The interpreters of Ainu language in the lands of Ezo in the 17th – 18th centuries (based on Japanese archive materials)

Abstract

This article, based on Japanese sources, discusses the question of how the Ainu language interpreters’ guild was formed, what functions translators performed, and how their status changed in the period from the 17th to the 18th centuries. During this time, Japan pursued the policy of self-isolation, and all contacts with the outside world were closely controlled by the government. However, in the places where contact with foreign culture did occur, interpreters were needed. So, there were interpreters of Chinese, Korean, and Dutch languages. In the island of Hokkaido, where trade with the local Ainu took place, the interpreters of Ainu language were needed. In this article, the history of Ainu language interpreters and their first appearance is researched based on Japanese archive materials. The research also focuses on the functions the interpreters performed and their status in Japanese society at the time. There was a separate category of interpreters of the Ainu language in Matsumae, who were involved exclusively in important official events of the Matsumae clan. Their functions and positions in society, as well as the first mentions of Ainu language experts who succeeded in their profession, are also examined in detail. Particular attention is paid to the status and functions of the interpreters of the Ainu language in Ezo at the beginning of the 18th century, when a new basho trading system was introduced in Japan. The subject of the Ezo interpreters’ level of command of the Ainu language is also in the focus of the research. The study mentions the attempts to compile the first dictionaries of the Ainu language and the difficulties that came with it. The author concludes that the functions of interpreters of the Ainu language have undergone tremendous changes. In the 17th century, the services of interpreters were used only for the occasions of trade, as well as ceremonies of welcoming or escorting a ship. By the end of the 18th century, they stood at the forefront of the Japanese control of the Ainu. Their rights and obligations were so extensive that, in fact, they, as representatives of local authorities, completely controlled the Ainu people.

Keywords

• the interpreters of ainu language
• ainu
• history of japan
• ezo
• hokkaido
• ainu language dictionaries