Ainu Daily Life
A quick look at the traditional daily lives, food, clothing, and homes of Ainu people.
Traditional Lifestyles of the Ainu
For the most part, traditional Ainu life focused on meeting the daily needs of families. Men’s duties included hunting, fishing, crafting tools, and leading worship. They set spring traps laced with poison and trained dogs to capture large game like deer and bear. Dried fish, most notably salmon, were a staple through the long winter months. All of these activities were closely tied to the spiritual world, requiring prayer, offerings, and respect to the Ainu deities. Women, meanwhile, did not engage in formal worship. Instead, they tended to children, gathered wild plants, made clothing, and grew crops of millet or deccan grass. These foods formed the basis of their diet, often cooked together in a stew called ohaw. Unlike their Japanese neighbors, the Ainu did not grow much rice or consume raw fish.
Both genders wore embroidered robes over leggings and underclothes. The traditional material for these robes is attush, a fabric woven from elm tree fibers. They also made clothing from materials like hide, bird-skin, fish-skin, and other plant fibers. On Sakhalin Island, white robes derived from nettle fibers were more common. Later, Ainu families adopted Japanese cottons and silks. Women continued to embroider these new materials with Ainu symbols. Their elaborate patterns reveal where a person is from, their status, and are said to protect the wearer from spiritual harm.
A typical Ainu home, or chise, housed a single nuclear family. They were spacious, rectangular structures built from timber beams and woven grass mats. A central hearth sat at the center of each home, the dwelling of the fire goddess Kamuy Fuchi. Spirits traveled between this hearth and a sacred, outdoor nusa fence through the east window, which humans were not supposed to look through.
Modern Ainu Lifestyles
The Ainu way of life has always changed and adapted to new conditions. Even their origins as a culture reflect increasing contact with the outside world. Over time, however, Japanese colonization proved too disruptive for the ecosystem of Hokkaido. Excessive fishing and hunting stripped the seas, rivers, and forests of the island, making subsistence nearly impossible. Further laws banning Ainu customs pushed them to adopt Japanese-influenced lifestyles. Many Ainu people settled into agriculture or commercial fishing on Hokkaido, while others performed ceremonies or sold art in tourist villages.
Improving quality of life and access to opportunity in Ainu communities without sacrificing their culture has been a major focus of modern activists. Today’s Ainu people pursue a wide variety of careers, both traditional and modern. They may live in large cities or more rural areas, depending on their circumstances and personal preference.
Further Reading:
Learn More About Ainu Culture
Cultural Overview | Geography | History | Daily Life | Society | Economy | Beliefs | Arts & Music
References
Batchelor, John. The Ainu and Their Folk-Lore. Religious Tract Society. 1901.
Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. Illness and Healing Among the Sakhalin Ainu. Cambridge Univeristy Press. 2014.
Siddle, Richard. Race, Resistance, and the Ainu of Japan. Routledge. 2012.
Sjoberg, Katarina. The Return of Ainu: Cultural Mobilization and the Practice of Ethnicity in Japan. Routledge. 2013.
“The Ainu People.” Ainu History and Culture, Ainu Museum, www.ainu-museum.or.jp/en/study/eng01.html.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
