Welcome to Akan Ainu Village,
thank you for visiting.
We sell traditional wooden crafts,
carvings of bears, tapestries, accessories, and other unique items.
Our crafts have been passed down over many generations.
We also provide a delivery service
for a delightful shopping experience.
Thanks for the food.
-Morning Kanto. -Morning.
You’re early today.
Shut up.
I’m sleepy.
NOTHING ON EARTH IS WITHOUT PURPOSE.
Is everyone done?
A little more time please.
Ok. Just a bit.
Kanto, are you done?
Yes.
You seem confident.
Not really.
Hurry, hurry.
He's already graduating next year.
Have you considered high schools in other areas?
I haven’t been thinking about it.
But, I’ll support whatever he wants.
So…
what do you think, Kanto?
Well…
I don’t have any school in mind.
I'm fine anywhere
as long as I can leave Akan.
Hello.
How was it?
Fine.
Kanto.
I told you to wait in the hallway.
I was bored.
Hey…
why do you want to be anywhere but here?
Well…
this town is tiny.
And it’s not normal.
Not normal?
They make you do Ainu stuff.
Who does?
Adults.
Has anyone ever forced you?
I’ve never forced you to do anything.
Right?
Don’t be silly.
Let’s go.
Over there.
Kanto, do your homework first.
I know.
Hello.
Welcome.
Is this an Ainu store?
Yes, it is.
Are you Ainu?
I am.
-Is that so? -Yes.
Damn, I messed up a lot.
You know where we come in together?
It should be loose
but the pause should be tight.
Let’s try again with that in mind.
…of the quiet lake.
The wind and snow
of a thousand years.
We have overcome.
Oh, great Akan.
You will have a lot of free time during summer vacation.
Please have a good time, while reflecting on what you learned.
We look forward to seeing you next semester…
Chibi, have you been waiting for me?
Here.
Is it good?
What is it?
We live in a different time.
But…
I already have the bear.
What can I do?
And that's why you want to do the Iomante?
People outside would never accept this.
Can I ask about Iomante?
So, raising the bear cub means…
we live with the god within the cub.
And sacrificing it after it grows up means…
we're sending it to the world of gods?
What’s important is that we deeply care for it before sending it off.
That’s the point.
Then, when the god returns to its world
it tells the other gods
how great the human world is.
When the other gods hear that, they return as owls, bears and other animals.
And we receive them as gifts on Earth.
That’s the core relationship between us Ainu and the gods.
So, without doing Iomante…
I identify as Ainu, but I can’t seem to grasp what that means.
Something's missing.
Talk is easy.
But, I don’t have the heart to do it.
I can’t kill a bear.
But we do it every day.
We eat packaged meat that other people kill
without appreciating those lives.
If we do the Iomante based on our Ainu belief
and properly return the gift of life we have received,
it will deeply affect our everyday lives.
What do we do for a living?
Tourism.
We can't afford a bad reputation.
Come on.
Don't we call this place "Ainu Village"?
Or is it just in name?
You can’t compare us to our ancestors
who were hunter gatherers.
People in society would never accept this.
No one else needs to understand.
-This is about us. -Times have changed.
When will the time ever come?
Or will we as Ainu change first?
How are you?
Same as always.
Time flies.
A year already.
Do you still have his carvings?
Yes, in his room.
Kanto.
You know the Forest of Light?
Yeah. Deep in the forest, there’s a cave.
The cave leads to a village where dead people live.
Let’s check it out.
That’s just a myth, right?
Well…
all myths come from somewhere.
It may not be all lies.
If that story is true…
is it possible to go to their village?
No.
Sometimes they come to us.
But, we can’t go to them.
What?
That’s not fair.
Anyway.
Let’s go see the cave.
We can go camping.
You might figure something out.
Dear visitors,
thank you for coming to the Akan hot springs.
Please visit the Ainu Village at 8pm.
There will be a traditional Ainu dance performance,
a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The bear god came down from the mountain.
Hurry, prepare the seat of honor for the bear god.
Hold on.
Let’s greet the forest.
Ok.
Right here.
Let's begin the prayer.
Spreading this is called Chacchari.
-Chacchari? -Yeah.
You spread this praying for safety.
Here, you do it too.
Let's begin the prayer.
Now, we can go in.
Let’s go.
This tree is hundreds of years old.
We're here.
Kanto, this is the cave.
This cave leads to the village of our ancestors.
The village of dead Ainu people.
That’s the legend.
Take a look.
No, it’s ok.
Just take a look.
It’s ok.
A little more.
Wait, I can't do it.
I caught one!
Good!
Catch one for me!
Catch one yourself!
You use the knife like this.
Slice it straight from the rear to the throat.
Then, scrape out the innards.
See?
Easy, right?
This knife is a Makiri that your father made.
I’ll give it to you.
Try cutting the fish.
Let me see.
Beautiful, right?
Kanto, have you seen an owl?
I have.
Where?
At a zoo.
That doesn't count.
One time…
your father and I saw a wild owl in the mountains.
