The Ainu

Mongoloid and Europaean A mixed type (Caucasian) with relatively dark skin and features typical of Europa.

in The Ainu language In Chinese, "Ainu" means "man". Many Ainu do not like the title "Ainu" and prefer to be addressed as "ウタリ" (Japanese Romanization: Utari, which means "partner" in Ainu). In official documents, both Ainu and Utari can be found.

Typical of the Ainu culture are Animistic faith, the Ainu language, and oral tradition.

Japanese of East Asia The Moyi nationality (in ancient China) . Ancient documents also known as" eyi ". Mainly distributed in Hokkaido .

The word "Ainu" means "man" in the language of the people. Paleolithic age It was widespread in the late Neolithic or early Neolithic period Japanese islands . In Kanchaga before the 18th century, before the 20th century Sakhalin The South, Kuril Islands The northern part of the state was also distributed, and was forced to retreat to its residence. In the 17th and 18th centuries, most of the Ainu were wiped out and the population gradually declined to 24,000 (1980). Belong to Mongoloid and Europaean Mixed types. Body ratio Harmony race Short, light brown, wavy black hair, Europa face, body hair. After many years of intermarriage with the Chinese people, the pure-blood descendants are decreasing year by year. Use The Ainu language The department is unknown. points Spoken language Elegant language. Folk tales and narrative poems, told in elegant language, are now only circulated in old age. In general, young people can speak Japanese. Belief in animism and polytheism, worship of ancestors. In the past, a grand" Bear festival "And" Salmon Festival." Women have more tattoos around the mouth, on the front wrist and on the back of the hand. Engaged in fishing and hunting for a long time, most of the recent years turned to farming. In ancient times, it was used to make clothes from bird feathers, animal skins and fish skins. Fish and animals as the staple food. He is good at making and driving canoes. There are unique wooden frame huts. Food, clothing, housing and transportation have been no different from the family.

Some people believe that their ancestors were Neolithic period Early (about six or seven thousand years ago) from Southeast Asia Moved to Japan. According to some scholars, Ainu The people are from... Arabia Immigrants, who at some point controlled vast areas of the Far East Honshu Wait for the island. As some Japanese tribes migrated north, their territory shrank. ^[1]

From the second half of the 7th century AD the Ainu were known as" eyi ", is the meaning of Yi Di, which is the name of other peoples and rulers of Japan ^[1] . From about A.D. Fourteenth century The name was gradually changed from the middle to Ainu. The word "Ainu" means "man" in the language of the people. From AD Sixteenth century Some of the Ainu migrated to the Sakhalin area. In the 17th and 18th centuries, most of the Ainu were wiped out, leaving fewer than 20,000 people, most of whom were relocated Hokkaido Island Central and northern Hidaka, Asahikawa , Kushiro and other places, a few moved as far as Sakhalin and Kuril Islands Along the way, there are also some scattered in some parts of the state. ^[1]

Historically, Japan has tended to emphasize that it is a "single nation," and the Ainu were treated as "barbarians" who were discriminated against and oppressed by Japan's dominant ethnic group, the Yamato. In 1899, the Japanese government promulgated the Hokkaido Old Native Protection Act, which declared the Ainu to be a "branch" of the Yamato nation and forced the Ainu to move into the so-called "given land" for control. After World War II, Japan amended the law and adopted some policies to improve the treatment of the Ainu, but the social and cultural heritage of the Ainu is still considered to be insufficiently respected and protected. In 1997, the Japanese government enacted the Ainu Cultural Revitalization Law, which ended the forced assimilation of the Ainu initiated by the Hokkaido Old Native Protection Act of 1899. ^[2]

The Ainu have their own festivals and sacrifices, the most famous of which is" Bear festival They like to carve animals with chisels on the skinned logs, especially The bear The image of the Japanese called "Ainu eagle". The Ainu people have a rich cultural heritage, are good at embroidery and love dancing. They composed many poems, passed down from memory to generation. Part of it is handed down from history The Ainu A long narrative poem in Chinese is rich in content, and it takes a long time to recite it once.

The Ainu have their own language -- The Ainu language , belongs to the synthetical language. It is a separate language, belonging to Malay -- Polynesia Language department.

The only other people in the world besides the Ainu The Eskimos And American Indians use this language. Place names in northeastern Japan, many of which are derived from the Ainu language. For example: "Sapporo", originally meaning "big river valley"; "Otaru", originally meaning "Sanagawa"; "Ming Mail", the original meaning of "crows infested city" and so on. Ainu nation right Japanese islands The development, including cultural development is contributing.

In recent years, specialized organizations have been established in Japan to study the Ainu language, and many ancient books representing Ainu culture have been published. In addition, the study of Ainu history is also one of the important research topics for archaeologists in the Far East. They often hold international meetings and carry out scientific expeditions on the subject. However, there are very few people working on Ainu issues in Japan, and as a result, the ancient Ainu culture is still threatened with extinction. ^[1]

On April 19, 2019, Diet of Japan The full Senate passed a new law, the Ainu Support Act, by a majority vote, which for the first time identifies the Ainu as an "indigenous people" and creates a subsidy system aimed at maintaining and revitalizing their unique culture. This law became law, and it was the first time that the Japanese government legally recognized the Ainu people as "indigenous" ^[2] .