A 70-year-old bearded Ainu man in traditional dress and wearing a crown of wood fibers holds a ceremonial sword in a native home on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. His clothing has designs to ward off evil spirits. The man was one of only 300 pure-blooded Ainu (pronounced I-noo) still living when he posed for this historical photograph in 1962. Since that time the Ainu have assimilated into Japanese society and their age-old crafts, customs and ceremonies are only kept alive in special villages for tourists. The Ainu were officially recognized as indigenous people of Japan in 2008.
A 70-year-old bearded Ainu man in traditional dress and wearing a crown of wood fibers holds a ceremonial sword in a native home on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. His clothing has designs to ward off evil spirits. The man was one of only 300 pure-blooded Ainu (pronounced I-noo) still living when he posed for this historical photograph in 1962. Since that time the Ainu have assimilated into Japanese society and their age-old crafts, customs and ceremonies are only kept alive in special villages for tourists. Earlier denigrated as “hairy aborigines,” the Ainu were officially recognized as indigenous people of Japan in 2008.
Size: 2700px × 4089px
Location: the island of Hokkaido, northern Japan, East Asia
Photo credit: © Michele and Tom Grimm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1960s, 1962, aborigine, aborigines, ainu, aynu, beard, beards, close-, close-ups, clothing, costume, costumes, crown, crowns, culture, cultures, dress, elder, elderly, ethnic, ethnicity, flash, hairy, historical, history, hokkaido, indigenous, indoors, japan, japanese, lifestyle, lifestyles, living, man, men, native, natives, people, peoples, photograph, photography, portrait, portraits, societies, society, sword, swords, tourism, tradition, traditional, traditions, travel, vertical, verticals
