tour 20 of 21
The art of glass
Necklace
Necklaces were important heirlooms in Ainu
society and were occasionally put out on display inside houses
along with other prized possessions. They were worn by women on
traditional formal occasions, but also to pose in front of the
cameras of early travellers to
Hokkaidō.
These necklaces
are most commonly made of blue, black or white glass beads. An
additional wooden medallion decorated with metal rosettes is
sometimes added to the string, as is the case in this example. The
glass beads were mostly obtained from China and mainland Japan and
imported to Hokkaidō through the extensive trade links established
by the Ainu with distant communities in Sakhalin, Manchuria, and
closer neighbouring
groups.
The Matsumae clan
ruled over Hokkaidō as part of their fiefdom, occupying mainly the
coastal areas. The role of the Matsumae retainers and the increased
trading power of communities in Sakhalin during the eighteenth and
nineteenth century narrowed the commercial exchanges of the Ainu.
The prestige for the Ainu of goods from further afield, and of
glass beads from China in particular, meant that the Matsumae would
claim the beads were of imported origin even when they had been
made in Hokkaidō itself.