“Irankarapte”
–Let Me Touch Your Heart Gently–
A Performance & Talk by the Ainu, Japanese Indigenous People
A group of Ainu performers will be visiting Melbourne for performances and cultural exchanges with Australian indigenous people.
The performances will include Ainu traditional songs & dances, instrumental performance (Mukkuri, Ainu mouth harp and Tonkori, Ainu stringed instrument) and story telling. The performance at Melbourne Museum will be followed by screening of TOKYO Ainu, a recently released documentary film on the Ainu living in Greater Tokyo (with English subtitles).
The performances will be part of Indigenous Japanese (Ainu) and Indigenous Australian Cultural
Exchange Australian Tour 2011 (Melbourne and Tasmania) partly funded by the Australia Japan Foundation and also under the auspices of the Consulate-General of Japan, Melbourne.
The Ainu Performers
(from left)Haruzo Urakawa, Takumi Hoshino,Keiko Kyuno
(from left)Akemi Shimada,Sayo Ogasawara,Keisuke Kudo
The Ainu are an indigenous people of Japan, mainly inhabiting the northern island of Hokkaido. An oft-quoted population of the Ainu living in Hokkaido is 25,000 but it is common knowledge that many more Ainu exist but are reluctant to reveal their ethnic identity due to discrimination. Some estimate that there are as many as half a million Ainu throughout Japan, including those who migrated out of Hokkaido. The above performers are all from Greater Tokyo.
The distinct Ainu culture emerged in the 13th century and have been handed down to the present generations of Ainu in spite of many hardships—economic exploitation, assimilation, marginalization and discrimination. The Japanese government recognized the Ainu as indigenous to Japan in 2008 and set up a policy panel to formulate the new Ainu policy
“Irankarapte” is an Ainu word for “Thank you.” It literally means, “Let me touch your heart gently.”
