Ainu Representation and Gender in Japanese Photography
Abstract
Join Christina Spiker for a look at an album of photographs depicting Ainu culture and society purchased by Charles Appleton Longfellow during his travels in Japan in the 1870s. Spiker focuses on photographic depictions of women to demonstrate how gender figures into representations of Indigenous culture that met the expectations of western travelers rather than the values of the Ainu community itself. In doing so, she demonstrates how the act of photography is always a negotiation between the photographer, the sitter, and the audience.
1870年代、チャールズ・アプルトン・ロングフェローが日本を旅行した際に購入したアイヌの文化と社会を捉えた写真集を、クリスティーナ・スパイカーと共にご覧ください。スパイカーは、アイヌ社会の価値観ではなく、西洋の旅行者の期待に応えた先住民族文化の表現に、いかにジェンダーが組み込まれているかを示すため、女性の写真に焦点を当てます。そうすることで、写真という行為が常に写真家、被写体、観客の間の交渉の場であることを実証します。
Citation
Spiker, Christina. “Ainu Representation and Gender in Japanese Photography.” In Behind the Camera 1.0: Gender, Power, and Politics in the History of Japanese Photography, edited by Carrie Cushman and Kelly McCormick. 2021. https://behindthecamerajapan.arts.ubc.ca/ainu-representation-and-gender-in-japanese-photography/
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