Ainu People Research Paper

The Ainu people were not only victims of the Japanese encroachment of their culture but also on their land, which resulted in a huge decrease in the Ainu people. When the Japanese, specifically the Matsumae, established themselves in the south of Hokkaido, the demand of gold and the products from the forest and ocean led to the Japanese encroachment. Due to the encroachment, many Ainu people were very dependent on Japanese rice and sake. In return for the rice and sake, the Ainu people were forced into labor and had to allow exploitation of the natural resources from the land and the Ainu women were sexually exploited. Contagious diseases broke out, and in 1853, the feudal government estimated that there were about 18,000 Ainu people left (Rice 12). …show more content…
57). The Ainu people represented cheap labor forces and since they were weakened by the limitations and bans of their traditional practices, many Ainu people became farmers (Godefroy 5). Sadly, the Ainu population began to decline drastically. In September 1875, many Ainu people were forced to migrate to the Soya region of Hokkaido but since Soya was close to Sakhalin region, Japanese officials feared the Ainu people would cause international border issues. Therefore, the Ainu people were forced to move to Tsuishi- kari (present day Ebetsu city). When the Ainu people moved to Tsuishi- kari, several outbreaks of infectious diseases broke out and killed more than 300 Ainu people in 1887 (Tanabe 4). Also, as contact between the Wajin settlers and the Ainu people grew, epidemic diseases such as syphilis and tuberculosis spread to and affected the Ainu people and their population. From1873 to 1903 the entire Ainu population in Hokkaido declined from 14.63% to a dangerous amount of 1.65% (Tanabe