Ainu people First salmon fishing in a restored dugout canoe Urahoro-cho, Hokkaido September 20, 19:30
In Urahoro Town, Hokkaido, local Ainu people fished salmon for the first time using a restored traditional dugout canoe.
For the Ainu people, salmon is a special existence called "Kamuichep", the fish of the gods, and in Hokkaido, the season when autumn salmon run up is approaching.
In July, the Ainu group "Lapolo Ainu Nation" in Urahoro Town restored a dugout canoe made from a single traditional Ainu tree, and on the 20th, the first local river to fish for salmon. I did.
After pulling up the net and picking up the salmon, the Ainu people performed a ritual called "Kamui Chepnomi" in front of the altar, and hung the salmon on the irori to thank them for the blessings of nature.
The salmon fishing on the 20th was carried out with the permission of the road, but the Ainu group that fished last month filed an appeal to the Sapporo District Court to allow salmon fishing in the local river as an indigenous right. I'm waking up.
Hiroki Nagane, Chairman of the Lapolo Ainu Nation, said, "It was a long-awaited ritual, so I am very happy that it ended safely. I think that the rights of indigenous people are important for the Ainu."