The National Ainu Museum was opened in July 2020 as one of core facilities of UPOPOY: National Ainu Museum and Park. UPOPOY was established as “a national center for the revitalization of Ainu culture.” The museum’s mission is to, “respect the dignity of the Ainu as an indigenous people, promote proper recognition and understanding about the Ainu history and culture, and contribute to the creation and further growth of new Ainu culture,” and it engages in exhibitions, education and dissemination, research and investigation, human resource development, reservation and management of museum collections, and the establishment of museum networks. This paper analyzes, from an anthropological point of view, the reports of the advisory panels, committees, and working groups organized by the Japanese government to promote Ainu policy, and it discusses the process of the museum’s establishment and the expected roles the museum is expected to play. As a result, the following points become clear: 1) researchers, museum curators, and other members of the panels, committees, and working groups made a decisive change in their recognition of Ainu culture in the process of their discussion concerning Ainu policy during the second decade of the twenty-first century, and this change prompted the establishment of the national museum specializing in Ainu culture, 2) the mission and management policy of the museum followed the latest international developments in the redefinition of museums, and the museum is expected to promote this redefinition.

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From 1857 to 1859 (Ansei 4 to 6), the Hakodate Magistrate, an agency of the Tokugawa shogunate, administered smallpox vaccinations to the Ainu in Hokkaido (the territory of the Matsumae domain will be excluded for this paper) and Karafuto (Sakhalin). Through historical documents, this paper examines the vaccine (inoculation material for smallpox, attenuated virus solution) used in the smallpox vaccination at the time, and examines three major aspects: the types of smallpox vaccines used, the method, and the cost of the procurement. First, this paper shows that smallpox crusts (scabs caused by smallpox infection) and smallpox plasma (pus from smallpox blisters) were procured for use in smallpox vaccines. The method of procurement involved smallpox crusts being delivered in bottles from Edo to Hakodate. In the case of doctor Kuwata Ryusai, the smallpox plasma was transported by a chain of vaccine carriers all the way from Edo to Hakodate, and from Hakodate to Ezo. It is thought that the maintenance of smallpox plasma during the absence of traveling smallpox vaccinations was carried out by regularly repeating vaccinations in Hakodate and continuing to maintain the plasma. The Bakufu, and by extension the Hakodate Magistrate, was responsible for securing donors of smallpox plasma both before and after the vaccination program. Regarding the procurement expenses, the beneficiaries were the smallpox donors, and their guardians and attendants. Before the start of vaccination, Kuwata Ryusai paid the expenses himself. After the start of smallpox vaccination, in the area of Monbetsu (present-day Monbetsu City and others), historical records show that the Hakodate Magistrate's Office was responsible for the allowances for smallpox donors.

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Yoshimura Fuyuko huci (female elder) is an inheritor of Ainu culture and tradition from the Mukawa region. She spent her childhood in a traditional cise (house), where she grew up listening to her father and mother speaking the Ainu language. Later in her life, she contributed to spread language, traditional performing arts, and lifestyle. Fuyuko huci often traveled with her elder sister, Araida Seino huci, to various locations to give oral performances of kamuy yukar and sharing information about other Ainu customs. In this paper, the authors, who have inherited the traditional cultural knowledge of Fuyuko huci as family members (granddaughters), report on the Ainu culture transmitted by Fuyuko huci, and compare it with research resources related to her. The authors also introduce two programs that are part of the educational cultural programs at Upopoy: National Ainu Museum & Park, where both of the authors work. In these programs, initiated by the authors and supported by the Cultural Promotion Department and the National Ainu Museum, the authors utilize their living knowledge to introduce the Ainu culture of Mukawa region to visitors. By analyzing their own programs, this paper aims to create a further knowledge resource through which they can understand and inherit the teachings of Fuyuko huci.

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In 2021, the National Ainu Museum designed and held a talk event “Remembering Natural Disasters from Traditional Teachings: Tsunami” as part of its educational program. Examples of disaster education using local traditions are conducted in various institutions, but this program focused on the traditions of the Ainu, indigenous people of Japan. This article summarizes the outline of the program, its contents, and evaluation from the participants. Based on the evaluation, we examine the effects of disaster education combining science and indigenous knowledge.

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Before and after the opening of the National Ainu Museum in 2020, the Education Team of the museum, including the author who is a member, developed an educational tool that could be used inside and outside of the museum, and a permanent educational exhibition titled ‘Interactive Station “tempatempa” ’. As part of these efforts, this article analyzes the process involved in the development of an educational worksheet that through colouring in people can learn about Ainu garments and Ainu patterns. Through examining the development of this worksheet as a case study, the paper illustrates the process of creation, the consideration of sensitive issues, and the establishment of learning goals when developing educational tools and programs about the history and culture of the Ainu. It will conclude with the result of a formative evaluation of this worksheet, which was held both inside and outside of our museum.

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This paper will discuss the significance and challenges of exhibiting (representing) the "present (contemporary)" of the Ainu people in museums. The attempt to overcome the conventional dichotomy of "uncivilized" and "civilized" may lead to the fixation of the dichotomy of "traditional" and "modern". This issue will be discussed through the example of the "present" of the activities to pass on their own culture by indigenous Ainu people, who have undergone changes in their daily lives through migration to the Tokyo metropolitan area.

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This paper examines the designation process of Traditional Ainu Dance (Ainu Koshiki Buyo) as Japan’s Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1984. Despite the fact that most of the previous studies had been conducted in the fields of music and/or literature (oral tradition and language), the cultural property was named "koshiki (traditional or ancient) dance". This paper examines manuscripts by two authors, Chiri Mashiho and Honda Yasuji, who were influential in the administration process of the designation of Traditional Ainu Dance. It has shown that Honda's text simplified the previous research, and has a strong focus on the concept of "dance." In conclusion, the paper pointed out that the ideology of "folk" performing arts research at the time strongly influenced the designation of cultural properties.

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Since its opening in 2020, the National Ainu Museum has investigated dyes used in Ainu textile materials and has installed a hyperspectral camera. In order to formulate suitable analysis conditions for dye analysis, the author conducted a verification on the accuracy of the device, with a focus on the distance between the sample and the device, and the analysis range. As a result, effective results for dye analysis were obtained under several conditions. Based on these results, an analysis of dyed samples typical within Ainu culture was conducted, and characteristic spectra were obtained for yew-dyed samples.

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