From February 27 to March 1, the House of Histories of the National Museum of Lithuania(NML) will host the first Ainu Culture Weekend in Lithuania. Visitors are invited to a three-day festival where they will be able to get to know the Ainu people, who originated in northern Japan: their arts, worldview, history, cuisine and the intense cultural revival that has been taking place over the past decade. Visitors will be able to enjoy creative workshops for children and adults, various lectures, performances and documentary film screenings. The classes will be led by Ainu people who have come from Japan and other countries especially for this festival – scientists, artists and members of the Ainu Culture Preservation Society.

Creative Art and Culinary Workshops

On Saturday, February 28, at 11:00, children aged 7–10 are invited to a creative Ainu writing workshop with artist Sayo Ogasawara. During the workshop, participants will create nature-inspired ornament cutouts that they can frame and take home. The workshop will be held in Japanese with Lithuanian translation. The event is free, but pre-registration is required.

On Sunday, March 1, at 10:30, an embroidery workshop will be held, where participants will learn about the traditional ikararari embroidery method and will be able to embroider a chosen pattern themselves. This is an opportunity to stop, focus and feel how an ornament with a deep symbolic meaning is slowly born. The workshop will be led by members of the Ainu Culture Preservation Society. The event is free, but advance registration is required. The class will be held in English.

On the same day, at 14:30, a workshop on traditional Ainu food preparation will also be held. Members of the Ainu Culture Preservation Society will talk about culinary traditions and, together with the participants, will prepare and taste traditional salmon soup with burdock roots. The number of places is limited, tickets are recommended to be purchased in advance. The workshop will be held in English.

Live Tradition Performances

On February 28 At 13:30, there will be a presentation and performance of Ainu oral literature. Yoshihiro Osada and members of the Ainu Culture Preservation Society will introduce visitors to the main genres of the Ainu oral tradition and the history of the endangered language. Performers will live present examples of oral literature, which embody spirits (kamuy), appearing in the form of a bear, fox, owl or other animals. These stories can be serious or mysterious, sometimes unexpectedly funny, and often reveal everyday human experiences. You will hear Kannakamui (“The Tale of the Thunder God”), Etasupe Komui (“Removing Lice from Sea Lions”) and other examples of oral literature.

On the same day, at 14:30, a performance and lesson of traditional Ainu dances will take place. Ainu dances are closely connected to nature – they reproduce the movements of birds, bears, and landscape elements. Some of them are ceremonial, for example, the Iyomante dance, which reflects the life cycle of a bear, while others are dynamic, reminiscent of the agility and strength of combat. Members of the Ainu Culture Preservation Society will not only perform traditional dances, but also invite the audience to join in and learn different dance movements.

Lectures by International Experts

On Friday, February 27, at 17:00, Yoshihiro Osada, director of the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum, will give a lecture “Bronisław Pilsudski and Others’ Views on Biratori.” The lecture will tell about Bronisław Pilsudski’s 1903 trip to the city of Biratori on the island of Hokkaido, northern Japan. Using the most advanced technologies of the time, he collected material about the Ainu language and culture – he took photographs and recorded sacred songs on wax cylinders (Kamuy Yukar). This material is still important in researching the endangered Ainu language and heritage. The lecture will be held in Japanese with translation into Lithuanian and the event is free.

On Saturday, February 28, at 12:30, Professor Hirofumi Kato of Hokkaido University will give a lecture entitled “Living History and Memory Rooted in the Earth: Ainu Ancestral Knowledge and Cultural Landscape.” He will present the unique Ainu worldview and cultural heritage, highlighting a different relationship between man and nature than the usual separation of them today. The lecture will be held in English and the event is free.

On Sunday, March 1, at 12:30, one of the curators of the exhibition “A Soul Between Worlds,” scientist, artist, and activist Dr. Kanako Uzawa will give a lecture titled “From Traditional Ainu Knowledge to Community – Contemporary Ainu Art and Collaborative Curation Practices.” She will introduce the representation of contemporary Ainu art. The lecture will be held in English and the event is free.

March 1, at 13:30. Members of the Ainu Culture Preservation Society will present their activities and efforts to preserve and pass on Ainu traditions to future generations.

Identity and Memory in Cinema

On Saturday, February 28, at 15:15, the House of History will screen Naomi Mizoguchi’s documentary “Ainu: Indigenous People of Japan” (2019). The film tells the stories of four elderly members of the Ainu community in Biratorio. Born in the 1930s, due to the prevailing attitude towards Ainu identity at the time, they were not taught the Ainu language by their families. Later, as public attitudes changed, they began to be interested in their roots and became active community leaders, contributing to the revival of the Ainu language and culture. The film reveals their personal experiences and efforts to preserve Ainu history for future generations. The film will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles and admission is free.

On Sunday, March 1, at 11:00, viewers will see the documentary film “Ripples of Physis” (2023). It tells the story of the culturally significant traditional decorative paper karakami. Its production tradition has existed for more than 400 years and is still cherished at the “Karacho” company. Hand-printed patterns aim to convey the essence of nature and a sense of eternal beauty. Mogi Ayako and Kawai Sanae reveal the meticulous process of creating karakami in the film and take the viewer on a hypnotic journey of patterns. The screening will be held in Japanese with English subtitles and the event is free.

The Ainu Culture Weekend is part of the accompanying events program of the international exhibition “A Soul Between Worlds. The Ainu Nation in the North of Japan and the Ethnographer Bronisław Pilsudski”. The exhibition is held at the NML House of Histories (T. Kosciuškos g. 3, Vilnius). The exhibition is organized by the National Museum of Lithuania and the Józef Pilsudski Museum in Sulejówek. Financial sponsors: Biratori City Municipality in Japan, Japan Foundation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Polish Institute in Vilnius, Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Vilnius. More information – lnm.lt.