Upopoy is a symbolic space for ethnic coexistence in Shiraoi Town. It is a place that spreads the unique culture of the Ainu people. Fluent Ainu can be heard from one corner of the space. The voice is Ainu language storyteller Sachiko Kowata, 93 years old. Kowata grew up in Biratori Town, Hidaka, in the Saru River basin, where Ainu culture is still strongly present. Kowata's first language is Japanese. When offering prayers to ancestors during ceremonies, Ainu comes out naturally. In the past, the Meiji government forced the Ainu people to go through assimilation policies. Hokkaido also has a history of unilaterally declaring the land its own country and taking away the land and language of the people who lived there. The Ainu language has fallen out of use, and in 2017, a Hokkaido survey of Ainu people showed that only 0.7% of them could converse in Ainu. On this day, a university student studying Ainu culture visited Kowata, wanting to hear Ainu language directly. ■ Kowata Sachiko: "Ani anakune kankibetsu sekor aye usiketa mosiri choropokuta kan ruwe ne nehine kukoro ruwe ne" (I live under the mountain in a place called kankibetsu) ■ A second-year student at Keio University studying the Ainu language: "Each word had more weight and touched my heart than when I heard the audio at the study group. I was moved." ■ A fourth-year student at Keio University: "The words came out smoothly, and although they were not natural, rather than coming out from memory, I felt like they were coming out as if they were being sung as music from the body." Kowata grew up hearing the Ainu language in her daily life as a child. However, she did not have the opportunity to be taught the language by her family. ■Kiwata: "My father's mother was a tusu (spirit medium in Ainu society). In the past, if I said I had a stomachache, she would immediately pray for me. Other people would always come to my grandmother's house." "(My grandmother) did things like that herself, but she never taught her son the Ainu language." Q: Did you stop teaching your children the Ainu language during that time? "Yes. It was a lot of hardship." How did Kiwata learn to speak Ainu? There is a place where it all began. An Ainu language class in the Nibutani district of Biratori Town. Volunteers gather twice a week, divided into an adult group and a children's group, to learn the Ainu language. In the 1980s, Shigeru Kayano, the first Ainu member of parliament and a native of Biratori Town, opened the Ainu language class. It was out of a sense of crisis that the custom of teaching each other the Ainu language at home had disappeared. The class is now run by Shigeru's son, Shiro. ■Kayano Shiro: "We don't teach our children Ainu language because we think that if they speak Japanese, and can read, write and do abacus, they will be able to adapt to Japanese society." "(Mr. Shigeru) said that he would be a breakwater to preserve the Ainu language." Kowata started learning Ainu language at this class when he was 59 years old. As he attended the class, he remembered the words and intonations of the conversations he had heard as a child one after another. He improved to the point of being a lecturer. ■The late Kimura Ito (then 78 years old): "You can dance Yaisama (dance) so well without drinking alcohol. I found it funny and laughed while watching." ■Kawata Sachiko (then 75 years old): "I love dancing, so I dance a lot, but after dancing my feet hurt and it's really hard." ■Students: "Well, that's all for today, thank you teacher." ■Kawata: "Thank you for all your help. I'm glad that you all did well." October 27th. Our farewell to Kowata came suddenly. He was 93 years old. He devoted himself to passing on Ainu culture until just before his death. ■Koichi Kaizawa, a long-time acquaintance of Kowata, said, "The Ainu language in everyday life is now only recorded. I don't think there are any people who have actually heard it and experienced it in their daily lives. Kowata is gone." ■Ainu language class participant: "I feel so very lonely. It still doesn't feel real." "I want to emulate his attitude of wanting to learn even at that age and to challenge new things." With the number of storytellers decreasing, how can we pass on the Ainu language to future generations? In the Nibutani district of Biratori Town, local tradition activities are being carried out. Various Ainu words are posted in the elementary school building so that children can see the language on a daily basis. Nibutani Elementary School holds Ainu language classes once a month. This year, they started a new initiative. They translated the Japanese school song into Ainu and decided to sing it in both languages. ■School song in Ainu language "Iyenuchupuchure (dazzling light), Shishirimuka (of the Saru River)" ■Principal of Nibutani Elementary School, Masashi Toyama "I think that by learning the Ainu language, understanding the charm and pride of Nibutani will lead to increased self-esteem in the children who live here. I felt that the charm and pride of this region, which has increased their self-esteem, will surely be a force that children can share with the world." ■Sixth grade "I think it would be cool if we could sing the school song in Ainu." ■Sixth grade "I hope that more people will learn Ainu so that Japanese and Ainu become equally spoken." Towards a society that recognizes and respects diverse cultures. The effort to protect the ethnic pride "language" is being taken over. ▼HTB Hokkaido News Official Website https://www.htb.co.jp/news/ ▼For information and video submissions, please visit "Recommended!! Video Post" https://www.htb.co.jp/news/info.html ▼HTB Hokkaido News SNS Twitter / htb_news Facebook / htbnews TikTok / htb_hokkaidonews #HTBHokkaidoNews #Hokkaido #News