Hypothesis The Ainu moved from Hokkaido and the northern part of Honshu to further north, due to the war that occurred in Japan long ago. Ainu culture and biography Ainu means human in the Ainu language. The history of the Ainu was known from the Jomon period, around 1200 AD. Nowadays there are very few pure-blooded Ainu. This is because the Ainu intermarried with the Japanese people. You can tell that a person is Ainu by his appearance. The Ainu have lighter skin than the Japanese and generally have more body hair. They also have large noses and eyes. Unfortunately, the Ainu are becoming increasingly extinct, just like their language, where there are less than 100 people who speak the Ainu language. In the 15th century there were many Mongols from Korea, China, etc. who came to live in Japan. Some of them moved to Hokkaido and the northern parts of Honshu, where most of the Ainu lived. When new Japanese settlers wanted Ainu land, the Ainu were forced to leave. Japanese settlers began pushing the Ainu further north than Hokkaido, and also towards northern islands, such as the Kuril Islands and the southern island of Sakhalin. Furthermore, the Ainu population declined due to infectious diseases brought by Japanese settlers. There were not many Ainu left when they moved north, due to the decreasing population, and some Ainu moved to other countries such as Korea, China, Russia, etc. The Japanese did not treat the Ainu right at all, and there was racism against the Ainu. For example, the Japanese ignored the opinion of the Ainu when discussing how to make improvements in Hokkaido. Even today some people are still racist against the Ainu. Som...... half of the sheet...... Ainu (pp. 14-15). Boston: Tuttle.Rice, R. (n.d.). Submergence and emergence of the Ainu: human rights discourse and expression of ethnicity in modern Japan. Retrieved from http://www.uky.edu////Seras//.docTanaka, Y. (1994). Organization to promote Ainu understanding and culture. In the Ainu today - 7 years after the law on the promotion of culture (para. 3). Retrieved from http://www.hurights.or.jp/pacific/_36/.htmUzawa, K. (n.d.). Political and social situation. In The Ainu of Japan: Political Situation and Rights Issues. Retrieved from http://www.npolar.no////.htmlWikipedia. (2009, September 23). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org//_peopleYahoo Image of Korea [Ainu behind the history of Japan] [Image]. (2008, June 11). Retrieved from http://kr.img.search.yahoo.com//?p=%EC%95%84%EC%9D%B4%EB%88%84&b=26&imgseq=29&oid=1_02true1171998_3&subtype=Image_DB&target=detail&top=frame