Shinhidaka Ainu Museum, Ainu museum in Shinhidaka, Japan
The Shinhidaka Ainu Museum is a museum of Ainu materials in Shinhidaka, Hokkaido. Its displays include an area dedicated to Shakushain's 1669 revolt over fishing rights on the Shizunai River, swords and iron vessels excavated from local chashi, and the skull of an Ezo wolf designated a Municipal Cultural Property.
The institution was founded in 1983 under the name Shizunai Ainu Museum and changed its name after a 2006 administrative merger. This change marked a new chapter in how the local community identified its cultural institutions.
The exhibits feature labels in the Ainu language alongside artifacts such as swords and iron vessels from the region. Visitors can see how these objects reveal the values and daily practices of the indigenous people.
The museum is open from May to November. By car it is about ten minutes from Shizunai Station, or ten minutes by car from Shizunai Bus Terminal, served by the Dōnan Bus高速Pegasus service; from Sapporo take National Route 36 or the Dōō Expressway to National Route 235.
The museum houses a skull of the now-extinct Ezo wolf, designated as a Municipal Cultural Property. It also presents accounts of Shakushain's 1669 revolt, which arose from disputes over fishing rights in the Shizunai River.
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