The Ainu (/ˈaɪnuː/) are an indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai.
Ainu, indigenous people of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands who were culturally and physically distinct from their Japanese neighbours until the second part of the 20th century.
Mysterious and misunderstood, the Ainu are an ancient Indigenous people who still call Japan their home.
In the embrace of the northern Japanese archipelago, notably in Hokkaido, thrives the vibrant and distinctive Ainu culture. Here, a language unrelated to Japanese weaves tales of spirituality, where every part of the natural world houses ramat (spirits).
In 1997, the Ainu Culture Promotion Act was enacted to preserve and promote Ainu heritage. More significantly, in 2008, the Japanese government officially recognized the Ainu as the indigenous people of Japan.
They are an indigenous ethnic group centered in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, with a population estimated at roughly 25,000 to 30,000, though the true number is likely higher because many Ainu do not publicly identify as such due to a long history of discrimination.
Ainu ancestors who had earlier lived in a larger portion of Japan. The Ainu people themselves called their northern island Ainu Mosir, which means “the peaceful land for people.” Then, when the other three main Japanese islands were unified under a Shogunal government in 1600, the samurai leaders of the Matsumae domain mo
The Ainu are a group of people in the Far East whose traditional life was based on a hunting, fishing, and plant-gathering economy; the word ainu means "human."