The Japanese belong to the ethnic group known as Yamato, but are all natives of Japan Yamato? Nope. Those born in Okinawa belong to a different group called Uchinanchu, while in Hokkaido, in the north, we can find another group called Ainu. The word Ainu means "human" in their original language, and they have inhabited the coldest areas of Japan for more than 5,000 years. The Ainu fought long and hard to stop the advance of the samurai during the 10th century. In fact, the title Shogun was born in the fight against these men. The full title was Sei Taii Shogun, which means something like "Commanding General Who Fights Against the Barbarians of the North." The "barbarians of the North" were precisely the Ainu.
The samurai began their final advance in Hokkaido only in the 17th century, but colonization began at the end of the 19th century. One of the first colonizers was Morihei Ueshiba, the founding master of Aikido. Today there are only 24,000 Ainu left in the country. Fortunately, they now have their own voice in the Japanese Congress. Their features are more similar to the Mongolian peoples and their culture, religion and customs differ greatly from those of the Yamato.
In the image, taken in 1865, two Ainu inhabitants can be seen next to a Ronin.
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