open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/Jais.5.083

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/94277

A Feminist Perspective on Ainu Lyric Songs

日本語

Indigenous Studies

2025-03-30

北海道大学アイヌ・先住民研究センター

Aynu Teetawanoankur Kanpinuye

5

83-133

The purpose of this paper is to propose that among the Ainu oral literatures, and songs are influenced by social structures and narrative sites, and that the lyrical content of songs can change even if they are fixedly handed down. First, I will confirm that Ainu songs in the form of solo songs can be further divided into two types: improvised songs and traditional songs. Improvised songs are those that are sung in an improvisational manner by partially quoting the melody, common phrases, or content motifs of other singers. In many cases, as in the case of Yoshida Huku in the Sakhalin region, the singer makes up her own songs. Traditional songs are also one in which these elements are passed down from one singer to another in a fixed manner and takes the form of a whole quotation. In this paper, I will focus on the lore songs among the solo songs and see how the lyrical content changes in the process of transmission. Furthermore, as a structure of oppression surrounding Ainu women, there is oppression based on the ethnic difference between the Japanese and Ainu, and oppression based on the gender of men and women. I will explore the possibility that such oppression affects the content of oral literature. In addition, the lyrics of the same story may be changed by the singer to accommodate a more powerful figure in the oral storytelling. This can also be considered a form of oppression. I will examine how this kind of oppression surrounding Ainu women affects the content of songs.

紀要論文

Version of Record

2436-1763