the ainu

[mononokifool]

i would like to know more about the first inhabitants of japan who have been described from the old books and scrolls as being "big, white, harry people".

[Berugijin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people

They don't look big, white and hairy to me... Sounds more like the Gaijin Tribe indigenous to Europe.

[mononokifool]

i agree about the white part but they were big and harry but the stuff i have posted earlyer was directly out of my history text book but that is all they said about them they didnt elaborate at all

[hamish]

Its touching that you use our members to search the web, but can I introduce you to a couple of little known resources:

www.google.com
www.yahoo.com

Informed conversations are usually more rewarding for all involved...

[Andou]

Heh. Well...I don't really know much...which sort of makes me look bad...so I guess I have some studyin to do..

[hamish]

Not knowing much doesn't make you look bad, but in the time it takes to post a totally unrelated question in a kendo history forum, you could actually be looking at one of the related sites listed on Google (67++ pages of results.) and get a much better understanding about the Ainu than you'll ever get from a kendo forum.

[Mugu]

Wow, that's really interesting, I never heard such a race before or anyone mentioned about this until now. Thanks for the interesting info

[Akai Bushi]

At present the Ainu reside in Hokkaido, but in ancient times they were as far south as Gifu-ken. The Yamato pushed them back farther and farther north along with the emishi. If I recall correctly the main character (guy) from Mononoke Hime is an emishi. I can't really say who was first in Japan the Ainu or the Jomon.

[gsx1100s]

The Ainu are a people with a cultural and racial background which is different from that of the ethnic Japanese. They have been populating Hokkaido, northern Tohoku, the Kurile Islands and Sakhalin, but today only a small population remains mainly in Hokkaido.

According to one of several theories, the Ainu are descendants of Mongoloid migrants who entered the Japanese islands before the Jomon period. They were later displaced and assimilated, when the ethnic Japanese expanded their territory northernwards. In the Meiji Period (1868-1912), the Ainu received the status of "former aboriginals", but suffered under official discrimination for some years. In 1997, a new law was passed which provides funds for the research and promotion of Ainu culture.

here's a good link
http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/english/english.html

Don't you just love COPY-PASTE!!

My Grandfather had a carving of a bear which has been passed on to me for safe keeping. I was always under the impression it was Canadian as he was a miner in Canada. my Mother corrected me recently telling me that my Grandfather had bought it from an Ainu carver in japan on a visit there. All very interesting!

cheers michael

[mononokifool]

thank you. and yes you are correct Prince Ashitaka was of that tribe

[Andou]

The Ainu are a people with a cultural and racial background which is different from that of the ethnic Japanese. They have been populating Hokkaido, northern Tohoku, the Kurile Islands and Sakhalin, but today only a small population remains mainly in Hokkaido.

According to one of several theories, the Ainu are descendants of Mongoloid migrants who entered the Japanese islands before the Jomon period. They were later displaced and assimilated, when the ethnic Japanese expanded their territory northernwards. In the Meiji Period (1868-1912), the Ainu received the status of "former aboriginals", but suffered under official discrimination for some years. In 1997, a new law was passed which provides funds for the research and promotion of Ainu culture.

here's a good link
http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/english/english.html

Don't you just love COPY-PASTE!!

My Grandfather had a carving of a bear which has been passed on to me for safe keeping. I was always under the impression it was Canadian as he was a miner in Canada. my Mother corrected me recently telling me that my Grandfather had bought it from an Ainu carver in japan on a visit there. All very interesting!

cheers michael

That is pretty interesting. I haven't really seen a lot of Ainu artifacts. Maybe that's just my lack of searching, but to me, that's pretty damn cool.

[Kapplow]

i would like to know more about the first inhabitants of japan who have been described from the old books and scrolls as being "big, white, harry people".

Although some critized you for posting this without doing research first. I'd like to thank you for asking this question and thanks to gsx for the link. Just read the site...http://www.ainu-museum.or.jp/english/english.html

It was VERY interesting. one pic of one of the ainu look like a an inca or aztec from mexico or central america. crazy!

[Pokie]

do ainus play kendo ?

[Yiu Fai]

My housemate who is Japanese told me that even now, with steps having been taken to preserve Ainu culture, they are still discriminated against, to the point where they cannot borrow money from banks, certain jobs are excluded for Ainu people, I was quite shocked and suprised to hear that.

[mero]

Eh what else is new? Ainu have always been and are still treated like leapars along with burakamins,, and ethnic koreans.

Japan really has some serious social ills.