For the ethnic group of Western China, see Äynu people.
Ainu
アィヌ
The Ainu flag designed by the late Ainu artist Bikki Sunazawa
Ainu at a traditional wedding ceremony in Hokkaido
Total population
c. 25,000
Regions with significant populations
Japan
Hokkaido
16,786 or more[1]
Russia
Kamchatka Krai: 94–900[2]
Sakhalin: Unknown
Khabarovsk Krai: Unknown
109[2][3]–1,000
Languages
Ainu language family (Hokkaido in Japan; historically prominent, now critically endangered); Japanese (Hokkaido dialects) or Russian (modern-day)[4]
Religion
Irreligious
Animism
Ainu folk beliefs
Russian Orthodox Christianity
Buddhism
Shintōism
Japanese Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Jomon people
Satsumon
Okhotsk
Matagi
Emishi
Ryukyuan people
The Ainu are an ethnic group which consists of related indigenous peoples which are native to northern Japan, including Hokkaido and Northeast Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai; they have occupied these areas known to them as "Ainu Mosir" (Ainu: アイヌモシㇼ, lit. 'the land of the Ainu'), since before the arrival of the modern Japanese and Russians.[5][6][5][7] These regions are often referred to as Ezochi (蝦夷地) and its inhabitants as Emishi (蝦夷) in historical Japanese texts.
Official estimates place the total Ainu population in Japan at 25,000. Unofficial estimates place the total population at 200,000 or higher, as the near-total assimilation of the Ainu into Japanese society has resulted in many individuals of Ainu descent having no knowledge of their ancestry.[8]
The Ainu are one of the only major ethnic minorities in the Japanese islands, with a distinct and unique culture and way of life. They were subject to forced assimilation and colonization by the far larger Yamato population of Japan since at least the 18th century. Japanese assimilation policies in the 19th century around the Meiji Restoration included forcing Ainu peoples off their land; this, in turn, forced them to give up traditional ways of life such as subsistence hunting and fishing. Ainu people were not allowed to practice their religion, and they were pushed into Japanese-language schools where speaking the Ainu language was strictly forbidden. In 1966, there were about 300 native Ainu speakers; in 2008, there were about 100.[9][10] Since 2019, there have been increasing efforts to revitalize the Ainu language.[11]
^"アイヌ生活実態調査". 北海道. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^ ab"Results of the All-Russian Population Census of 2010 in relation to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individual nationalities". Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). March 2019. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
^"2010 Census: Population by ethnicity". Federal State Statistics (in Russian). Archived from the original on April 24, 2012.
^Gordon, Raymond G. Jr., ed. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6. OCLC 224749653.
^ abCobb, Ellie (May 20, 2020). "Japan's forgotten indigenous people". BBC. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023.
^Isabella, Jude (October 25, 2017). "The Untold Story of Japan's First People". SAPIENS. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023.
^Shibatani (1990), p. 3.
^Poisson (2002), p. 5.
^Honna, Nobuyuki; Tajima, Hiroko Tina; Minamoto, Kunihiko (2000). "Japan". In Kam, Ho Wah; Wong, Ruth Y. L. (eds.). Language Policies and Language Education: The Impact in East Asian Countries in the Next Decade. Singapore: Times Academic Press. ISBN 978-9-81210-149-5.
^Hohmann (2008).
^"Linguistic Revival: How Japan Restored the Native Ainu Language with "AI Pirika"". stanfordrewired.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
The Ainu are an ethnic group which consists of related indigenous peoples which are native to northern Japan, including Hokkaido and Northeast Honshu...
Ainu (アイヌ・イタㇰ, Ainu-itak), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (Japanese: 北海道アイヌ語), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainupeople on the...
isolate, historically spoken by the Ainupeople of northern Japan and neighboring islands. The primary varieties of Ainu are alternately considered a group...
Ainu culture is the culture of the Ainupeople, from around the 13th century (late Kamakura period) to the present. Today, most Ainupeople live a life...
The Ainu in Russia are an Indigenous people of Siberia located in Sakhalin Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai and Kamchatka Krai. The Russian Ainupeople (Aine; Russian:...
Look up Ainu or ainu in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Ainu or Aynu may refer to: Ainupeople, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far...
tribes of the Jōmon people, particularly the Zoku-Jōmon. The majority of scholars believe that they were related to the Ainupeople, not necessarily identical...
at 21. Ainu languages are spoken on Sakhalin, Hokkaido, the Kurils, and on the Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as in the Amur region. Today, Ainu is nearly...
is the Ainu language, which is spoken by the Ainupeople, who are the indigenous people of the island. The Ainu languages, of which Hokkaidō Ainu is the...
The Sumunkur Ainu (Katakana: スムンクㇽ, literally "west in people", i.e. "Western people") is the name of the Ainu subgroup living along the southern coast...
including Ryukyuan people (Ryūkyū-minzoku), who share connections with the Yamato but are often regarded as distinct, and Ainupeople (Ainu-minzoku). In recent...
are the closest Asian relatives of the indigenous peoples of the Americas as well as of the Ainupeople, being the descendants of settlers who neither crossed...
Ainu cuisine is the cuisine of the ethnic Ainu in Japan and Russia. The cuisine differs markedly from that of the majority Yamato people of Japan. Raw...
ink (also called zumi); tattooing practiced by both the Ainupeople and the Ryukyuan people uses ink derived from the indigo plant. It is a painful and...
are more admixed with Asian agricultural continental people (from the Korean Peninsula) than the Ainu and the Ryukyuans, with major admixture occurring in...
Menasunkur Ainu (Katakana: メナシクル) are an Ainu subgroup living on the eastern Hokkaido coast near Shizunai. Shakushain, the leader of the Menasunkur Ainu, led...
understanding and awareness of Ainu history and culture in Japan and elsewhere out of respect for the dignity of the indigenous Ainupeople, while contributing to...
Asuka period. Other historical ethnic groups have included the Ainu, the Ryukyuan people, the Emishi, and the Hayato; some of whom were dispersed or absorbed...
Ainu Mosir (Ainu: アイヌモシㇼ, lit. 'the land of the Ainu; Hokkaido') is a 2020 Japanese drama film directed by Takeshi Fukunaga. It features a story about...
ethnic Japanese settlers. Many indigenous people would later return to the area. According to "Modern Ainu: The Romance of Ethnic Migration" (現代のアイヌ :...
Ainu is an extinct Ainu language, or perhaps several Ainu languages, that was or were spoken on the island of Sakhalin, now part of Russia. The Ainu of...
party that defends the interests of the Ainupeople. The Ainu Party advocates the interests of the Ainupeople, and a "multicultural or multiracial symbiotic...
Shinda is the fertility god of the Ainupeople. Traditional Ainu recite prayers of thanksgiving to Shinda before every meal. Roberts, Jeremy (2010). Japanese...
Japanese Empire, including the Ainu, Ryukyuans, Nivkh, as well as Chinese, Koreans, and Austronesians (Taiwanese indigenous peoples and Micronesians) who were...
The matanpushi (Ainu/Japanese: マタンプシ) is a traditional garment worn by the Ainupeople of Japan. Complementing the sapanpe - which is worn by men - the...
The Ainu Revolution Theory (アイヌ革命論, Ainu Kakumeiron) is a left-wing political concept in Japan that was prominent in the 1970s. It was a variant of Proletarian...
island since the 16th century, Hokkaido was primarily inhabited by the Ainupeople. In 1869, following the Meiji Restoration, the entire island was annexed...
needed] In Sri Lanka, the Indigenous Vedda people constitute a small minority of the population today. Ainupeople are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō...
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