Spent one week in Hokkaido traveling with Yoko Fujimoto and meeting her contacts with Ainu elders---singers, dancers, embroidery artists. They generously shared their personal stories of being cultural bearers for the Ainu community. We were welcomed to process with them in the Marimo Matsuri at Lake Akan. It is an Ainu ritual commemorating the natural wonder of marimo---large green balls of algae, velvety in appearance. Colonies of marimo balls are only known to form in certain lakes in Japan, Iceland, Scotland, Estonia, and Australia.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 13:14:47 +0000
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