News Ainu remains repatriated by Australia

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The remains of four Ainu indigenous people that have been kept at two museums in Australia, where they had been taken for research purposes before 1940, have been returned to Japan. Records show the remains of one of the people were excavated in the southern part of Sakhalin island, north of Hokkaido , during the first half of the 20th century when Japan controlled the area. It's the first case where the remains of an Ainu person who lived on Sakhalin were returned to Japan from overseas. The remains of three of the Ainu people will be housed in a memorial facility at the National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido. This is because no Ainu groups have filed requests for their returns, and the remains' original location is unclear.

Members of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido and the Enciw Bereaved Association, a group of descendants of Ainu people who lived on Sakhalin, visited Australia. They received the four remains from the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and the Museums Victoria in Melbourne, which had kept them. After the Australian side offered to return the remains to Japan, the government had been doing the necessary procedures. There are records suggesting Yoshikiyo Koganei (1859–1944), a professor of anatomy at Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo), and another professor had donated the remains to Australian researchers prior to 1940, according to the Comprehensive Ainu Policy Office at the Cabinet Secretariat. It is believed that the remains of one person that Museums Victoria had kept were excavated near the mouth of the Poronay river in the southern part of Sakhalin in 1936.

Australia returns to Japan remains of 4 Ainu people | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

The National Museum of Australia and Museums Victoria have arranged to return the remains of Japanese Indigenous Ainu people to members of the Government of Japan, Ainu Association of Hokkaido, Enciw Bereaved Association and Tokyo University. National Museum of Australia director, Dr Mathew Trinca, said 'We are humbled and honoured to be able to return these remains to Japan. Our commitment to the return of individuals to communities is at the heart of our continuing efforts to reform our relationships to First Nations People everywhere.' Museums Victoria CEO and Director, Lynley Crosswell, said 'Museums Victoria is committed to the repatriation of First Peoples Ancestral Remains and Cultural Material, and we are honoured to be supporting the return of these Ancestors to resting places in Japan.'

National Museum of Australia and Museums Victoria repatriate Japanese Ainu remains | National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia and Museums Victoria have arranged to return the remains of Japanese Indigenous Ainu people to members of the Government of Japan, Ainu Association of Hokkaido, Enciw Bereaved Association and Tokyo University.

www.nma.gov.au