Historical Museum of Hokkaido / Theme 2 / Ainu Culture

Attus

God of Bear and A Necklace

Bears Made of Bone

Earthenware

【１】The theme of this room is "Ainu Culture"--tracing it from its roots in the 7th century up to the 19th. The Ainu people lived on Hokkaido long before the "Wajin" (Japanese from Honshu) began to immigrate. The Satsumon culture, which followed the Epi-Jomon culture, was the primary parent of the Ainu culture. But there were other influences as well: from the "Wajin" culture and from cultures of northeast Asia, including the Okhotsk culture.

【２】The Satsumon culture developed in Hokkaido in about the 7th century when there was already a strong political state in Honshu. The shapes and patterns of earthenware and dwelling structures show many similarities to those of Honshu at the same time, proving the Honshu influence on Satsumon culture. Subsistence was mainly by hunting and river fishing, though foxtail millet and buckwheat were grown on a small scale. Iron tools, such as knives obtained through trading, were used as well.

【３】Prior to that time--in around the 5th century--northern sea hunters migrated to Hokkaido from Sakhalin and established what is known as the Okhotsk culture along the coast of the Okhotsk Sea. The people of the Okhotsk culture were known for their rituals relating to animals such as bears. The Okhotsk culture was soon assimilated into the Satsumon culture.

Iron Pot with Handles on the Inside

"Tuki" and "Iku-pasuy"

"Kite", "Marek"

Salmon Skin Shoes

Spring Bow

【４】At the end of the 12th century, Japan entered a feudal age, with control by the Kamakura government, the first samurai government, reaching as far north as Tohoku, the northernmost area of Honshu. Trading along the Japan Sea developed, and, as a result, iron pots, ceramics, and the like were brought into Hokkaido. This marked a great change in the Satsumon culture: usage of earthernware ceased in about the 13th century and surface dwelling structures replaced the earlier pit dwellings. A prototype of the Ainu culture was likewise taking shape. Salmon fishing, deer hunting, the gathering of wild plants and nuts, and the raising of foxtail and barnyard millet became the primary means of support. Bear skins and other furs obtained by hunting were used in trade for iron tools, lacquerware, rice, and fabrics. Gradually, the prosperity of the Ainu culture became dependent on trading.

【５】Over the 15th to 17th centuries, as the Ainu traded and at times fought with neighboring peoples, the Ainu belief system was fashioned: a system believing that everything has a soul which travels between this world and the other world. Souls worshiped respectfully return to bestow favors on the worshipers; for example, the souls of animals return with more fur and meat. An oral storytelling tradition--the "yukara" epics--also developed. Trade with Honshu and Sakhalin continued.