Background
The Ainu people are believed to have descended from the Jomon people and migrated from Mongolian regions sometime between 14,500 BC — 300 AD. They were a hunter-gatherer group whose culture was and still is deeply intertwined with nature. The Ainu hold animistic beliefs, meaning that they believe every part of nature is inhabited by one of many gods. They have a particular reverence for bears, coexisting with them and using them in their religious rituals. The Ainu also possess a unique language, which is entirely oral and without a written form. There are currently very few people left in the world who speak Ainu; much of the culture has been buried or otherwise forgotten. When the Japanese invaded in the fifteenth century, the Ainu were killed, enslaved, and forced to move further and further north until they finally found refuge in the islands now known as Hokkaido.
The Japanese have always regarded the Ainu as an inferior, barbaric people. In 1899, the Japanese government passed a law which effectively rendered the Ainu an obsolete ethnicity. It forced them to assimilate with the rest of Japan, thereby surrendering their own culture, as well as allowed the government to take control of their land. As a result, the Ainu population drastically declined over the course of the twentieth century, largely because many actively denied their heritage to avoid discrimination. This also meant that many of Ainu descent never learned of their ancestry at all. The law was in effect until 1997, when Ainu activism began making real progress, and in 2008, the government formally recognized the Ainu as a distinct indigenous group. However, the stigma against the Ainu has yet to phase completely out of Japanese society.
Exhibition
This is an educational exhibit with an emphasis on bringing awareness to an indigenous people recovering from the threat of cultural extinction. The exhibit will lead the audience on a guided tour through the history and culture of the Ainu, the aboriginal people of Japan. The exhibit would be split up into five major sections, each designated by a different color to ease navigation: history, culture, arts, religion, and language. It would also allow attendees to view cultural artifacts such as traditional garb, jewelry, musical instruments, etc.
The exhibit space would be a large open area occupied by rows of standing panels that collectively form an abstract, geometric pattern similar to ones found in Ainu embroidered designs. Panels are grouped together based on category and attendees are free to move between them as they please. As the Ainu are a dignified people with a history of oppression, the atmosphere would reflect a certain degree of solemnity, with rich natural colors and black-and-white photography. Additionally, traditional Ainu music would play in the background to set the tone for the exhibit and to accompany the audience on their journey, and overhead spotlights would highlight points of particular interest.
The exhibit would feature several interactive elements in the form of screens that allow users to participate in such activities as perusing Ainu terminology and folk tales, which would include audio recordings of traditional recitations. Another interactive station would let users design their own Ainu patterns through touch-and-drag mechanics. These activities will enrich the learning experience and garner more interest in Ainu culture than a nonparticipative exhibit would.
