Ainu

[ahy-noo]

noun

plural

Ainus ,

plural

Ainu .

1. a member of an aboriginal population of northernmost Japan.

2. the language of the Ainu.

Ainu

/ ˈaɪnuː /

noun

1. a member of the aboriginal people of Japan, now mostly intermixed with Mongoloid immigrants whose skin colour is more yellowish

2. the language of this people, sometimes tentatively associated with Altaic, still spoken in parts of Hokkaido and elsewhere

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ainu¹

Ainu: man

Example Sentences

The remains of the Ainu people - donated by Scottish anthropologist Dr Neil Gordon - were held in the university's anatomy museum.

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Dr Munro lived and died among the Ainu while studying their culture in northern Japan.

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The skulls were repatriated in a traditional Ainu ceremony at the university.

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He became interested in anthropology and archaeology and moved to the village of Nibutani in Hokkaido to be among the Ainu community.

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The Ainu lived in self-governing communities across the island and maintained their own traditions under Japanese imperial rule.

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