Ainu << EYE noo >> are a group of people who may have been the first inhabitants of what is now Japan. There are about 15,000 Ainu. Most of the Ainu live on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island. In the mid-1900’s, many Ainu moved to Hokkaido from Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Sakhalin is a part of Russia. Russia claims and occupies all the Kurils, but Japan claims the southernmost ones.
Scientists are uncertain about the ancestry of the Ainu. Some anthropologists think the Ainu are related to European peoples. Other anthropologists believe they are related to Asian peoples or the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, the original inhabitants of Australia. The Ainu language has not been clearly classified.
Through the centuries, many Ainu have intermarried with the Japanese and other neighboring peoples. The village was once the basic unit of Ainu society. Each village was headed by a leader and consisted of 5 to 30 one-room houses. Hunting, fishing, and gathering plants provided food for the community. The Ainu practiced a complicated set of religious ceremonies.
The Ainu have long been victims of discrimination. However, they have started a movement to achieve fair treatment in Japan. The Japanese government has begun a program of economic aid for the Ainu.
