SocietyEast Asia
The Ainu of Hokkaido
A people with a language of their own, recognised by Japan only in 2019
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Ainu is a language isolate, and its speakers' origins are linked to the Jomon population who lived in Japan before rice farmers arrived. Their oral epics, *yukar*, could take nights to perform. Fewer than ten people are today reckoned native speakers, and revival work is a race against time.
For children
The Ainu lived on Hokkaido and the islands to the north, by hunting and fishing, with a religion in which the bear was central. Their language is unrelated to Japanese. Japan banned the language and customs in the nineteenth century, and recognised the Ainu as an indigenous people only in 2019.
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Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org