Ainu Currents Post 7
When Media Collaboration Excludes Ainu Women from Ainu Roles
While the annual Sapporo snow festival has come and gone, one of its main stages and massive snow sculpture backdrop featured characters from Golden Kamu. Originally a manga, the story has been adapted into an anime and, more recently, a live-action film. The story takes place in the early 20th century in Hokkaido. One of the main characters is a young Ainu woman and the story prominently features other Ainu characters, community, and culture. While the creator collaborated with scholars of Ainu culture and members of the Ainu community in his depictions, the manga is not without criticism from within the Ainu community. However, it is overall seen as a step towards addressing a history of stereotyped, uninformed, and unfavorable depictions of Ainu in art and media. For the live-action movie, the Ainu community and the National Ainu Museum Upopoy were listed as collaborators. And yet Asipra, the main Ainu character, was depicted by Anna Yamada, a popular ethnic Japanese actress.
This year has also seen the release of another movie with an Ainu woman as the main character portrayed by an ethnic Japanese woman. “Kami no Uta,” a film centered around Yukie Chiri (1903-1922), an Ainu woman who documented and preserved Ainu oral traditions. Although Chiri passed away at the young age of 19, her contributions remain invaluable resources for understanding and appreciating Ainu culture. Inspired by his conversations with the late Kenichi Kawamura, director of the Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Memorial Museum, Hiroshi Sugawara conceived the film. Sugawara expressed discomfort at the limited public discourse surrounding the historical discrimination and assimilation endured by the Ainu people. While the film garnered support from several Ainu organizations, Mizuki Yoshida, an ethnically Japanese actress, played the role of the lead character, Teru.
The recent trend of ethnic Japanese actresses portraying leading Ainu roles highlights a complex and ongoing debate around representation and collaboration in Japanese media. While collaborations with Ainu scholars and community members are presented as a positive step towards more informed portrayals, the casting choices raise critical questions about genuine inclusion and power dynamics. Collaboration offers opportunities for cultural exchange and raises visibility for the Ainu community. However, these efforts ultimately rely on non-Ainu voices and bodies to represent Ainu experiences. It’s crucial to consider whether such casting choices truly empower the Ainu community or simply offer a facade of inclusion while excluding authentic representation. Seeking genuine collaboration that prioritizes Ainu voices and representation, from storytelling to casting, is vital to moving beyond tokenism and ensuring accurate and empowering portrayals of Ainu experiences in Japanese media.