Creation and Reception of Contemporary Ainu Art from a Gender Perspective

Abstract

Ainu has historically separated traditional customs and labor by gender. For example, Ainu wood craft works have been made and succeeded by men. While, weaving and needle works have been practiced by women. “Sinuye” were only tattooed by women as a symbol of beauty and as a talisman for their life after death. Gender bias is also revealed in the expression of Ainu artists' work when they pursue connections to their forerunners, that is, those with they share historical experiences. On the other hand, in modern Japanese society led by the Japanese (Wajin), the majority, art has been regarded as intellectual and has long been ranked higher than crafts and separated from them. This separation has structurally conceived gender and marginalized Ainu art. I will examine the relationship between the dual gender structure surrounding this formative expression in the Ainu society and the Wajin society led by the Japanese.