The delegation to China was monumental because it was the first time a foreign country invited an Ainu delegation to visit another country and to represent themselves as a minority. According to Kaizawa Tadashi, the delegation leader:
“This visit represented a moment of historical significance for Ainu people: the first time an all-Ainu delegation was officially invited by a nation the scale of China, and for us, it would be a new and challenging experience to conduct exchanges in a country with such a different system from Japan.” (Kaizawa Tadashi, ‘Hajimeni’, Hokkaidō chūgoku hōmon danki, Kaizawa (ed.), Hokkaidō Ainu Chūgoku hōmon danki (Sapporo, Hokkaidō Ainu Chūgoku hōmon dan,1975), p. 3)
Image source: ann-elise lewallen