Many anthropologists place the ancestors of the Ainu in the Caucasian race. In certain physical traits, heavy beards, wavy hair, and a light complection, they seem more European than Asian. Their language, with several dialects, has no link to any other.

The Ainu culture's decline began after 1868, when the country embarked on rapid modernization, and accelerated after World War II. Traditionally, Ainu men engaged in hunting and fishing, while women gathered wild fruit and nuts, or dug edible roots and bulbs with sticks. Today, they generally work as farmers and in the commercial fishing industry.

Traditional Ainu social organization is based on patrilineal kin groups each headed by a chief. Local groups usually consist of five to ten households. Other

The "iwakte" also is a ceremony to send back the spirits of disused daily necessities and festival-related articles that have become unusable from damage or age. The sending back of spirits of small animals, such as squirrels and hares also was called "iwakte" in some districts. Ash from a hearth and the bran of millet including yard millet were gathered at a certain site and returned to the divine world.

The yomeiri marriage was conducted in the following manner. A man and his father brought to the house of a woman betrothal gifts, including a sword, a treasured sword, an ornamental quiver, a sword guard, and a woven basket (hokai). If they agreed to marry, the man and his father would bring her to their house or the man would stay at her house for a while and then bring her to his house.

At the wedding ceremony, participants prayed to the god of fire. Bride and bridegroom respectively ate half of the rice served in a bowl, and other participants were entertained.

There are various ceremonies throughout the year, including ceremonies to send back spirits, a religious ceremony for ancestors, a ceremony for the completion of new house, and a ceremony to launch the year's first fishing of salmon and shishamo smelt. Sending spirits back, the most frequent of these ceremonies, treats and sends back the gods, who disguise themselves as animals, plants and objects, descend to the human world and supply food and other daily necessities. The ceremonies include "iyomante," "hopunire" and "iwakte," of which "iyomante," a ceremony for the sending back of the spirits of bear cubs is the most important. "Iyomante" is observed between January and February when the fallen snow is heavy. A bear 1 to 2 years old is captured in a hibernation den during winter and is sent back to the divine world by offering a splendid feast.

These figures (estimated ones) show that the population decreased particularly from 1822 to 1854. The reasons for the decrease were, among others, the spread through the Ainu population of such diseases as smallpox, measles, cholera, tuberculosis and venereal diseases and the breakup of families due to forced labor.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1635
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)