Ko te hui ahurei ā tau a ngā uri taketake o Hapāna, arā ngā Ainu i whakahaeretia ki Yokohama i te mutunga wiki ka hori. He hui whakanui i tō rātau ahurea, tuku mihi ki ō rātau kaitautoko. He wā hoki hei kohi pūtea kia hanga momo marae rātou hei whakakaha ake i tō rātou hapori.
Ko te piko o te māhuri, tērā te tipu o te rākau.
Nō te kāinga Ainu o Tokapei Unkur a Tsubasa Okitsu. Hei tāna ki Te Ao, “Today’s event in a festival for Ainu living in Tokyo. It’s also an event to show our gratitude to our supporters.”
Ā, ko ngā hononga a te Māori e whakaawe nei i te iwi Ainu ki te whakatū i tētahi momo pā.
“Our leader Akemi Shimada has previously visited New Zealand, she connected with Māori and their marae. Akemi was very impressed with the sense of community that a marae has. So she started this movement herself. However this is only Akemi’s vision, it doesn’t necessarily mean Ainu living in the wider Tokyo region support this idea.”
Engari, mā te aha i te moemoeā. Ko te pū o te whakaaro, kua more.
“It’s not at a stage where we know what the structure will be or how much it will cost. These details are still being discussed. For a long-time Tokyo Ainu have been trying to set up this place, we’ve tried with the Government for decades but to no avail. Akemi saw that Māori had done it independently, so the goal now is the get an Ainu space by Ainu for Ainu, without government assistance.”
Ko ngā uauatanga kei te āki noa i te hiringa o te ngākau.
“We already have a name, it will be called Chasi Yaka. It means our fortress, an important place to pray and protect. So this is the name that we have given it already. This is also the name of our organisation.”
Mā tēnei pā, e tūmanakohia ana ka tutuki katoa ā rātou whāinga.
“Akemi and I have similar aspirations for the future of Ainu. We want our people to be proud, financially independent and innovative for all issues pertaining to Ainu. Even though not all Ainu share our vision, Akemi and I are connected regardless of our generations. I hope our future generations will be the same.”
He pā nā te Ainu, mā te Ainu, he wawata e whāia ana kia whakatinanahia.
