Ainu People

indigenous · Japan · history · culture

Ancient homeland. The Ainu have lived in northern Japan, especially Hokkaido, and areas around the Sea of Okhotsk for many centuries before modern Japanese and Russian peoples arrived in those lands.

Wide territory. Their ancestral lands stretched across Hokkaido, parts of Honshu, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula, which they called 'Ainu Mosir' meaning 'land of the Ainu.'

One of Japan's peoples. Along with the Yamato and Ryukyuan groups, the Ainu are one of Japan's primary historic ethnic groups and one of the few indigenous peoples native to the Japanese islands.

Historical names. Early Japanese texts called the Ainu lands 'Ezochi' and the Ainu people 'Emishi,' showing these regions have been recognized for a very long time.

Sea and nature connection. The Ainu lived in close connection with the natural environment around the Sea of Okhotsk, adapting to life in northern forests and coastal areas.