Where can I have a genuine Ainu cultural experience in Hokkaido?

Question

During my next trip to Japan I may end up in Hokkaido. I've read something about this mysterious indigenous group called Ainu/Aynu/Aino/Ezo, but I must admit my understanding of the whole thing is rather limited right now.

What I wish to know is: is there such a thing like an authentic Ainu village/town/whole-region where Ainu people live according to their tradition, as opposed to something staged for tourists?

Edit: given the comments below I wish to specify better what I mean with the word 'authentic'. Of course, I don't expect pristine landscapes and Ainu people living in blissful harmony with fluffy penguins (semi-quote) but I won't be surprised to find out there still are authentic villages in remote areas of Hokkaido where mass tourism is not an issue at all.

People are subject to tourist's attention (tourist coming from different countries, at least) everywhere, not only when they "made a conscious decision to live a traditional life". This doesn't actually mean anything. Indian people are surprisingly differents (in local customs) from Italians and Italians take a lot of pictures during their travels there, still the tourism isn't banned in India.

Answer 1

It appears that due to the assimilation and modernisation policies during the Meiji Era in Japan, the Ainu culture and traditions received a 'decisive blow'.

See the Promotion of Ainu Culture article and Ainu Museum information.

So it is very unlikely, and if enclaves did exist, they would be as Michael Borgwardt suggests, off limits to tourists.

It was only very recently, 2008, that the Ainu were officially recognised as indigenous people of Japan (see Wikipedia). (I remember hearing that on the news when I lived in Tokyo at the time).

Answer 2

There is no such thing as Ainu culture "in the wild" in any amount in Japan. They were only allowed to practice of their culture freely in 1997. Before that, their language was banned, their land seized and an active assimilation was in place to make them disappear and integrate 100% into the Japanese society. Today there is hardly anyone speaking their language fluently.

The different known subgroups have seen most of their population disappear. Their largest remaining group has formed the Hokkaido Ainu Association.

The current population of Ainu is less educated compared to the Japanese average and the Ainu population is (likely because of the lack of education) in need of money:

The Current, Real Socioeconomic Conditions of the Ainu People

○ Presently, of Ainu people over the age of 55, only 60% are junior secondary school graduates as a result of needing to support their families.

○ The percent of people receiving welfare benefits in Hokkaido, after Osaka at 1.8 times greater than the national average, is 1.6 times greater than the national average.

○ The percentage of Ainu people attending college is at 17.4% less than the national average, which is at approximately 50%.

Your question tells me you are searching for Ainu people living in an Ainu village outside of non-Ainu Japanese towns. This does not exist, since they do not own their own territory, but are living among non-Ainu Japanese. So it is not possible to find see them "Live according to their tradition".

Due to the educational issue and and their financial situation (The Ainu association for example specializes in giving loans to needy people) they are not really in the position, geographically and financially to have their own area and money to live without making it a touristy place. The only things that you can see today are as touristy as most other things in Japan.

Answer 3

The sad but true answer is nowhere, really. While some 20,000 people in Hokkaido identify as Ainu, virtually all have more or less assimilated into Japanese society. By some estimates there are less than a dozen native speakers of the language left, and the Ainu "villages" at Shiraoi and Akan are tourist traps.

Probably the closest you can get is the hamlet of Nibutani (二風谷), home to the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum (site in Japanese only) and former home of outspoken Ainu activist Shigeru Kayano. Japan Today has a good description, which also mentions a few Ainu-run minshuku to stay at. This is also where Kayano set up Japan's first Ainu language schools, although I'm not sure any are open to the public.