According to Howell (2004), imperial Japan was a multiethnic entity, but its multiethnicity was not perceived as a permanent condition, much less an essential feature of its character. This is what the nation-state Japan is trying to achieve by trying to exhibit the modernization narratives regarding the Ainu people and its cultural heritage. The goal has always been to assimilate Japanese names, Japanese traditions and Japanese customs to the Ainu, Okinawans and colonial subjects to comply with the state ideology (Howell, 2004). The presence of non-Japanese people is not compatible with the ideology of nation-state. Meiji era is heavily influenced from the west (Afe.easia.columbia.edu, 2017). The government ignored Ainu and heavily focused
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Normally, when the word Ainu comes into mind, it immediately associates the word with bears, primitive and savages. The “primitive” image of Ainu became an important commodity to the Wajin colonizers who already are benefitting from the natural resources that exists in the northern island (Hiwasaki, 2000). Majority of the museums only exhibits the primitive aspect of Ainu, and not the long historical oppression by the colonizers, as well as the contemporary problems Ainu face. Thus, successfully reshaping the Ainu identity through mainstream means. Of course, many Ainu has protested this kind of ethnic tourism because this humiliates the Ainu identity and considers this an ethnic oppression in the world of tourism (Hiwasaki, 2000). However, tourism makes a huge impact on the Ainu. There are remarkable influences that this kind of tourism in Ainu and it has affected them in their way of living. There are also advantages that this kind of tourism has on the Ainu. As Hiwasaki (2000) has stated in her article, “Tourism has played a vital role in the affirmation of the Ainu's unique ethnicity by being an important venue through which they could express themselves, and by being an integral part of the Ainu social sphere.” Thus, they became more active participants in tourism as it has contributed in forming a collective Ainu cultural
Normally, when the word Ainu comes into mind, it immediately associates the word with bears, primitive and savages. The “primitive” image of Ainu became an important commodity to the Wajin colonizers who already are benefitting from the natural resources that exists in the northern island (Hiwasaki, 2000). Majority of the museums only exhibits the primitive aspect of Ainu, and not the long historical oppression by the colonizers, as well as the contemporary problems Ainu face. Thus, successfully reshaping the Ainu identity through mainstream means. Of course, many Ainu has protested this kind of ethnic tourism because this humiliates the Ainu identity and considers this an ethnic oppression in the world of tourism (Hiwasaki, 2000). However, tourism makes a huge impact on the Ainu. There are remarkable influences that this kind of tourism in Ainu and it has affected them in their way of living. There are also advantages that this kind of tourism has on the Ainu. As Hiwasaki (2000) has stated in her article, “Tourism has played a vital role in the affirmation of the Ainu's unique ethnicity by being an important venue through which they could express themselves, and by being an integral part of the Ainu social sphere.” Thus, they became more active participants in tourism as it has contributed in forming a collective Ainu cultural