Livelihood
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Livelihood
Fishing, Hunting and Plant Gathering
| In the harsh Northern environment, the Ainu lived by hunting, fishing, plant gathering and other activities in the countryside, near the sea and by rivers throughout the year. They worked to obtain food or make tools for everyday use. Men engaged in fishing, hunting and other physical labor. Women and children picked wild vegetables, wove fabric using looms and did other light work. Such activities were performed throughout the year: Early spring was for hunting Yezo deer and brown bear as well as picking wild vegetables, summer was for trout fishing in rivers, autumn was for salmon fishing in rivers and offshore as well as wild vegetable picking, and winter was for hunting small animals such as rabbit and sable.
Yezo deer, brown bears, seals, sea lions, fur seals and other mammals, fish such as trout and salmon, ooubayuri (Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii) and other wild vegetables were caught or gathered as valuable foods. The hides and skin of Yezo deer, brown bears, seals and salmon were used for clothes, shoes, bags, and other purposes. Plants such as ohyonire (Ulmus laciniata mayr), Japanese linden and nettle were collected to make clothes and bags. In the Kuril region, tufted puffins and other birds were caught to make clothes. Numerous tools were used according to the task at hand: bows and arrows, traps, marek (hooks), kite (harpoons), hunting nets, digging devices, plant ear-picks, weaving machines, makiri (knives), etc. After cultivation techniques were introduced to the Ainu by Wajin, simple agriculture came to be conducted in addition to the traditional activities of hunting, fishing and plant gathering. |
 Picking of ooubayuri (Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii)(『アイヌ風俗絵巻』property of Hakodate City Central Library)  Weaving (property of the Foundation for Ainu Culture) |
Overseas Trade
| Harvests from the above-mentioned activities were as food or materials for daily necessities. In addition, fur and skin from Yezo deer, sable and other animals, as well as hawk feathers were traded to Wajin and people of other ethnicities living in around Sakhalin, in coastal areas, in Kamchatka, and elsewhere for glass balls, silk fabric, metal implements, and the like.
The subsistence activities, the methods used for marek fishing, kite fishing and hunting with mechanical traps, and the fishing gear were very similar to those of other ethnic peoples in the surrounding areas, i.e., those living in coastal areas and in the Kamchatka region. This indicates that the Ainu built their own lives while coming into contact with and enjoying exchanges with surrounding peoples of other ethnicities. |
 River fishing(property of the Foundation for Ainu Culture) |
Actively trading Ainu in an itaomacip (boat) (『蝦夷嶋図説』property of Hakodate City Central Library)