Ethnological Study of Ainu Materials at Museums of St.Peterburg

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1. BackgroundIn the last decade two general surveys were made of Ainu material culture at overseas museums in Europe and United States. Our survey in Russia consists the third, and the last major part in Ainu study in grobal level.2. AimThe aim of our survey lies in what kinds of Ainu material are contained in Russian. As the first museum we took the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in St.Peterburg (in short MAE).3. InvestigationThe work was conveyed as Japanese-Russian joint survey. It consisted in photo, measurement and drawing of every material, collating them withthe registry.4. Resultsa) MAE has 26 collections of Ainu ethnological materials from 1826 to 1947. Total number of items is estimated roughly 1400 from Kurils, Sakhalin and Hokkaido. The biggest collections are of B.Pilsudskii (No.700), of B.Pilsudskii and Seroshevskii (No.839).b) A treasury of Ainu material in Russia that has been unknown untill our survey made its appearance to those who are interested in Ainu culture.c) The abandance of Sakhalin-Ainu material provides a possibility for the study of this local group in general.d) MAE materials with the other overseas in Europe and United States may contribute to develop the Ainu culture study, as they can fill the existing weakness and vacuum of this field.5. Presentation of the resulta) Two public symposiums were held in April, 1996 and in March, 1997.b) Publishing "Ainu Collections of Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography" is scheduled in October 1997.