Ainu people, but I hope it will prompt them to learn more. If you ever get the chance to travel to Hokkaido, the village where I shot the movie Akan Ainu, would be a good place for you to experience Ainu culture. You may be taken aback by how commercial it seems, but Ainu people themselves have built the village from the ground up, and are running those businesses of their own will.
Another town that’s worth a visit is Nibutani, Hokkaido. It doesn’t have as many tourist attractions, but is an important place culturally and historically. The first and only Ainu politician at the Japanese congress, Shigeru Kayano, was from here. Neil Gordon Munro, a Scottish doctor who studied the Ainu people and provided free medical treatment to them, also lived in the town for the last 12 years of his life.
Lastly, I highly recommend that you read The Song the Owl God Sang: the collected Ainu legends of Chiri Yukie. The first book of Ainu legends to be published, the tales were translated into Japanese by Yukie, who died on the night she finished the work at just 19 years old. Her book went on to be a source of inspiration for Ainu writers such as Hokuto Iboshi and Takeichi Moritake. Since Ainu language only had an oral form – until the Japanese researchers made a written form using Katakana characters – the people passed down their wisdom and world-view through legends and stories. You can get a sense of that through these beautiful legends.
Explore culture and cuisine
The beliefs and culture of the Ainu people are very much centred in the bountiful natural landscapes they inhabit. One way to get a sense for this is to canoe, ski, cycle or hike with Hokkaido Wilds – whose maps document places of cultural significance in the Ainu language. For a more family-focused experience, there’s the Upopoy National Ainu Museum, opened last year. The complex, on the shores of Lake Poroto, in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, is intended to encourage greater understanding of Ainu culture and symbolises its recognition; upopoy means “singing in a large group” in Ainu. Visitors can expect a central museum, a reconstructed village with traditional houses, ceremonial spaces and a memorial site.
Back in Japan’s capital, anyone keen to consume their culture literally can visit the izakaya (eatery/bar) Harukor, which serves up traditional Ainu dishes, alongside snapshots of history and, occasionally, authentic Ainu music recitals – courtesy of Usa, whose grandmother was indigenous Ainu.
Elsewhere, Kerapirka in Sapporo, Hokkaido, serves Ainu-Italian fusion food, while Poronno, a cafe near Lake Akan, where Ainu Mosir was filmed, has served Ainu cuisine for over four decades. If you’re looking to read up before you travel, start with The Spirit of Huci: Four Seasons of an Ainu Woman – both cookbook and definitive cultural guide.
For more Japan-based experiences, itineraries, trips and tips, visit Japan National Tourism Organization: japan.travel
