"People of the North: Ainu Collections at UCLA" is the product of several UCLA undergraduate students enrolled in Peoples of the North: Emishi, Ainu, and the Limits of "Japan," an upper-division course offered in Spring 2026. The course explored notions of identity, marginalization, community, and belonging in premodern and early modern Japan with a focus on Emishi and Ainu, people who inhabited the northern regions of what is today known as Japan. This website applies our knowledge and skills to an exploration of UCLA’s collections connected to Ainu history, aiming to bring greater visibility, accessibility, and discoverability to otherwise disparate holdings that highlight the complexity of Indigenous pasts (and presents) in Japan, particularly how they reach contemporary audiences. Together and in collaboration with our information and museum specialists at UCLA, we researched early modern manuscripts and modern objects that came to the university through various means. We organize them here to share with and beyond the UCLA community.
Our site is divided into five sections. Our About page provides the how, what, and where of the Ainu items in the UCLA collections as well as additional resources for further research beyond UCLA. The Ainu History section is a general overview of the Ainu from their origins to the present day, with perspectives on how Ainu-related objects have been commercialized. Mapping the North explores UCLA's collection of Japanese maps, dating from the early modern period to the early nineteenth century, with a focus on cartographic approaches to representing the north. Ainu as Objects features materials about Ainu created by non-Ainu individuals, reflecting on the objectification and exoticization seen in historical manuscripts and images. Finally, the Ainu through Objects section explores how artifacts of Ainu origin and material culture can provide direct insight into these Indigenous histories.
Featured Collection Items
