Race, Resistance and the Ainu of Japan

The Ainu were once thought of as a "vanishing people", dispossessed and marginalized during the colonization of their homeland. However, these indigenous people of Northern Japan are now reasserting both their culture and their claim to be the most ancient of the Japanese races. Race, Resistance and the Ainu of Japanbrings the story of the Ainu up to date. As the first major study in English to trace the outlines of Ainu history, the work addresses such topical concerns as the human and land rights of indigenous people. It explores the ways in which competing versions of Ainu identity have been constructed and articulated. Shedding light on the way modern relations between the Ainu and the Japanese have been shaped, the text highlights the relevance of "race" in modern Japan.