Decolonize Futures Vol.3: Ainu and De/colonization | mai ishihara

In contemporary Japanese society, there is a colonial structure that commodifies and consumes Ainu people and culture within the frameworks of promoting SDGs, diversity, and addressing environmental issues. This consumption extends beyond the market to academic and intellectual discourse. Treating Ainu people as mere academic topics and ideas leads to overlooking the history of racism and poverty resulting from colonialism, and the suffering and deaths of many Ainu people.

Furthermore, when discussing the Ainu people and colonial structures, understanding the reality in binary terms such as insider/outsider, perpetrator/victim, colonizer/colonized can render invisible the voices and existence of those who do not fit into these dichotomies.

In this issue, we interviewed mai ishihara, an anthropologist at the Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies at Hokkaido University and herself of Ainu descent, on how to resist tokenization/encoding and consumption and think about decolonization regarding the reality that does not fit into the dichotomies.

Third Issue: Ainu and De/Colonization

In contemporary Japanese society, there is a colonial structure that commodifies and consumes Ainu people and culture within the frameworks of promoting SDGs, diversity, and addressing environmental issues. This consumption extends beyond the market to academic and intellectual discourse. Treating Ainu people as mere academic topics and ideas leads to overlooking the history of racism and poverty resulting from colonialism, and the suffering and deaths of many Ainu people.

Furthermore, when discussing the Ainu people and colonial structures, understanding the reality in binary terms such as insider/outsider, perpetrator/victim, colonizer/colonized can render invisible the voices and existence of those who do not fit into these dichotomies.

In this issue, we interviewed mai ishihara, an anthropologist at the Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies at Hokkaido University and herself of Ainu descent, on how to resist tokenization/encoding and consumption and think about decolonization regarding the reality that does not fit into the dichotomies.

About Decolonize Futures

“Decolonize Futures” is a ZINE project to open up the discussion of the deep history of colonialism and the need of decolonization in Japan and East Asia for the possibilities of plural futures. The project criticizes the historical violence and ongoing colonialism from political, historical, cultural, and activist perspectives to create a discursive space for decolonization in Japan and East Asia.

“Decolonize Futures” is a ZINE project that aims to open up discussions on the deep history of colonialism and the need for decolonization in Japan and East Asia, fostering possibilities for plural futures. The project critiques historical violence and ongoing colonialism from political, historical, cultural, and activist perspectives, creating a discursive space for decolonization in Japan and East Asia.