Master, An Ainu Story
Through the personal experiences of Kenji Matsuda, Master, An Ainu Story tells the story of survival and adaptation of the Ainu through the eyes of an elder in the Ainu community.
I hated being Ainu. There was nothing good about it, I was discriminated against for being one. Growing up, I tried to hide it, but people could tell from looking at my face that I was Ainu.
There are around 25,000 Ainu people in Hokkaido, and it is thought that there may be up to 200,000 living throughout Japan – some who are unaware of their Ainu roots, and some who would prefer to hide them due to the history of discrimination that the Ainu have faced in Japan.
I can’t hide the fact that I am Ainu, so as I got older I decided to live fully as Ainu. Even if it’s not quite discrimination, I face some prejudice, for example at work people might give me strange looks or say prejudiced things when I tell them I’m Ainu. Many Japanese people don’t have a good understanding of what it means to be Ainu, so I keep fighting discrimination. But where I used to hide from it, now I face it head on.