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2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Research on the History of Cultural Contacts between the Ainu and Wajin, Focusing on the Meiji Period Wajin Custom of Offering Inau to Gods

Research Project

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Project/Area Number 16K16971
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Research Field Cultural anthropology
Research InstitutionIndependent Administrative Institution National Institutes for Cultural Heritage Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

Principal Investigator

Imaishi Migiwa  独立行政法人国立文化財機構東京文化財研究所, 無形文化遺産部, 主任研究員 (80609818)

Research Collaborator OOI Rie  
KITAHARA Mokottunas  
TANIMOTO Akihisa  
TOMA Mikio  
HAMAOKA Nobuya  
HORII Misato  
Project Period (FY) 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Keywordsアイヌ文化史 / イナウ / 北前船交易
Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research aims to reexamine the cultural contacts between Wajin and the Ainu from the end of Edo to modern era by studying Inau, or an Ainu wooden instrument used for rituals, which Wajin dedicated to shrines and temples of Japan’s main island in Meiji era.
Through analyzing figures (patterns/ designs) of dedicated Inau, it becomes clear that Wajin obtained Inau from the Ainu living in extensive areas from Hokkaido to Sakhalin. This fact indicates that the then Wajin ship owners, to a certain extent, recognized the custom of offering Inau as an established ritual of marine traffic. In addition, studying the historical materials reveals the background that contributed to the establishment of the custom; Wajin’s advance into northern areas through Kitamae-bune Trade and the fishery operation, high affinity between Wajin and the Ainu beliefs and rituals, and the social conditions that allow coexistence of both the Ainu and Wajin culture.

Free Research Field

民俗学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

イナウ奉納はアイヌ―和人間の文化伝播と習合の一事例と位置づけられ、今後、イナウの類似祭具である本州の削りかけ状祭具との関わりを再検証する上で重要である。さらに、これまで積極的に取り上げられることのなかった、北から南(アイヌから和人)への文化伝播の様相が本研究により具体的に明らかにされたことは、アイヌと和人の関わりのあり方を再考し、列島上を交差する文化の道の多様性を見直す際にも、大きな意義を持つものと考える。

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Published: 2020-03-30  

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