What do you mean there are Japanese Indians? Yes, that’s right. I confess I didn’t know this until now. Many tourists have never heard of the Ainu people. But their popularity increased after the Anime Golden Kamuy.
And they have physical characteristics similar to those of the Japanese, but with their particularities like skin color, hair, and others.
They have lost many of their characteristics due to mixing in society, and many do not say they are descendants or belong to the tribe for fear of the prejudice that still exists against those considered different in some way.
It is believed that an average of twenty-four thousand Ainu live in Japanese territory. And unfortunately, due to various factors, this people is on the brink of extinction.
But how did this people come about and how are they today? Let’s find out this and much more now.
Table of Contents
History of the Ainu People
For the Ainu people, the natural environment was one of their kamuy ‘gods’, which gave them all the plants and animals they needed. Their various rituals, related to their coexistence with the environment, played an essential role in maintaining an adequate ecological balance.
They are currently found on the island of Hokkaido. Unlike many Japanese ethnicities that have been predominant in the population since the last phase of Ancient Japan, settling in the Yayoi periods and later in the Yamato Period with great Korean and Chinese cultural influences, which spans from the 3rd century B.C. to the Modern Age.
Ainu means “human.” This people inhabited Hokkaido, Sakhalin, which is currently part of Russia. They were colonized by the Japanese during the Meiji period in the first half of the century.
To this day, there are many uncertainties regarding this people; the little that is known is that they were the first inhabitants of the northern region of Japan.
It is believed that they had already inhabited Hokkaido since the Jomon period (14,500 to 300 B.C.). They may be a mix of three different cultures: Jomon, Okhotsk, and Satsumon.
Another hypothesis is that they may have links to Eurasia, Russia, and the Arctic region.
Origin of the Ainu
Some scholars have defended the Mongolian theory, that the Mongols who lived further south in Mongolia and those who lived further north, after the Jomon period (more than 10,000 years ago), began to move in search of better living conditions, migrating to the Japanese archipelago.
The Japanese began to arrive in Hokkaido in the early 15th century, but before they initiated the so-called organized colonization during the period (1868- Meiji 1912), there were already Ainu residing in the region.
Conflicts with the Ainu
In the 15th century, the Japanese sought the Ainu to make deals regarding the land, but this contact was not peaceful.
The Ainu people were oppressed and marginalized. There were battles between the two groups in the years 1457 and 1789. But in 1789, the Japanese conquered the indigenous people in the Battle of Kunasiri-Menasi.
This battle took place in Hokkaido, where the Ainu attacked the Japanese on the island of Kunashir. More than seventy Japanese were killed, and thirty-seven Ainu also lost their lives during this turbulent period.
It is still unclear what led to this revolt, but some research points to the suspicion of poisoned sake given to the Ainu during a loyalty ceremony, along with other questionable behaviors from Japanese traders.
The Ainu people referred to the Japanese as “Wajin” or “Shamo,” a term originating from China that means “colonizer” or “people who cannot be trusted.”
As Japan became more popular, the Ainu people were increasingly restricted regarding land, becoming concentrated specifically on the island of Hokkaido.
Religious Traditions of the Ainu
Like most peoples, they had their religiosity focused on the worship of gods related to nature. They revered wolves, bears, gods of water, fire, and wind.
But in their religious beliefs, there are three deities that they consider especially important: the god of bears and mountains (Kim-um Kamuy); the goddess of the hearth (Kamuy Fuchi); and the god of the sea, fishing, and animals (RepunKamuy).
Since for them, humans are not considered the dominant superior species, anything they take from nature, they thank these gods.
The fire of the hearth was like a portal to the spiritual world. And the goddess Kamuy had the role of protecting the home and placing souls in newborn babies.
Cultural Aspects of the Ainu
The Ainu people live from fishing and hunting, this similarity is the same as with the rest of the Japanese.
To hunt wild animals, they developed a poison that covered the tip of their spears and arrows. The poison used was surku, which came from aconite plants and was then fermented.
The methods of food preservation they practiced were basically smoking and drying, and they do this a lot with salmon. Ainu men follow the custom of not shaving as they get older.
Ainu women would get a tattoo on their mouths, hands, and forearms. This custom is no longer practiced, but they use temporary ink.
The villages (kotan) they lived in were small houses (4m wide and 6m long), with only one or two rooms. This place was called chise. Each village had a chief.
One of the most important ceremonies for the Ainu is the lomante, which consists of sacrificing wild animals so that their spirits can be sent to the world of the gods.
Something interesting is that when babies are born, they receive provisional names. The real name is only given around the age of three.
The choice of name will be according to the child’s personality. This is done to scare away evil spirits so as not to attract bad things to the child.
Children’s names are intentionally ugly and often vulgar. Some examples of temporary names are “ayay” (child’s cry); “poyshi” (small excrement); “shion” (old excrement).
The Ainu People Today
These indigenous people felt compelled to abandon many of their characteristics and traditions in order to be accepted.
The language practiced was considered by UNESCO as an endangered language, due to the fact that there are very few speakers of the original language.
The situation began to change regarding them in 2019, when they were legally recognized as indigenous peoples of Japan.
Before, many did not even know of their existence, and today it is already possible for tourists to visit villages to show a bit of Ainu culture through the Ainu Culture Promotion Center.
Now anyone interested can learn a little about the history of this people who are important to Japanese culture.
But this village has no residents; it is just a replica to bring tourists and Japanese closer to this part of history.
The Ainu Indians had already begun to receive recognition through activist Shigeru Kayano, elected to the Japanese Parliament in 1994.
Shigeru Kayano was the first Ainu to enter the Diet (parliament); this step was of great significance. He was considered one of the most important and significant voices of the Ainu people.
Another complex to better understand this people was scheduled to be inaugurated for the 2020 Olympics, as these events tend to attract many tourists.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this goal was postponed. There is still a long way to go for greater appreciation of this people in all aspects.
All of this has contributed positively, as many have decided to relearn the native language.
Golden Kamuy – An Anime about the Ainu
Golden Kamuy is a very good and entertaining anime that details the Ainu people and their history in the last century involving the battle between Japan and Russia.
The anime tells the story of Sugimoto, a former soldier who is searching for a treasure from a legend where a certain Noppera-bo (faceless man) tattooed the map on various prisoners who escaped from Abashiri prison. The main character meets a girl from the Ainu tribe named Ashiripa who helps on this long journey.
In this anime, it is possible to see their culture, life, and customs up close. Besides the anime, which already has more than two seasons, we have the manga available in your language:
Ainu in the Current World
Discrimination against the Ainu still persists today, and this has become a characteristic social problem within Japan. Criteria were created to distinguish between the Ainu and the Japanese, resulting in discrimination against them.
The Ainu serve “Kamuy,” which are their gods. Their daily orientations, combined with basic needs, consist of organizing prayers and ceremonies for these gods. The Ainu believe in many gods; almost everything around them is considered a god.
There are nature gods: such as those of fire, water, wind, and thunder; animal gods: such as bears, foxes, owls, and orcas; plant gods, object gods, protection, etc. The word “ainu” means the opposite of these gods.
It is believed that the population is decreasing significantly, whether in Language, Culture, and even Recognition. According to a survey, there are more than 20,000 Ainu located in Hokkaido.
- Many people say: Wow, you are an Indian and not Japanese;
Friends, not all Japanese are the same, and you know that very well. This message is for those who have very basic thinking. So let’s research, study, and understand more about the culture and diversity of Japan.
This was updated by Sabrina, with some parts written by Leonardo Sadao. The parts written by Leonardo refer to the origin of the Ainu and the conclusion of the text.
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