The Ainu people are the native people of Japan. Their culture is to some extent preserved in Hokkaido. Their culture is unique to Japan and must be acknowledged.
Almost all countries in the world have a wide range of different languages and cultures. The native American Indians are represented by many different languages and identities. The Hispanic communities, the Afro-American cultures are all representative of the United States of America and visible and important to the outside world.
The native people of Australia are the Aborigines. Their ancestors have lived on the Australian continent for some 50000 years. There are many different languages among the Australian Aborigines, each with their own cultural identity and expression. Among the very recent immigrants of the last few hundred years there are many different languages and cultures; English is the unifying language of Australia.
Canada is a country of many different cultures. The British immigrants and the French immigrants of centuries ago, the new Canadian immigrants, but a very important part of Canadian culture are the native Canadians largely over northern Canada, the Inuit who have lived there for tens of thousands of years. They are represented by many different languages too. English and French are presently the unifying languages of Canada.
China is a vast country with well over a billion people. Outside China people often do not realise that there is great cultural, linguistic and even racial diversity in China. China is like a sub-continent inhabited by peoples for tens of thousands of years.
Great Britain too is represented by many peoples. The United Kingdom officially consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Great Britain too, ancient languages are still being spoken in some communities.
The sport of sumo seems so Japanese, yet these days many top athletes of this sport come from Mongolia, America, Estonia and from Bulgaria. Despite its distinct Japanese cultural flavour the sport attracts increasingly athletes from other parts of the world.
Korea is presently a divided country and its people share a long history and identity. The word かんこく kankoku refers to modern South Korea. Many Korean families have lived in Japan for hundreds of years. The Korean people, their language and their culture are closely related to Japan’s.
The Maori people of New Zealand represent an important and significant part of the New Zealand identity. New Zealand is called Aotearoa in the Maori language: アオテアロア.
Hello, Mr Hart
The largest nation on earth is also represented by many different languages, cultures and racial identities. It is impossible to represent them all here, but Anna Netrebko who is perhaps the most famous Russian singer certainly presents a beautiful face of modern Russia.
As the world is shrinking and as people have so much more connectivity with each other – social media has had a tremendous influence – Japan too is coming to terms with its history. It is beginning to discover its origins, its make-up, its community spirit.
In that process Japanese people increasingly realise their connectivity with the Ainu, their Korean heritage in Japan, their Chinese heritage, the Russian contribution, the Dutch and Spanish-Portuguese contributions and more recently the American influence.
No doubt, large elements of these encounters have been very painful and not everyone is presently on-board about the future direction. However, youth in all its strength and passion bodes to universal respect and appreciation.
(photos from internet for educational purposes)
Lami Japan 