Its eyes were so powerful.
It really was a Kotan Kor Kamuy.
A guardian god of the village.
Your father was so impressed by the owl,
he made a wood carving of it.
It wasn't the most well-crafted…
but something about it was powerful.
It was amazing.
That owl must have stuck with him.
"In the mountain of Saloma, Hokkaido"
Repeat.
"In the mountain of Saloma, Hokkaido"
"my father took me hunting."
"Somewhere, we heard a bear cub" Repeat.
"Somewhere, we heard a bear cub"
And "I hid with my mother" in Ainu is…
"I hid with my mother"
Great.
This is a memoir from 1901.
Let me explain the next section.
Ask me if you don’t understand.
Kanto, you look sad.
-Do I? -Yes.
In times like this, stretch your face.
Then, bring your face in.
I’m not doing that.
Just try it.
Stretch.
In.
Then, stretch your mouth sideways.
There. Together now.
See?
You’re laughing.
It’s pouring, but the rain has its purpose too.
There’s a cage.
Yes.
What’s in it?
You’ll see.
A bear cub!
This is what I wanted to show you.
Cute, right?
Very.
Were you waiting?
-Come here. -Want to feed it?
Yes.
-What’s its name? -Chibi.
-Chibi? -Yeah.
Chibi.
Come here, I have food.
He ate it!
Chibi.
-Kanto. -Yeah?
Want to raise Chibi together?
Yes.
You do? Ok.
I have one condition.
What?
You can't tell anyone that Chibi is here.
Why?
We wouldn’t want random people showing up, right?
Ok, I understand.
Can you promise?
Yes.
Ok.
Hey Chibi, you got a new friend.
Chibi.
I’m back.
Welcome back.
How was camping?
-Actually, fun. -Really?
That’s great.
You need a bath.
Go on.
Finally.
You speak Japanese so well.
I studied real hard.
Can we take a picture?
Sure.
Ok, smile.
Say cheese.
Did you do homework?
No, I haven’t.
Don’t talk about homework.
Homework is taboo.
Don’t scare me.
It’s taboo during summer break.
Hey, don’t cheat.
Not me!
Chibi.
Hey, Chibi.
You’re so cute.
I know you’re hungry.
Here you go.
Come.
Kanto.
What?
Go take veggies to grandma Eiko.
I’m busy right now.
You’re not busy.
Go!
Hurry up.
Eiko, he came all this way.
Sing for him.
I don't know, my singing is bad.
You’re not bad at all.
Please, even one song.
I want to preserve it.
Please.
Just one song.
A grandma away from the village sings a cradle song.
A crying baby clings to
her mother’s breast.
Hello.
Grandma cradles the baby, so she stops crying.
-Ouch. -Sorry.
-Put your head down. -Don't cut my neck.
Ouch, ouch.
-Okay. -Better, right?
Okay.
It’s shorter.
But just right.
Want to go shorter?
No, this is good.
The people who live upstream get richer and richer.
It’s not easy to cut down a tree with a stone axe.
The people who live downriver get poorer and poorer.
It’s not easy to cut down a tree with a stone axe.
People, share your wealth with others.
The heaviest drop falls down first.
I want to write an original song.
Original?
From scratch? Interesting.
What if we used Ainu instruments?
But… I’m not as good at the Tonkori as you might think.
No one thinks that.
When I go into the city, everyone assumes I can play.
I actually can’t.
It’s a stereotype.
I don’t want to use Ainu instruments.
Why?
We're playing freely.
Do we have to do Ainu stuff in the band too?
Well…
I get that, but whatever we do is Ainu.
We don’t have to advertise it.
It's all good…
as long as we're cool.
Who are you?
What a cutie.
Hello.
Debo?
Oh, hello.
Hey.
Was it today?
Are we good?
Sure.
Sit.
You forgot.
-Been a while. -Yeah.
Long time.
Sorry it's been so long.
Thanks for agreeing to the interview again.
Can I record?
Sure.
So, the Marimo Festival.
Anything different from last year?
No, the same as usual.
Just doing it properly as always.
You’re such an active guy.
Do you have any new projects?
No, nothing.
-No? -Nothing.
I heard a rumor…
that there’s going to be an Iomante in Akan.
What a load of nonsense.
Really?
No such plans?
No.
It’s just a rumor.
Understood.
If you hear something like that, please let me know.
I’d love to cover it.
Why?
Of course.
A lot of people would be interested.
Reviving a long lost ritual…
Why bring it back now?
I heard it hasn’t been done in Akan since 1975.
People may be interested, but no one would understand.
Honestly…
it might be difficult for modern people
to understand the tradition of bear sacrifice.
A Japanese would say that.
Sorry.
I’m just saying some people may think that.
I don’t mean to offend.
Don’t worry, I’m just teasing you.
Shu…
You didn’t tell him, did you?
-Of course not. -Guys.
Let’s not doubt each other.
Yeah.
Midori…
what do you think?
Anything worrying you?
