Ainu were the first people from East Asia to settle today Japan. They are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the world. What is most interesting is that scientists do not actually have accurate data on where this people came from.

They first appeared in Japan and Russia in the 13th century BC. Until the 19th century, they had almost no contact with any of the other ethnic groups that existed at that time. They are believed to be the oldest ethnic group in Europe and Asia. They are more reminiscent of Europeans than Mongols, and have therefore often been discriminated against in Japan.

Men with long hair and long beard, who never shave. Women, on the other hand, are decorated with tattoos from their earliest childhood - when a girl turns 6 or 7, she gets her first tattoo over her upper lip. It was believed that this ritual protected girls from evil spirits who tried to enter them through their mouths.

With age, that tattoo fades, and when it gets a certain color and shape, it is believed that the girl is ready for marriage. The most common Ainu women tattoo is reminiscent of the Joker's smile today. In the 19th century, the Japanese government banned these tattoos, but some continued to do so in secret, respecting the old tradition of their people.

Ainu's last wife with this tattoo on her face died in 1998, and today's Ainu girls draw them with make-up for their holidays. Other tattoos are geometric shapes that are believed to protect girls from disease and evil spirits.

From the moment they appeared on the Japanese islands, this people was focused on hunting, fishing and fruit picking. They lived in houses up to 35 square meters, in the center of which there was always a fireplace. Many words in Japanese are taken
from the Ainu language.

Bears have always played a major role in their lives and there are many beliefs about this animal among the Ainu people. Archaeologists even think that they brought bears from the island of Hokkaido. Thanks to the Ainu people, samurai appeared in Japan.

When the Japanese settled on the islands and formed a state, the Ainu people continued to live in tribes.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Japanese began to settle in wider areas. But these people still resisted, they had their own schools and hospitals, their own country, they did not pay taxes. On the other hand, the formation of the state brought a ban on most of the rituals of the Ainu people, so this people slowly began to lose their cultural identity.

However, in 2019, the Japanese government declared Ainu an indigenous people and called for an end to discrimination against this people. Today, the Ainu people are trying to renew their cultural identity.