Chapter 7
Dividing Space, Creating Barriers
In the early 20th century, visitors to the Ainu village of Shiraoi in Hokkaido were greeted by Ainu tour guides at the Shiraoi train station, who would then bring visitors by foot to the nearby village. "In 1917 a series of illustrated vignettes describing a visit to the Shiraoi Ainu village was published in the Yomiuri newspaper. According to the reports, when visitors alighted at the train station, a sign reading “Former Aborigine Information Center” directed them to the tour guide who would take them to the village." (Lost Histories, p. 313).