Overview

This study discusses cultural change among the Ainu, Japan's indigenous people, its specificity and the circumstances which have led to it. The book focuses on strategies in response to change, laying bare the multiple nature of agency that characterizes the interaction between the Ainu, the larger society and the state. The stress is on cultural aspects of Ainu's contemporary activities and how they have been incorporated into the larger society. The Japanese pursue a policy of assimilating the Ainu but this policy has not been successful, resulting in a resurgence among the Ainu. This is characterized by its emphasis on ethnic features, distinguishing them from the majority of the population who do not recognize the existence of ethnic groups but view them instead as social classes or casts. For the Ainu this strategy serves to firmly define their own position in the larger system, challenging the pre-established social and cultural context of Japanese society.

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9783718654017

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Katarina V. Sjoberg

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