Portraying Ethnic Lore Through Animation *RERUN
A creator from Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan who specializes in rhythmical animation with illustrations and figures that move to music. He was commissioned by the Foundation for Ainu Culture to create an animation about the Ainu. The purpose of the foundation is to preserve the stories and myths passed down orally by the non-literate Ainu through music, language and animation. This episode explores the appeal of Ishiguro's portrayal of the Ainu culture, which has slowly been disappearing year by year.
Ishiguro Shoh
Ishiguro was born in 1985.
Major animated works
"Okikurmi's younger sister" (2015)
"Removing Lice from a Sea Lion" (2016)
"A Couple of Inaw Were Taken Away" (2018)
Ishiguro was born in 1985.
Major animated works
"Okikurmi's younger sister" (2015)
"Removing Lice from a Sea Lion" (2016)
"A Couple of Inaw Were Taken Away" (2018)
Okikurmi's younger sister
This is a story about Ainu living in a village supported by the bounty from the mountains and rivers, just like past generations. Ishiguro made sure to research Ainu stories for his work to depict the Ainu lifestyle as realistically as possible. He created an animation of the Ainu lifestyle without any cuts, as if the camera were moving slowly.
Removing Lice from a Sea Lion
A humorous Ainu story about a successful sea lion hunter and a fisherman who fails to catch anything because he is too lazy. Ishiguro created each part of the characters separately to comically express their movements.
A Couple of Inaw Were Taken Away
A work based on an Ainu myth about the battle between a rock demon who stole a ritual Ainu object, and an Ainu god named "Ainu Rakul." Ishiguro covered the bodies of both the god and the demon gods with different auras to depict the superhuman battle. He also added "effect lines," a manga technique, to increase the sense of presence.