The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Yamato Japanese and Russians. These regions are referred to as Ezo (蝦夷) in historical Japanese texts.
Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
Wakkanai is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Sōya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen.
Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kunneppu is a town located in Okhotsk, Hokkaido, Japan. In the Ainu language, kunnepu means 'black river'.
Sapporo is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city in Japan. It is the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture. Sapporo lies in the southwest of Hokkaido, within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, which is a tributary stream of the Ishikari. It is considered the cultural, economic, and political center of Hokkaido.
Levanga Hokkaido is a Japanese professional basketball team based in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. The club was founded in 2006 as Rera Kamuy Hokkaido, this name comes from the language of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, and means "god of the winds". The franchise changed its name twice in 2011; the first when the club's parent company was kicked out of the league due to financial woes in the season. The team ended the season with a league-backed management group and a new moniker, calling itself Basketball Club Hokkaido. And finally, took its current name Levanga Hokkaido, in August 2011.
The mukkuri is a traditional Japanese plucked idiophone indigenous to the Ainu. It is made from bamboo and is 10 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Sound is made by pulling the string and, similar to a Jew's harp, vibrating the reed as it is placed in the performer's mouth.
Dahinien Gendānu, also Daxinnieni Geldanu, was an Uilta activist from Sakhalin.
Among the several native ethnic groups of Japan, the predominant group are the Yamato Japanese, who trace their origins back to the Yayoi period and have held political dominance since the 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 by other groups. Ethnic groups that inhabited the Japanese islands during prehistory include the Jomon people and lesser-known Paleolithic groups. In more recent history, a number of immigrants from other countries have made their home in Japan. According to census statistics in 2018, 97.8% of the population of Japan are Japanese, with the remainder being foreign nationals residing in Japan. The number of foreign workers has been increased dramatically in recent years, due to the aging population and the lack of labor force. A news article in 2018 states that approximately 1 out of 10 young people residing in Tokyo are foreign nationals.
Iboshi Hokuto was an Ainu waka poet and social activist.
Hokkaido Museum opened in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan in 2015. Located within Nopporo Shinrin Kōen Prefectural Natural Park, the permanent exhibition is dedicated to the nature, history, and culture of Hokkaido. Also known as Mori-no-Charenga (森のちゃれんが), the museum integrates and replaces the Historical Museum of Hokkaido (北海道開拓記念館), which opened in 1971, and the Hokkaido Ainu Culture Research Centre (北海道立アイヌ民族文化研究センター), which opened in 1994.
Hakodate City Museum of Northern Peoples first opened as the Hakodate City Museum of Northern Peoples and Ishikawa Takuboku (函館市北方民族・石川啄木資料館) in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1989. Located in the former Bank of Japan Hakodate Branch building of 1926, after the transfer out of materials relating to the poet to the Hakodate City Museum of Literature, the museum reopened in its current guise in April 1993. It displays objects that were formerly part of the collection of the Hakodate City Museum, including materials relating to the Orok as well as 750 items used in the daily life of the Ainu that have been jointly designated an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property.
Bikki Sunazawa (砂澤ビッキ) was a Japanese self-taught woodcarver, painter, and sculptor of Ainu origin. Sunazawa is respected for helping make the Ainu culture known to the world through his works performed in the Ainu manner. Sunazawa is also known for designing the Ainu flag in 1971. His son Oki, an Ainu Japanese musician, applies the same approach to music.
The National Ainu Museum is a museum located in Shiraoi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The museum's mission is "to promote a proper understanding and awareness of Ainu history and culture in Japan and elsewhere out of respect for the dignity of the indigenous Ainu people, while contributing to the creation and development of new aspects of Ainu culture".
The Ainu Museum, also known as Porotokotan, is a former museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The facility began its existence in 1976 as the Shiraoi Foundation for the Preservation of Ainu Culture. In 1984 this was extended to include the Ainu Folk Museum. In 1990 it reopened under the auspices of The Ainu Museum Foundation. The collection included some five thousand folk materials relating to the Ainu and a further approximately two hundred objects relating to minority groups of the north, including the Nivkh, Uilta, Sami, and Inuit. The institution was also involved in the recording and transmission of Ainu-related intangible cultural heritage. The museum closed to make way for the new National Ainu Museum on 31 March 2018.
The mintuci is a water sprite or an aquatic supernatural creature, a half-man-half-beast, told in stories of Ainu mythology and folklore. It is also considered a variant of the kappa and therefore a type of yōkai.
The matanpushi is a traditional garment worn by the Ainu people of Japan. Complementing the sapanpe - which is worn by men - the matanpushi is usually worn by women in modern Ainu ceremonies, although originally it was a common facet of Ainu fashion among men.
The sapanpe is a ritual crown worn by adult men during traditional Ainu ceremonies. It is complemented by the matanpushi, which is worn mostly by women. It is believed to impart great power to the one who wears it.
