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 The Ainu are generally considered to be the indigenous population of Japan. But, like all cultures on earth, the history of the Ainu is much more complex than any one label. The 20,000 to 60,000 people who presently identify themselves as Ainu are concentrated on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, but the Ainu culture once stretched up to the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands (now part of Russia). When the Japanese state was officially opened to outside influence in 1867, visiting Western scholars became fascinated by the Ainu they met in Hokkaido. They were struck by their "primitive" way of life, their "bizarre" rituals that involved the sacrifice of bear-cubs, the practice of facial tattooing, and their large amounts of body hair. Their facial features, when contrasted with the Japanese on the main island of Honshu, made them look positively Caucasian to these early scholars and explorers. Theories abounded about their origin. One of Israel's Lost Tribes? An ancient migration from Europe? Early anthropologists were fascinated by Japan's northern minority and were concerned with the impending disappearance of their culture. They felt that rapid action had to be taken in order to study this enigmatic culture while it was still relatively uninfluenced by outside pressures. The inclusion of an Ainu "living group" at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (LPE) in St. Louis was one of these actions.
Designed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, the Exposition featured many "out-of-doors exhibits" or "living groups" in order to illustrate how "primitive" societies went about their daily lives. Small groups from societies around the world were transported to St. Louis and urged to build houses in their traditional way, eat their traditional foods, and practice their traditional arts and crafts - in front of a paying publi c. Frederick Starr, a professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, was sent to Japan to bring back a group of Ainu to participate in one of these exhibits. He returned in the company of four Ainu men, three women, two small children, two dismantled houses, and hundreds of Ainu items.
The Ainu exhibit at the LPE was a huge success, garnering the Grand Prize. As it was closing, Stephen Simms, a curator of anthropology from The Field Museum (then The Field Colombian Museum), was sent to purchase as many Ainu artifacts as he saw necessary. The 158 objects he purchased from the Ainu men - for a grand total of $95.30 - comprise most of The Field Museum's Ainu collection. The Field Museum has obtained other private collections over the years that included Ainu materials. Of particular note are the collections of Robert H. Baker, donated in 1912, Madam Alexandra L. K. Pogosky, purchased in 1895, and Robert Darcy, donated in 1987. Like Gilbert Boone, Darcy started his collection as a US military officer stationed in post-war Japan.
Anthropological methods have changed drastically in the hundred years since the LPE. Anthropologists spend time in the communities they are studying, become involved in the community, and practice a method called "participant observation". By participating in the community's daily activities, and observing the interactions during these activities, anthropologists have come to realize that there is no such thing as a primitive culture. The idea that cultures absent of Western technology are "primitive" has become outdated. The solutions may be different, but the questions and concerns that humans have are the same all over the world (for more information, see this separate online exhibit).
The academic use of the collections mentioned above, coupled with increased archaeological and anthropological research in Japan after World War II, has led to a greater understanding of the Ainu people and their history. Studies have debunked many of the early theories and have suggested answers to many of the questions pose d by prior anthropologists. Please click on the above map, "Ainu Origins", to learn more about the history of northern Japan and the forces that help shape the Ainu culture. For cultural information relating to artifacts seen on the website, please click on the "commentary" under each item shown.
As valuable as the Ainu collection at The Field Museum is, it has very rarely been on display or loaned to other institutions. Here, in the Boone Collection online exhibit, the history, crafts, and art of this culture can be brought freely to the general public; fostering a greater understanding of Japan and keeping in line with Katharine and Gilbert Boone's final wish.
  
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