Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act
北海道旧土人保護法公布
National Diet of Japan
Territorial extentEmpire of Japan
Passed byNational Diet of Japan
Passed1899
Repealed1997
Summary
A bill that designated the native Ainu people of Hokkaido a "former" indigenous people who would be subject to assimilation
Status: Repealed

The Hokkaido Former Aborigines Protection Act (Japanese: 北海道旧土人保護法公布) was a Japanese law enacted by the Imperial Diet in 1899 during the reign of Emperor Meiji.[1] The law concerned the status of the indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido, a population the Imperial government sought to forcibly assimilate.[2] The law was repealed in 1997 and replaced by the Ainu Cultural Promotion Act (CPA).[3][4]

Created under the pretense of protecting the Ainu people, organizations such as the Ainu Association of Hokkaido argue that the law served to confiscate Ainu land and destroy their traditional culture.[5] According to a paper published in the Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs, "The aim of [the law] was to 'civilize' and 'Japanize' the Ainu from 'barbarians' to 'primitive Japanese'.”[6]

Background

'Aynurmosir', the traditional land of the Ainu people

Provisions and consequences

Land ownership and poverty

Under the pretense of alleviating Ainu poverty, the legislation created individual land grants and promoted the adoption of Japanese agricultural practices over hunting.[7] The legislation has been criticized as a means by which the Imperial government forcibly confiscated Ainu lands and impeded traditional Ainu culture.[8] The land allotted to Ainu farmers was generally of poorer quality than that received by Japanese settlers in Hokkaido.[9]

Cultural impact

The law prohibited the Ainu from speaking their native language or practicing their traditional animistic religion.[10] Through the legislation, Ainu children received "a rudimentary education in the Japanese language that focused on “national” ethics".[6]

Legacy

A 1993 survey found that the law was only mentioned in a minority of Japanese textbooks.[11] Ainu activists consider the legislation to have helped facilitate the destruction of Ainu traditional customs to the benefit of Japanese settlers.[5]

See also

References

    1. ↑ Komai, Eléonore (July 7, 2021). "The Ainu and Indigenous politics in Japan: negotiating agency, institutional stability, and change". Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Cambridge University Press. 7 (1). This status de facto materialized into the Hokkaido Former Natives Protection Act (FNPA) of 1899, which aimed at "protecting the dying race" (Siddle 2002), mandating the replacement of hunting and gathering practices with agriculture (Howell, 1994; Lewallen 2016).
    2. ↑ Morris-Suzuki, Tessa (December 1999). "The Ainu: Beyond the Politics of Cultural Coexistence". Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
    3. ↑ Roche, Hailey (March 3, 2020). "Matika Wilbur – Ainu Sovereignty – Indigenous Leaders & Activists". University of Washington. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
    4. ↑ "Law for the Promotion of the Ainu Culture and for the Dissemination and Advocacy for the Traditions of the Ainu and the Ainu Culture (Law No. 52, May 14, 1997 Amendment: Law No. 160, Dec. 22, 1999)". University of Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-06-29. The following acts will be abolished: 1. The Hokkaido Ex-Aborigines Protection Act (#27/1899) 2. The Asahikawa Ex-Aborigines Protection Land Disposition Act (#9/1934)
    5. 1 2 "Law, the Ainu, and changing perceptions". Hokkaido University. 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
    6. 1 2 Siripala, Thisanka (2020). "Far-Right Politics and Indigenous Ainu Activism in Japan" (PDF). Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs. 6: 2.
    7. ↑ Komori, Yoichi; Lee, Helen J.S.; Mason, Michele (February 25, 2013). "Rule in the Name of Protection: The Japanese State, the Ainu and the Vocabulary of Colonialism". The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
    8. ↑ Zaman, Mashiyat. "The Ainu and Japan's Colonial Legacy". Tokyo Review. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
    9. ↑ Boersma, Meindert (2021-08-20). "It's time to drop the curtain on Japan's colonial legacy". Lausan. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
    10. ↑ Wetherhold, Sherley (July 6, 2012). "Going, Going, Gone: Five of Asia's Most Endangered Languages". Asia Society. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
    11. ↑ "Expression of Ainu Identity in the Present to the Future · Transition of Ainu Culture through Japanese History". Haverford College. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
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