Ainu means human. Ainu people were the original inhabitants of hokkaido and the ainu culture extended from 1400 to early 1700s. Later under control of Japanese from mainland. Ainus are still here, a few, trying to preserve some of their culture. Most of the others have got mixed with the japanese community.
Roxy Mathew Koll is a Climate Scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. He also dons the role of an amateur naturalist, writer, web designer, photographer, and publisher—based on demand.
Juby Aleyas Koll, also know as Sarah, is the author and publisher of the book and website Sarah’s Hand Embroidery Tutorials. She has been researching and tutoring hand embroidery for over a decade, making it accessible to everyone around the globe.
I think I was at your museum in the summer of 2003. I was a part of an idigenous people’s group that was in Japan for two weeks. There were the Hoopa(american Indian), the Maori from New Zealand, the Sammi of northern Norway and Sweden, and the Ainu along with Japanese were the host.
When we were at your museum we left a gift. It was a miniature of the Hoopa Tribe’s sacred cedar plank house, the xontah-nikyaw.
Please e-mail me back. I hope that I am right in guessing that this was the same musuem. I am now the curator of the Hoopa Tribal Museum. I could explain many aspects and the history of the xontah-nikyaw that may have not been told when the miniature was gifted. Thank you for your time.