The Ainu are an ethnic group who reside in northern Japan, 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; they have occupied these areas known to them as "Ainu Mosir", since before the arrival of the modern Yamato and Russians. These regions are often referred to as Ezochi (蝦夷地) and its inhabitants as Emishi (蝦夷) in historical Japanese texts.
Hokkaido is the second-largest island of Japan 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.
Chimonobambusa is a genus of East Asian bamboo in the grass family. They are native to China, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Himalayas.
Sasaella is a genus of Japanese bamboo in the grass family.
- Sasaella bitchuensis(Makino) Koidz – southern Honshu
- Sasaella caudiceps(Koidz.) Koidz. – Honshu
- Sasaella hidaensis(Makino) Makino, Hishu zasa – Honshu, Shikoku
- Sasaella kogasensis(Nakai) Nakai ex Koidz, Kogashi azuma zasa – Hokkaido, Honshu
- Sasaella leucorhoda(Koidz.) Koidz. – Honshu
- Sasaella masamuneana(Makino) Hatsushima & Muroi, Genkei chiku – Japan
- Sasaella ramosa(Makino) Makino, Azuma zasa – Japan; naturalized in Great Britain + New Zealand
- Sasaella sadoensis(Makino ex Koidz.) Sad.Suzuki – Honshu
- Sasaella sawadae(Makino) Makino ex Koidzum – Honshu
- Sasaella shiobarensis(Nakai) Koidz. – Honshu
- Sasaella yamakitensis(Makino) M.Kobay. – Honshu
Sinobambusa is a genus of East Asian bamboo in the grass family. It is native to China and Vietnam. Sinobambusa tootsik also occurs in Japan, having been introduced there during the Tang dynasty (618–907).
- Sinobambusa baccanensisT.Q.Nguyen – Vietnam
- Sinobambusa farinosa(McClure) T.H.Wen – Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang
- Sinobambusa henryi(McClure) C.D.Chu & C.S.Chao – Guangdong, Guangxi
- Sinobambusa humilaMcClure – Guangdong
- Sinobambusa incanaT.H.Wen – Guangdong
- Sinobambusa intermediaMcClure – Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan
- Sinobambusa nephroauritaC.D.Chu & C.S.Chao – Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan
- Sinobambusa rubroligulaMcClure – Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan
- Sinobambusa sat(Balansa) C.S.Chao & Renvoize – Vietnam
- Sinobambusa scabridaT.H.Wen – Guangxi
- Sinobambusa solearis(McClure) T.Q.Nguyen – Vietnam
- Sinobambusa tootsik(Makino) Makino ex Nakai – Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Vietnam; naturalized in Japan including Ryukyu Islands
- Sinobambusa yixingensisC.S.Chao & K.S.Xiao – Jiangsu
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 meat like sashimi, for example, is rarely served in Ainu cuisine, which instead uses methods such as boiling, roasting and curing to prepare meat. Also unlike Japanese cuisine, traditional Ainu cuisine did not use miso, soy sauce, or sugar, though these seasonings make an appearance in modern Ainu cuisine. The island of Hokkaidō in northern Japan is where most Ainu live today; however, they once inhabited most of the Kuril islands, the southern half of Sakhalin island, and parts of northern Honshū Island.
Cardiocrinum is a genus of bulbous plants of the lily family first described in 1846. They are native to the Himalaya, China, the Russian Far East, and Japan. The bulbs are usually formed at the soil surface. The preferred habitat is woodland. The plants tend to be monocarpic, dying after flowering.
Tomitaro Makino was a pioneer Japanese botanist noted for his taxonomic work. He has been called "Father of Japanese Botany", having been one of the first Japanese botanists to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the system developed by Linnaeus. His research resulted in documenting 50,000 specimens, many of which are represented in his Makino's Illustrated Flora of Japan. Despite having dropped out of grammar school, he eventually attained a Doctor of Science degree, and his birthday is remembered as Botany Day in Japan.
Kharimkotan ; Japanese 春牟古丹島; Harimukotan-tō, alternatively Harumukotan-tō or 加林古丹島; Karinkotan-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located 15 km (9 mi) from Onekotan near the northern end of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language, from “village of many Cardiocrinum”.
The Makino Botanical Garden, also known as the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located at Godaisan 4200-6, Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is open to the public daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charged.
Zabelia corymbosa is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. It is native to Central Asia, where it occurs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Erythronium japonicum, known as Asian fawn lily, Oriental fawn lily, Japanese fawn lily is a pink-flowered species trout lily, belonging to the Lily family and native to Japan, Korea, the Russian Far East and northeastern China. It is a spring ephemeral, blooming April–June in woodlands. It is known as zhūyáhuā (猪牙花) in Chinese, eolleji (얼레지) in Korean, and katakuri in Japanese.
Allium inutile is a species of wild onion native to Honshu Island in Japan and to Anhui Province of southeastern China.
Quercus serrata, the jolcham oak, is an East Asian species of tree in the beech family. It is native to China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
Erigeron alpicola is an Asian species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Japan, to Jilin Province in China, and to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
Quercus hondae is a species of tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It has been found on Kyushu Island in southern Japan. It is placed in subgenus Cerris, section Cyclobalanopsis.
Hemipilia joo-iokiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to northern Korea and Japan.
Hemipilia kinoshitae is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to the south Kuril Islands and northern Japan.
Polystichum makinoi is a species of fern in the genus Polystichum in the family Dryopteridaceae.
Mentha japonica is a species of plant in the family Lamiaceae, endemic to the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. Initially described as Micromeria japonica by Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel, it was first identified under its present name by Japanese botanist Tomitaro Makino in 1906. A relatively rare plant, it is classified by the Japanese Ministry of Environment as a Near Threatened species.
