In the Land of the Rising Sun where the far east meets the far north, a tribe of indigenous people overlooked by history are fighting to reclaim the bodies of their ancestors.
The Hokkaido region of Japan attracts thousands of Australian tourists every year to its ski resorts, particularly the Niseko area.
But just off-piste is a vast wilderness with a dark history and a people fighting to preserve their heritage.
The Shibechari Tribe, based in the Hidaka area on the south-east of the island, claims to be descended from Ainu villages which were situated on the Shizunai River, a traditional fishing ground.
A lawsuit was launched on behalf of the Shibechari Tribe against the Japanese government in May, calling for the repatriation of ancestral remains.
The action seeks to recover the remains of 279 ancestors taken from their original resting places and taken to private institutions such as the Upopoy Natonal Ainu museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.
If successful, the tribe will bury its ancestors near traditional land on the banks of the Shizunai River.
But this story of colonial injustice is far larger than the struggle of just one tribe.
A brutal colonisation
Unlike the three other Japanese islands of Honshu (home to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto), Kyushu or Shikoku, Hokkaido only came under Japanese jurisdiction from 1869.
Prior to that, samurai who dwelled on the southern coast called the island Ezo. But to its indigenous people, it was called Ainu Mosir.
The Land of the Ainu.
For thousands of years it was the home of an indigenous people who lived in small villages called kotans. Its inhabitants caught salmon from rivers and hunted deer as well as the fearsome brown bears of Hokkaido.
During the age of the samurai, when a military dictator known as the Shogun ruled Japan between 1603 and 1867, the Matsumae clan controlled a small, southern part of the island and held exclusive trading privileges with the Ainu.
Historian Michael Roellinghoff wrote in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History that the samurai were deeply exploitative of the Ainu in these years, despite the Shogunate officially recognising Ainu territorial sovereignty.
The samurai pressed Ainu into slavery at Matsumae fisheries and forced Ainu women into "a system of sexual slavery as the unwilling 'local wives' of Japanese soldiers, merchants and fishery workers", Dr Roellinghoff wrote, citing a Shogunate government official.
When the Japanese colonised Hokkaido during its push for modernisation, Dr Roellinghoff posits the Ainu lands were claimed by the government on the basis they were empty — terra nullius.
The Hokkaido Ainu Association, an organisation of Ainu supporting the broader community, said Japanese colonisation had "a catastrophic effect on Ainu communities".
The Ainu were officially recognised as an indigenous group of Japan in 2019, but still face discrimination and lack of recognition.
Struggle for recognition and rights
Awi Mona, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the National Dong Hwa University of Taiwan, is supporting the Shibechari Tribe's case by contributing his research and legal knowledge in an advisory capacity.
Dr Mona, a member of the Seediq Taiwanese indigenous group, said the issue of repatriating ancestral remains "must be understood within the broad history of colonialism and state violence".
"I would say the issue of indigenous ancestral remains is fundamentally a human rights issue and rooted in colonial injustice," he said.
Associate Professor at the Hokkaido University Department of Ainu and Indigenous Studies, Ken-Ichi Ochiai, said the Ainu suffered greatly from public discrimination in the years after World War II.
Due to the limited amount of evidence and data available from that time, scholars like Mr Ochiai rely on personal accounts.
"I've been hearing stories from the Ainu, especially women in their 70s and 80s, about various experiences of discrimination," Mr Ochiai said.
Mr Ochiai likened the current situation of the Ainu to that of Indigenous Australians, and said the Ainu were spread out in many different groups across Hokkaido.
The largest group, the Hokkaido Ainu Association, represents about 10 per cent of the estimated Ainu, according to Mr Ochiai.
An exact population number of Ainu is difficult to establish; a 2017 survey revealed a 40 per cent decrease from about 24,000 to 13,000, although this is understood to be because Ainu are unlikely to be open about their ethnic identity.
"There are many people who keep [their Ainu heritage] secret because they don't want to be discriminated," Mr Ochiai said.
'Return them to the soil'
Shiberchari chairman Tsutomu Takatsuki said the Ainu believed they were born from the earth, and must return to the earth.
He hopes the tribe can retain the remains of its ancestors from Upopoy and return them to their traditional land.
On September 4, Mr Takatsuki and other representatives will travel from Shinhidaka to the Sapporo District Court, where the first legal arguments will be heard.
A spokesperson from the Shibechari Tribe's legal team said they expected the lawsuit to conclude quickly, an assessment shared by Mr Ochiai.
Mr Ochiai said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which manages the Upopoy facility where the remains are stored, had an established process for groups to apply for the repatriation of remains.
Dr Mona is less optimistic for a successful outcome, but hopes it is a "good opportunity for Japanese society".
A golden future
Mr Ochiai said it was largely the older generation of male Ainu in their 60s and above leading the legal challenges.
However, that could change as attitudes shift throughout Japan as knowledge of the Ainu and their culture improves.
"The popularity of Ainu culture is also very high," he said.
"Now the children say 'Oh, you're Ainu aren't you? Ainu's culture is cool.'"
Partially driving this rising popularity is the successful anime and manga, Golden Kamuy, set in early 20th century Hokkaido.
The story revolves around the friendship between a veteran of the Russo-Japanese war and a young Ainu woman.
Golden Kamuy had an award-winning run from 2014 — 2022, having over 29 million copies in circulation by July 2024 and being adapted into a successful live-action film.
Cultural promotion laws introduced in 2019 have granted funding for arts, culture and traditional architecture to flow into Hokkaido, creating new business and tourism opportunities.
Ainu are now also being invited to local schools to teach cultural classes on their way of life.
Dr Mona believes there's still more to be done, with the first step being "uncovering historical truths".
"The second should be to acknowledge the state's institutional responsibility and accountability," he said.
"And the third dimension should be to restore historical justice.
"Then maybe the Ainu people might be proud to show … they are proud of their identity."
