| Oriphiel |
04-04-2015 08:12 AM |
Anyway...
Japan is also home to many different cultures and groups, although many of the indigenous groups of Japan were either destroyed or absorbed into what is now the majority ethnicity (The Yamato/Wajin). Two of the remaining groups are the Ainu people (who are actually a combination of a variety of different ethnicities that came together over the years, and are predominantly centered in regions close to Hokkaido)...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi.../AinuGroup.JPG
And the Okinawan/Ryukyuan people (who are also a group that is comprised of a variety of cultures that have come together over the years, and is centered around Okinawa and the Ryukyuan islands). Though many of the Ryukyuan people are similar to the Yamato majority in terms of heredity, they have come to have many cultural differences.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...yuan_Dress.JPG
There are still many prejudices against these groups, who have historically been treated poorly. A few years back, the Ainu people were finally recognized by the government of Japan as being seperate from the majority ethnicity, which was contested by various conservative political figures ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/wo...anted=all&_r=0). While the government seemed to be making ground on recognizing the Ainu, and expressing apologies for conquering them and taking their land, there have still been setbacks. As recently as last year, politicians have been trying to reverse the recognition, or otherwise expressing their discontent that the Ainu are starting to gain independence ( A shameful statement on Ainu | The Japan Times). In addition, Okinawa and the Ryukyu islands have long been seen as a prefecture that the government of Japan has habitually ignored, and suffers from poverty and high rates of unemployment ( Japan). |
