educational path
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Nature and Journey,
the story of polish people abroad
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Bronisław Piłsudski
(1866-1918)

Bronisław Piłsudski, the brother of Józef Piłsudski*, was sentenced in 1887 to exile in the Russian Far East for his involvement in preparations for an assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander III. He was sent to Sakhalin Island, located north of Japan, where his ethnographic story began. At that time, the southern part of the island was inhabited by the Ainu people – some of the first settlers of the region.

The indigenous Ainu people lived in villages called kotan and led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Ainu had a rich culture – they believed that everything in nature had a soul, and therefore they honored it and used its gifts with respect. Plants served not only as a source of food but also material for building houses and making clothing. Their traditional attire called attusi or attush was made from elm bark fibers. Folk medicine was also highly developed. One of the species used by the Ainu for treating ailments such as colds was the Japanese magnolia (Magnolia kobus DC.), called ‘Omawkusni’ by the Ainu.

Over the centuries, the Ainu were subjected to pressure from the Japanese, who sought to assimilate them and suppress their culture in order to make Japan a monoethnic country. Bronisław Piłsudski became interested in the island’s indigenous inhabitants and devoted himself to studying and preserving their culture. From Sakhalin, he traveled to the neighboring island of Hokkaido, where he managed to record audio of the Ainu language and folk songs. He also compiled dictionaries translating over 10,000 words from their language. He wrote down numerous tales and legends, descriptions of customs, and took around 300 photographs of the island’s residents. Thanks to his contributions, the culture of the Ainu was recorded and continues to exist to this day. This group is now recognized as an ethnic minority in Japan. In 2013, a monument to Bronisław Piłsudski was unveiled at the Ainu museum on the island of Hokkaido.

*Józef Piłsudski (1867–1935) was a Polish leader and military hero who helped Poland regain independence in 1918 and played a key role in shaping the country’s government and army.