Well…
If we are doing the Iomante, we need to act as one.
We need to prepare the food and songs.
It’ll be a lot work.
I’m still against it.
Each person can decide whether to participate.
If we do it,
we all need to take care of the bear.
Let’s work together.
Everyone, huh…
What’s wrong?
No.
We'll do it all together.
Chibi.
Come here.
Chibi.
You've come a long way, dear traveler
Thank you for coming from a distant place
This is a land of forest and lake
The birds are singing
And the wind is dancing in the sky
Irankarapte
Mama-san, sing with me
I’m happy to have met you
What a wonderful day it is
Welcome home.
Hey.
Hey, Kanto.
You been good?
Yes.
Still in the band?
-Yes. -Yeah?
This room hasn’t changed at all.
I feel like he could come back.
Yeah.
I can’t bring myself to clean out his room.
Oh yeah…
I guess I should…
What are you doing?
Greeting the mountain.
Good kid.
Who taught you?
-Debo. -Oh, Debo?
He fluffs things up sometimes.
You better watch out.
Kanto.
When you see a beautiful view like this…
how do you feel?
Sometimes I get sad when I see such beautiful landscapes.
This land was called Ainu Mosir before it was Hokkaido, right?
In those days, the mountains, rivers, and forests all belonged to Ainu.
Not anymore.
When I think about that, I get sad.
Did you come here with your dad?
He took me sometimes.
It must still hurt.
But it hurts because…
he's still in your heart.
Don’t feel like you need to get over it right away.
Kanto,
let’s wait for the nurse to finish.
My throws are bad.
Mine went far.
Let me see.
Come on.
-The paper’s so small. -Too small.
You guys didn’t even write.
If I did, I’d use bigger paper.
I even have the structure.
"One day, my bland life changed."
"I don’t know what to do, I can’t grasp the chance."
"The only way is up."
Read the end.
"I struggled and grasped a dream."
Grasped?
You struggled?
You mean struggled at music?
I don’t know.
Like struggling at the guitar?
It’s just an expression.
It’s better than nothing.
You guys should write.
I’m ahead of you.
I can laugh at you guys.
Use a bigger piece of paper next time.
That would be good.
Mrs. Kayoko…
Why are you here?
Kanto.
I came to feed the bear.
That’s my job.
We’re all going to take care of it from now on.
This is part of the ritual.
Ritual?
Debo hasn’t told you?
What?
Debo.
Why was Mrs. Kayoko feeding Chibi?
From now on, we’re all taking care of the bear.
Why?
You’re the one who said to keep it a secret.
Chibi will be happier this way.
That’s not true.
It’ll be ok.
What’s the ritual?
Who told you that?
Mrs. Kayoko said,
taking care of Chibi is part of the ritual.
You’ve heard of Iomante, right?
We’re going to send off Chibi this winter.
What? You can’t do that.
Listen…
this will be the most important ritual for our village.
We have to.
Your father always said he wanted to do it.
It will make him happy.
MARIMO FESTIVAL
"IOMANTE IN NIBUTANI ’77"
What is this?
When you send the bear off to gods world,
you shoot an arrow.
This is the arrow that will kill the bear.
We sing to say goodbye to the bear.
Welcome to all of the visitors.
We are about to begin the Marimo ceremony. Please quiet down.
Look at the beautiful bird above.
Ready your bow and arrow.
Kanto.
Let’s go to the afterparty.
I’m not going.
I’m not making dinner tonight.
That’s fine.
Everyone wants to see you.
Hurry up.
Get up.
Come on.
-Leave me alone. -Just come.
Debo told me everything.
I told him what he did to you was wrong.
But it is true…
your father was serious about the Iomante.
-Are you listening? -I am.
Are you going to help?
I don’t know.
I have mixed feelings.
Maybe I should give everything up…
being Ainu and all.
If you want.
It’s your life.
What are you doing?
Let’s just forget about it and have fun tonight.
Chibi.
Wake up.
Which is it?
Why won’t it work?
Open.
Rice wine, please become delicious.
Put your finger through to the back.
THE AINU VILLAGE IS CLOSED TODAY.
Kanto.
Debo is here.
Kanto.
We’re sending off Chibi today. Let's go.
Kanto.
I’ll see you there.
The rice wine is ready.
Goddess of fire.
The elder is in the seat of honor.
The female elder is in the back.
God who raises men.
God who protects the land.
We are modest and in awe of the gods.
We will pray to you.
Please hear our prayer.
We speak with humility and awe.
God of heaven.
God of land.
We offer you our words,
our rice wine,
our wooden crafts.
Now, to the alter?
Indeed.
The unsharpened arrows first?
Exactly.
Now, shoot.
Everyone, shoot.
The bear god came down from the mountain
Hurry, prepare the seat of honor for the bear god.
Let's stand up and dance.
Hey.
Kanto.
Wake up, Kanto.
It's time to send the god off.
You reek of alcohol.
Who cares.
Wake up.
He's waiting for you.
Thanks for the food. 