Sign in for a personalized experience.
Travel
Living
A-Z
Forum
Friends
Jobs
Shopping
Japan Domestic Air Tickets
Hotel Reservations

(check-in)

Rental Phones
315 yen per day
Car Rentals
Compact cars from around 4,000 Yen/day!
Online Hostel Bookings
Hostels and inexpensive ryokan from $10 per night!

Related Pages
History
Politics
Travel

Hokkaido
Shiraoi Ainu Museum

Survey
Which is your favorite travel guide book on Japan?
Lonely Planet Japan
Rough Guides Japan
Fodor's Japan
Frommer's Japan
Gateway to Japan
Let's Go Japan
Eyewitness Travel Japan
Michelin Japan
Other
see results
Other Surveys:
How to improve tourism
Next trip to Japan
Ski Destination
Budget for ryokan stay
Preferred way to stay at a ryokan
Purpose of visit
Most popular region
Have you recently entered Japan?

japan-guide.com newsletter
Keeping you up to date on Japan travel and living related issues and site updates. Click here to subscribe!

Sponsored Listings
Japan - Order FREE Brochure!
About vacation plans and specialty travel.
Car Rental
The cheapest rates in Japan!
Tour Packages
Guided and individual tour plans.

Home - Tradition
Ainu

Ainu House in the Shiraoi Ainu Museum

The Ainu are a people with a cultural and racial background which is different from that of the ethnic Japanese. They have been populating Hokkaido, northern Tohoku, the Kurile Islands and Sakhalin, but today only a small population remains mainly in Hokkaido.

According to one of several theories, the Ainu are descendants of Mongoloid migrants who entered the Japanese islands before the Jomon period. They were later displaced and assimilated, when the ethnic Japanese expanded their territory northernwards.

In the Meiji Period (1868-1912), the Ainu received the status of "former aboriginals", but suffered under official discrimination for some years. In 1997, a new law was passed which provides funds for the research and promotion of Ainu culture.

Advertisements

English Links
The Ainu Museum
Much information about the history and culture of the Ainu.

Product Links
Ainu : Spirit of a Northern People
Ainu : Spirit of a Northern People
Book by William W. Fitzhugh and Chisato O. Dubreuil
The Ainu of Northeast Asia
Book by D.W. Johnson

Japanese Links
The Ainu Museum
Much information about the history and culture of the Ainu.

90 users are currently online: Monia343, Soulja girl, Ichange, threegirls, acky m42, artycollegegirl12, Mio1987, RobBeer, Saki ys, positiva, BelFanny, Samurairocket, Yougotmail, Kei99, duvet, Frenchsnowball, sunflower2010, GameAngel64, jiwon2, mewcch, jaymoon, Tchiichan, Ximo01, Hunster, tndrk, nighteyes, narumi in jpn, Uji, MAHMOUD25, F3rr4, satopanda, Yamawaki, lxkoh, Narjo, sky shin, Mentaiko114, JETELINHO, seker06, jouire de la vie, saitanK, SaSa Claire, violetuknattie, Darkazdevil, Wolfie 89, TotO1982, rasputin80, ClementCesbron, KouW, Kenji from Japan, mel 19, Aiyume, Deyveed, rockranger, Tou299, Basiltea, Rakuda06, ann121, harman, DenshinekoOwO, Pex, Waiin, Riiiiiika, Fimbulthulr, andreea69, Alisska, Ninetail, Aquilla, aucifer, Squaleon, meduz, Chris82italy, Solidseb, kambee, Yuri013, StefanM, happynature, the lonely angel, lnh, isstmnk, meteore, Azrael777, AbiNyan, ecatonig, dtrufelli, vaninish, mimii3, jAyk1P, ula, Wayne1008
Sign in for a personalized experience.
 
Copyright © 1996-2010 japan-guide.com All rights reserved - Last Page Update: July 17, 2003
home - site map - privacy policy - terms of use - contact - L‚ɂ‚¢‚Ä - advertising