MESSAGE FROM KOJI YUKI ─ AINU NATION OF JAPAN

The Ainu are the Indigenous People of Japan. In 2004, over 6000 Japanese participated in World Peace and Prayer Day at Mt Fugi.  One of our staff Misa sent us this message from the Ainu, we feel the world needs to know their thoughts of what is happening and realize we will also be affected.  This is why we Unite Spiritually!

 Dear friends,

I received a message from Koji Yuki, one of the young Ainu (Indigenous people of Japan, based in Hokkaido) leader, who is also a very good friend of mine.  He is the leader of a performance group, Ainu Art Project, he is a woodblock artist and an activist.  He is sending this message out from Hokkaido, in response to the earthquake and subsequent nuclear accident that happened in Japan. I would appreciate if you could share this message with people who may be interested.

Misa Honde

MESSAGE FROM KOJI YUKI ─ AINU NATION OF JAPAN

Dear brothers and sisters of this beautiful planet,

Today the land that we live on, Japan, is faced with a great calamity. As people who worship the gods of nature, we grieve that the huge forces of nature have snatched away many people¹s lives. We are praying every day to calm nature¹s anger. From the midst of those prayers,we have received a vision of a new era of great kindness that begins with helping one another and acquiring new awareness an era to rethink our self-interest.

We can envision a life of harmony with nature and gratitude for the bounty of life. But there is just one shroud on our vision: The spreading of fear sparked by the disaster at the nuclear reactors. That fear is spread across the natural brilliance of life casting its shadow on the air, the water, the plants.

We Ainu grieve when we see that the great chain of life, which humans should see and appreciate in all its magnificence, is becoming a source of fear. Many people are even afraid to go outside. They have started to fear the changed face of nature. Their hearts are breaking. Not only that, the same kind of nuclear power plants that caused such fear are operating all over Japan.

Knowing that, some brave people are joining the movement to close all the nuclear power plants in Japan. But the government and the people of Japan who have lived a life of greed for too long refuse to stop the nuclear monster that is blocking our vision to enter a new era where we must see life in a new way.

To remove this shroud of fear and rid of this nuclear monster we need the prayers of our brothers and sisters across the world. In the midst of a modern world steeped in the pursuit of greed, we the Ainu have consistently called for humans to live in harmony with the natural world. But few have listened.  Still, the Ainu persevered. We believe that the time is coming when our humanity will be tested, and at that time, people will begin to hear our voices.

Brothers and sisters around the world, raise your voices, send your message to Japan.

Koji Yuki
Ainu Art Project

Editor’s Note:  World Peace and Prayer Day is celebrated annually by indigenous peoples on the Summer Solstice.  This year ceremonies were held at St. Peter Church in Mendota and Fort Snelling for the three days preceding Summer Solstice. Today (the Summer Solstice) is a day of private prayer for peace.