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The Ainu believe in many divine beings “kamuy” who are contrasted with the humans “Ainu.” All things have spirits and the Ainu are surrounded by gods which they pray to and which look after them. Among the Ainu, many natural phenomena are considered divine, having a spirit, such as fire, wind, and water. There are gods of objects like boats and pots, and gods of plants like mushrooms and mugwort. There are gods of mountains and lakes, gods that protect the house, and animal gods like foxes and owls. The bear is the god of the mountains who is like a human in appearance in his own divine land, but then he appears to the Ainu in the guise of the bear in the Ainu land, bringing gifts of meat and fur. Another important deity among the Ainu is the goddess of the hearth (fire) or “Grandmother Hearth” who is a symbol of the Ainu universe. There are also goddesses of the sun and moon, and sea animal and fish deities.

The Ainu believe that they have spirits which are immortal, and that the good Ainu will rise to the land of the gods in the hereafter. If they have not been good, they will go to a hell, which is described as a volcano. After a time in heaven, the spirits are reborn to earth, and the cycle goes on.

The bear represents the chief deity, the deity of the mountain, in the disguise of a bear. It is the most important symbol among the Ainu. The Sending of the Bear Ceremony serves to send the soul of the bear-god back to the divine home of the bear with gifts, prayers and invitations to return to the Ainu. The Ainu explain that It is not a sacrifice of the bear, as the bear is god. It is a religious obligation to hold the ceremony to send the bear back to its home through ritual. The bear can can thus be reborn and give the Ainu the valuable gifts of meat and fur once again.

An important concept in the Ainu belief system is the soul, owned by most beings in the Ainu universe. According to tradition, the soul becomes perceptible when it leaves the owner's body. For example, when one dreams, one's soul frees itself from the sleeping body and travels, even to places where one has never been. Likewise, a deceased person may appear in one's dreams because the soul of the deceased can travel from the world of the dead to that of the living. During a shamanistic performance, the shaman's soul travels to the world of the dead to snatch back the soul of a dead person, thereby reviving the person nearing death.

This belief underlies the Ainu emphasis on proper treatment of the dead body of humans and all other soul owners in the universe

Without proper treatment of a dead body, its soul cannot rest in peace in the world of the dead and causes illness among the living to remind the Ainu of their misconduct. Shamans must be consulted to obtain diagnosis and treatment for these illnesses.

The Ainu believe that gods or their incarnations are found in every phenomenon and object, including natural phenomena from the sun, moon, thunder, wind, water and fire, to animals, plants, and implements that are related to human life. On every occasion, prayers are offered and various ceremonies observed. There is the house guardian, the god of fire, the god of windows, the god of the hearth, the god of entrances, the god of yards, the mountain god, the sea god, the lake god, the river god, the nursing god, the hunting god, animal gods of bears and owls, and the gods of pots, mortars and boats. Thus, numerous gods usually guard man and provide food, while at times disciplining him harshly. These gods, however, are not absolute beings. Man is able to argue with them when they commit errors regarding man. Gods are of help to man and therefore are appreciated by him, while man is also expected to serve gods. Gods and man exist in a relationship of mutual assistance.

The gods also disguise themselves as animals, plants and objects : for example, they pretend to be bears by wearing bear skins and bestowing food, animal skins, daily utensils such as pots and bowls, and boats. On the other hand, through ceremonies, man offers wine, dried salmon, and "inaw," sacred shaved stick, which are supposed to delight the gods. In addition to the above gods, there are also evil gods and other malevolent deities who cause man disease and mishap.

There are various ceremonies throughout the year, including ceremonies to send back spirits, a religious ceremony for ancestors, a ceremony for the completion of new house, and a ceremony to launch the year's first fishing of salmon and shishamo smelt. Sending spirits back, the most frequent of these ceremonies, treats and sends back the gods, who disguise themselves as animals, plants and objects, descend to the human world and supply food and other daily necessities. The ceremonies include "iyomante," "hopunire" and "iwakte," of which "iyomante," a ceremony for the sending back of the spirits of bear cubs is the most important.

POPULATION: 25,000

Hokkaido, one of Japan's four main islands, is 32,247 square miles (83,520 square kilometers)—comprising one-fifth of Japan. Hokkaido is twice as large as Switzerland. A small number of Ainu live on southern Sakhalin. Earlier, the Ainu also lived in the southern Kuril Islands, along the lower reaches of the Amur River, and in Kamchatka, as well as the northern part of the Northeast region of Honshu. Their ancestors may have once lived throughout Japan. Hokkaido is surrounded by beautiful coasts. The island has many mountains, lakes, and rivers. Its land was densely wooded with ancient trees into the twentieth century. Two major mountain ranges, Kitami in the north and Hidaka in the south, divide Hokkaido into the eastern and western regions. The Saru basin area in southeastern Hokkaido is a center of Ainu ancestral culture. An 1807 survey reported the Hokkaido and Sakhalin Ainu population as 23,797. Mixed marriages between Ainu and mainland Japanese became more common over the last century. In 1986 the total number of people in Hokkaido identifying themselves as Ainu was 24,381. In the late nineteenth century, the Japanese government created a colonial office for Hokkaido's economic development and encouraged settlers from other parts of Japan. A similar government office now continues to promote Hokkaido's development. With the loss of their land, their livelihood, and their traditional culture, the Ainu had to adapt to a rapidly industrializing society.