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For their living, the Ainu depended on fishing as well as on hunting. Many villages were located by the sea or a river through which salmon and trout went upstream.

The Ainu caught trout primarily in summer and salmon in autumn. They also caught ito (Japanese huchen) , dace and other fish. Gaff-like spears called "marek" were used to catch salmon and trout individually. Other salmon and trout fishing methods were "tesh" fishing in which salmon swimming upstream were caught by damming the river ; "uray" fishing using weirs and "rawomap" fishing using conical basket traps made of bamboo or twigs of willows. For salmon and trout fishing, each village or individual had a definite river fishing territory. Outsiders could not freely fish there.

In 3 to 4 m long boats, the Ainu vigorously fished and hunted swordfish, tuna, sunfish and marine mammals like fur seals, other seals, dolphins and whales. Particularly in the Funka Bay, fur seal hunting and whale fishing were popular.

Village Location A village is called "kotan" in the Ainu language. Kotan were located in river basins and seashores where food was readily available, particularly in the basins of rivers through which salmon went upstream. A village consisted basically of a paternal clan. The average number of families was four to seven, rarely reaching more than ten. In the early modern times, the Ainu people were forced to labor at the fishing grounds of the Japanese. Ainu kotan were also forced to move near fishing grounds so that the Japanese could secure a labor force. When the Japanese moved to other fishing grounds, Ainu kotan were also forced to accompany them. As a result, the traditional kotan disappeared and large villages of several dozen families were formed around the fishing grounds.

Housing Kotan houses were made of cogon grasses, bamboo grass, barks, etc. The length lay east to west or parallel to a river. A house was about seven meters by five with an entrance at the west end that also served as a storeroom. The house had three windows, including the "rorun-puyar," a window located on the side facing the entrance (at the east side) , through which gods entered and left and ceremonial tools were taken in and out. The Ainu have regarded this window as sacred and have been told never to look in through it. A house had a fireplace near the entrance. The husband and wife sat on the fireplace's left side (called "shiso") . Children and guests sat facing them on the fireplace's right side (called "harkiso"). The house had a platform for valuables called "iyoykir" behind the shiso. The Ainu placed "shintoko"(hokai) and "ikayop" (quivers) there.

Outbuildings Outbuildings included separate lavatories for men called "ashinru" and for women called "menokoru", a "pu" (storehouse) in which food was stored, a "heper set" (cage for young bear) , and drying-racks for fish and wild plants. An altar "nusasan" faced the east side of the house (rorunpuyar). The Ainu held such ceremonies there as "lyomante. " a ceremony to send the spirit of a bear to the gods.

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.

Kinship, Marriage, and Family There are some basic features of sociopolitical organization that are shared by most of the Ainu groups, although their finer workings vary from region to region. Among most Ainu groups, the nuclear family is the basic social unit, although some extended families are present. In most Ainu settlements, males related through a common male ancestor comprise the core members who collectively own a hunting ground or a river with good fish runs. Although some scholars emphasize that among the Ainu along the Saru River in Hokkaidō women related through females comprise a corporate group, the exact nature of the group is unclear. Among these Hokkaidō Ainu, an individual is prohibited from marrying a cousin on his or her mother's side. Among most Ainu groups, a few prominent males in the community practice polygyny.

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.

The Ainu hunted from late autumn to early summer. The reasons for this were, among others, that in late autumn, plant gathering, salmon fishing and other activities of securing food came to an end, and hunters readily found game in fields and mountains in which plants had withered. A village possessed a hunting ground of its own or several villages used a joint hunting territory (iwor) . Heavy penelties were imposed on any outsiders trespassing on such hunting grounds or joint hunting territory.

The Ainu hunted bear, Ezo deer, rabbit, fox, raccoon dog and other animals. Ezo deer were a particularly important food resource for the Ainu as were salmon. They also hunted sea eagles such as white-tailed sea eagles, raver and other birds. The Ainu hunted eagles to obtain their tail feathers which were used in trade with the Japanese.

Hunting was done with dogs by several hunters who got on well with each other. Before the Ainu went hunting for animals like bear in particular, they prayed to the god of fire and the house guardian god to convey their wishes for a large catch, and safe hunting to the god of mountains.

History of the Ainu

Hokkaido, the Northern island of Japan where the Ainu has inhabited, is full of natural resources based on rich river systems. Because of the fact and the location, the land of the Ainu had been both, Japanese and Russian's interests and the Ainu had been a target of extermination in order for them to obtain the flourished land.

View on the change of the Ainu Population As we can see in the following table and graph, the change in the Ainu population clearly indicates the evidence of Japanese exploitation of the Ainu which enforced them to give up their tradition and culture. We can not overlook Ainu's physical and psychological struggle over the abrupt change in their life style of which has been suffered with low economic income as well as harsh discrimination. I believe the struggle is one of the main causes of decreasing population. The population of the Ainu rapidly decreased between 1822 and 1873; about 7000 Ainu died over 50 years. The reason behind the rapid decrease of the population is thought to be the spread of epidemics, such as small pox, measles, cholera and tuberculosis beside the enforcement of Japanese culture and labor. Parallel to the uprising movement in 1960's, the Ainu population also has increased about 6000. Today, the Ainu population seems to be stable with small fracture in numbers.

Hokkaido’s annual mean temperature is around 10.0ºC, which is similar to that of Chicago or Boston in North America. Hokkaido enjoys four distinct seasons with no rainy season and a cool, refreshing summer with low humidity. In winter, there is considerable snowfall on the Sea of Japan side and there are many days with freezing temperatures even in the daytime.

Surrounded in all four directions by the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, Hokkaido is home to a variety of magnificent mountains, extensive wetlands, beautiful lakes, marshes, rivers, forests and more. With expansive farmland, also referred to as the breadbasket of Japan, the prefecture produces a variety of products, consisting mainly of rice, dry-field crops, and dairy and livestock products. Hokkaido has two volcanic zones, along which many volcanoes and hot springs exist.

There was considerable variation in the permanency of Ainu settlements. Until the turn of the century, the basic pattern of the Sakhalin Ainu was a seasonal alternation of settlement between a summer settlement on the shore and a winter settlement farther inland. In the winter settlement, they built semisubterranean pit-houses. Ainu settlements were usually located along the shore, with houses in a single line parallel to the shore. The Kurile Ainu migrated even more frequently. In contrast, on Hokkaidō, permanent settlements were located along the rivers, which were rich in fish from mouth to source—an unusual situation for hunter-gatherers.