Mr. Ainu - cultural mobilization and the practice of ethnicity in a hierarchical culture

Abstract: This thesis discusses cultural change among the Ainu, Japan's indigenous people, its specificity and the circumstances that have led to it. Fieldwork was conducted in Hokkaido, the main territory of the Ainu, during a period of 12 months, stretching from 1985 to 1988. Focusing on strategies makes it possible to lay bare the multiple nature of agency that characterize the interaction between, the Ainu, the larger society and the state. The questions raised concern how the strategies of the Ainu are structured and the stress is on cultural aspects of Ainu contemporary activities and how they have been incorporated into the larger Japanese society.