Letters to Ainu and Wajin (2) - Ainu and Japanese People's Partyhood : Appendix A: Authenticity of Ainu Culture Appendix B: Dialogue: Identity and Partyhood

The question of "who are the Ainu" is sometimes asked in the various practices concerning the Ainu people. To ask this question is to ask who the Japanese are at the same time (although this is not often considered). The question has not been discussed head-on, because it is considered self-evident or a delicate issue by some people. In particular, the question of Wajin is often strongly rejected. Ainu identity has also never been sufficiently examined, which sometimes leads to confusion and conflict between the parties concerned. There is no clear definition of either Ainu or Japanese, and it is possible that there are people who fall outside of any definition. However, even leaving definitions aside, it is a fact that there are people who stand in the position of the majority, and it is important to name this position "Wajin". It is important to name such a position as "Wajin," and to leave the discussion without questioning the nature of Wajin is to support the current oppression of the Ainu and other ethnic minorities. With these issues in mind, this paper addresses three points. In the first section, I discussed the difficulties and necessity of discussing the partyhood of the Japanese people. In the second section, I summarized and gave examples of factors that make Ainu people aware of their relatedness, and discussed the importance of family ties (not necessarily blood ties). On the other hand, I argued that although negative views of one's constitution, health problems, and poverty are currently closely related to one's ethnic identity, it is possible to go beyond ethnicity and define partyhood more broadly. In section 3, I discussed the significance of absolutizing and relativizing partyhood based on Noguchi's (2012) argument. Partyhood is not fixed, but is strategically fixed and relativized in various aspects depending on the purpose of the discussion. At the same time, even members of the Ainu community may not have many of the elements of partyhood. When considering the representativeness of the Ainu people with such diverse experiences, it is difficult to envision anyone who can represent all of the various attributes, and the voices of those who are most marginalized (facing problems) should be heard at each stage of the problem. In Appendix A, I discussed the authenticity of culture. In cultural practice, the "authenticity" of Ainu culture is frequently discussed, and maintaining "correct Ainu culture" is sometimes understood to indicate Ainu partyhood. In this paper, I introduce previous research in this area and summarize the issues involved in considering authenticity. In addition, in order to understand the unconscious repressive words and actions of the majority and the aspects of marginalization that occur over the issue of partyhood, I have included a dialogue between the parties concerned as Appendix B, in order to provide an understanding based on specific cases.