The Ainu (アイヌ) IPA: [ʔáinu] (also called Ezo in historical texts) are an indigenous ethnic group of Japan. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding ...
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The Ainu (アイヌ) IPA: [ʔáinu] (also called Ezo in historical texts) are an indigenous ethnic group of Japan. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Most of those who identify themselves as Ainu still live in this same region, though the exact number of living Ainu is unknown. This is due to ethnic issues in Japan resulting in those with Ainu backgrounds hiding their identities and confusion over mixed heritages. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000, whilst unofficially the number is upwards of 200,000 people.
Ainu culture dates from around 1200 CE and recent research suggests that it originated in a merger of the Okhotsk and Satsumon cultures. Active contact between the Wajin (the ethnically Japanese) and the Ainu of Ezochi (now known as Hokkaido) began in the 13th century. The Ainu were a society of hunter-gatherers, who lived mainly off fish and plants, and the people followed...
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