1. From “Moustache Lifter”
to Kamui Pasui
Investigating Documentation of
the Ainu Collections at the
Hearst Museum
Christopher Lowman, UC Berkeley

2. Research Questions
• What are the proveniences of the Ainu collections at the Hearst
Museum?
– (Who were the major donors? Who were the collectors? Were materials
archaeological or ethnographic in origin, and how is this reflected in the
associated museum documents?)
• How did recording practices change over the course of the museum’s
history?
– (By studying the museum records, is it possible to determine changes in the
understanding of Ainu cultural practices? What changes reflect the development
of museum records as a whole?)

3. The Ainu
• Indigenous people native to Hokkaido,
Japan. Previously lived on Sakhalin
(Russia) and on the Kuril Islands north of
Japan.
• “Ainu” means human in their own
language, separate from Japanese.
• Ethnic issues surrounding identification
and prejudice. Recent political recognition.

4. Extent of the Ainu Population in the Past:
Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands
http://www.tofugu.com/2011/12/20/japans-resilient-native-people-the-ainu/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Ainu_in_Hokkaido.svg

5. Ainu Museums, Collections, and Exhibitions
• Japan:
– The Ainu Museum in Shiraoi
– Nibutani Ainu Cultural Museum (Hiratori)
– Tokyo National Museum
• United States:
– The Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center
– National Archives of Anthropology,
Washington DC
– American Museum of Natural History, NYC
– The University Museum of Archaeology
and Anthropology, UPenn
– Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
– Los Angeles County Museum of Natural
History, California.
– Elsewhere catalogued by Yoshinobu Kotani.
Shiraoi Ainu Museum (Porotokotan)
Nibutani Ainu Cultural Museum (Hiratori)

6. Ainu Collections at the Hearst
• Approximately 150 objects, 18 accessions, 5 minor accessions
• All 20th century, but ranging between 1906 and 1970s
• Clothing and textiles, baskets, stone implements, carved
wood, ceremonial objects.
Belt, Sakhalin, 1930sRush mat, tannic iron dye Bark bagPouch, 1931

7. Example of the Spreadsheet:
Organized by Accession Number

8. Example of the Spreadsheet:
Organized by Accession Date

9. Example of the Spreadsheet:
Organized by Collection Date

10. Example Accession Folder # 1226
Accession Folder
Doorbook
Record
Thank You
to Donor
Postcards

11. Example Accession Folder # 4574
Accession Folder
Doorbook
Record
Thank You
to Donor
Additional Comments Museum Acceptance Letters from Donor

12. Minor Accession 100 KZ: Pottery reconstruction from Kashiwai Shellmounds, Chiba, Japan.
“Aino” Pottery. Collected and illustrated by Mamoru Kurahashi.

13. From “Moustache Lifter” to Prayer Stick to Kamui Pasui
• Minor Accession 500 E-I: Collected by K.R. Stewart in
Nitai (Forest) Village on Sakhalin and donated by Mr.
and Mrs. Omer C. Stewart. Likely gathered in the
1930s.
• Accession 838: Blair Memorial Collection. Collected in
Alaska in 1934, accessioned in 1945. From a collection
that includes Western and Southwest Native American
tribes.
• Accession 4574: The most recent material both
collected and accessioned. It was collected in 1970 and
accessioned in January 1993, by Haruo Aoki.

14. Next Steps
• Record the objects and photographs
that have missing information.
• Follow-up research using the names
of the collectors and donors.
• Make contact with Yoshinobu
Kotani to find out more about his
documentation of Berkeley’s
collections.
• Synthesize research so far in the
context of class readings.
25-302 lacks an Accession #, but does have information
about the collector (Dr. Ronald L. Olson (1895-1979)

15. Thank you—
Ira Jacknis
Junko Habu
William Fitzhugh
Laura Fleming
The Arctic Studies Center at the
Smithsonian