Japan builds ethnic harmony tribute to indigenous Ainu

Scholars say the Ainu settled in Japan's northernmost island and across Sakhalin, Russia.

Last updated: October 29, 2019 | 14:33

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Indigenous Ainu Teruyo Usa's daughter Ruino practices a traditional Ainu dance before performing at a folk art concert in Tokyo, Japan.

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Indigenous Ainu Teruyo Usa waits for her turn to perform traditional Ainu dancing and song, backstage during a folk art concert in Tokyo, Japan.

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Indigenous Ainu Teruyo Usa (R) attends a traditional ritual ceremony to mark the eighth anniversary of the opening of her Ainu restaurant in Tokyo, Japan.

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Ainu wooden kayaks are stored outside of Nibutani Ainu Museum in Biratori, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.

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Wooden statues of an Ainu couple stand in front of an Ainu craft shop in the Nibutani district where several Ainu craft shops and a museum are located, in Biratori, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.

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Lights glow in Nibutani district of Biratori where several Ainu craft shops and a museum are located in Biratori, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan.

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Ainu Araki Motoyato wears a traditional costume as he attends a memorial service for Ainu tribesmen defeated by a Japanese army in a fifteenth century battle in Kaminokuni, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan.

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Ainu artist Koji Yuki (R) and his fellow Ainu Fukumoto Shoji, sit in front of a makeshift altar for a memorial service for Ainu tribesmen defeated by a Japanese army in a fifteenth century battle in Kaminokuni, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan.

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Ainu wooden bowls and pasui ceremonial sticks are displayed in preparation for a memorial service for Koshamain, an Ainu military leader defeated by a Japanese army in the 15th century, in Kaminokuni, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan.

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Ainu tattooist Mai Hachiya wears a traditional Ainu robe with lipstick drawn around her mouth to recreate traditional tattoos commonly worn by Ainu women as she walks downtown in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan.

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Ainu hunter Atsushi Monbetsu, 36, makes a traditional bow and arrow at his house in Biratori, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan.

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Ainu hunter Atsushi Monbetsu, 36, prays to the Ainu gods after hunting a deer in a forest in Biratori, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan.

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