Ainu

Hokkaido, Land of the Ainu

Hokkaido is the northern most major island in Japan and has long since been the home of the Ainu. The Ainu are an indigenous people of Japan. The Ainu of Hokkaido are closely linked to the early Jomon culture. Jomon is the first major culture of Japan with evidence going back as far as 8000 BC. Although there is evidence of people in Japan 500,000 years ago, very little is known of their culture. The Jomon were a Neolithic Stone Age people noted for their pottery, dogu, (clay dolls) and early cities. Influence and technology from China gave way to the Yayoi culture in Japan. Yayoi started in 300 BC in the area of southern Japan (closest to Korea) and slowly moved east and north. Yayoi is characterized by pottery made using a wheel, bronze and iron, and most importantly wet-rice agriculture. The Yayoi culture permeated the islands of Japan up to the “rice line” in northern Japan, which runs roughly from modern-day Akita to Sendai. The land north of the “rice line” is too cold and the growing season too short for growing rice.

Because of the colder environment of the north, Yayoi culture never went further north. So in places like Hokkaido, the Jomon Culture lasted to around 800 AD, which has led to a wealth of well-preserved sites and has increased our knowledge of the Jomon people. Sites like the Satsukari site, a Mamachi site, show us much about the Jomon. Culture

After the Jomon, Yayoi influences lead to Satsumon culture in Hokkaido. Although rice couldn't grow in Hokkaido, other things like bread wheat, foxtail, broomcorn millet, beans, hemp, melons, safflower as well as seeds of weeds and wild fruit were plentiful. We know this from the botanical evidence found at the Sakushukotoni-gawa site. The Satsumon became an agricultural culture. For a long time it was believed that the Ainu were the direct descendents of the Jomon people but we now know that the culture evolved over time before it became Ainu.

The Ainu are often called the Indians of Japan because of some similarities. In the 1200s AD when the Ainu culture was taking shape, hunting and gathering was an important element along with agriculture. Hunting and trapping for furs to trade with the Japanese became the Ainu way of life. It is easy to tell, by the amount of iron artifacts that are found in Ainu sites, that the early Ainu relied heavily on trade.

Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Ainu.

If you are Ainu, your feedback is much appreciated.

References:

Varley, H. Paul. Japanese Culture, University of Hawaii press. 1984

http://www.pref.hokkaido.jp/kseikatu/ks-kknen/text/jouten/theme2/e-theme2.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hokkaido/ainu.html

• The Ainu Language