Color video of Japan in 1919.

This is a colorized version of black-and-white footage showing people’s lives in the Taisho era. These are extremely valuable images documenting the lifestyle, work, and climate of the Taisho era. The content includes many highlights such as life centered around water, business at the market, scenery of Matsushima and Hakodate, interaction with the Ainu, rural scenery, and a trip to Nikko.

The interaction with the Ainu people starting at 4:00 in the upper video is especially valuable. The Ainu people lived over a wide area, including Hokkaido, the northern Tohoku region, Sakhalin Island, and the Kuril Islands. They are a maritime people with their own language and culture, and they are also an indigenous people of Japan who have been involved with Honshu and Northeast Asia as traders.  It is believed that the term “Ainu” came to be widely used as an ethnic term in Japan after contact between the various ethnic groups became active. The word “Ainu” means “human” in Ainu language.

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