The Ainu, before intermarrying and hiding their identity to avoid discrimination, were physically, linguistically and religiously completely different from the Japanese. Never great in number, estimates say that today roughly 50,000 people have two ethnically Ainu parents and several thousand more are of mixed lineage. The vast majority speak only Japanese, as Japan's rush to catch up with the Western democracies in the mid-18'th century brought in a wave of ethnocentric lawmaking. Only recently have Ainu begun to speak out about their heritage and gain rights and recognition.
Two side notes: 1) Many city names in Hokkaido derive from the Ainu language.
2) I had a really nice potato and salmon soup at the museum. I mention this because, well, I like salmon and that potato in my soup was probably the best potato I've had in Japan. The food in Hokkaido, in general, was some of the best I've had since coming here.


Turns out, most of the people who've appeared on this blog won't be on it at all next year. They're moving on with their lives, reconnecting with significant others and venturing beyond the confines of this little island we've come to call Fjet (Fukui JET).
Infectious laughter also taught me something about the US Presidential election. It seems the town where he's residing in the Fukui prefecture has a preferred candidate. Click here to read about whom the citizens of Obama, Japan would like to see elected.
One of the JETs there has made some videos and posted them on youtube. I haven't watched them yet, but, she seems much less objective than the article. "In Obama, for Obama" I believe is the catchphrase. Personally, I'm more of an "In Fukui City, for whomever won't cause the country to self-implode"
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