Clothing culture of the Ainu: Reexamination of the Northeast Asian history from museum collections

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H02441
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: Tokyo National Museum
• Principal Investigator: SASAKI SHIRO 独立行政法人国立文化財機構東京国立博物館, 国立アイヌ民族博物館設立準備室, 部長 (70178648)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 吉本 忍 国立民族学博物館, その他部局等, 名誉教授 (10124231) ; 齋藤 玲子 国立民族学博物館, 学術資源研究開発センター, 准教授 (20626303) ; 日高 真吾 国立民族学博物館, 人類基礎理論研究部, 教授 (40270772)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: アイヌ / 衣文化 / 織布技術 / 靱皮 / 木綿 / 絹 / 交易 / 博物館

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The peoples in Northern Eurasia, including the northern part of Japanese Archipelago, had original weaving techniques and culture until the beginning of the 20th century. They weaved threads made of bark fiber, grass fiber, and animal hair to make cloths of plain weaving, using treadle looms, ground looms, and board heddles with slits and holes. Some of them weaved mats and tapestries with the twisting technique. While, however, many gave up the original techniques and equipment in the modernization process during the 20th century, only the Ainu, who are the indigenous ethnic group of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands, maintain them even today.
The Ainu have also developed colorful clothes using various kinds of cloths made of cotton, silk, and synthetic fibers, as well as original natural fibers. The weaving-clothing culture is one of the most important cultural items that support their ethnic identity, and this fact encourages the people to maintain the traditional weaving.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は従来注目されていなかった北方ユーラシア寒冷地域の独自の織物文化を掘り起こすとともに、それを担った人々の歴史と文化にどのような意味があったのかを考察し直した。その中でアイヌだけでなく、ロシアやインドネシアなど海外の先住民族の工芸家たちからの協力も得て、独自の研究を推し進め、研究が先住民族文化の復興、振興のためのどのように貢献できるのかということを模索した。また、従来注目されていなかった織布技術に光を当てることで、アイヌを始め、北方ユーラシア地域の先住民族の文化の研究に新たな領域を開拓することができた。