plural Ainu or Ainus
1
: a member of an Indigenous people of the Japanese archipelago, the Kuril Islands, and part of Sakhalin Island
2
: the language of the Ainu people
Examples of Ainu in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For centuries Tohoku was Japan's untouchable frontier, a Wild West settled first by the Mesolithic Jōmon people around 14,000 BCE, and later by the Indigenous Emishi and Ainu, who ferociously defended it from Japanese expansion until the mid ninth century CE.
—
Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2025
There’s biodiversity in the different areas, from the Sumi-e ink wash paintings to foraging for mushrooms and fish to the Ainu culture.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
Both Okinawans and the Ainu are, in Japan, minority cultures.
—Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2025
Learn About the Ainu Photo: Getty Images Most Popular
Fashion Week
Troye Sivan’s Fashion Week Look?
—Christina Liao, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Fukunaga plans to use the footage for a short film as a follow-up to his documentary Ainu Puri (Ainu ways) that is screening at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
—Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Nov. 2024
In recent years, as with many Indigenous peoples around the world, the Ainu have begun to reclaim their rights, language, and culture.
—Helen Schulman, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024
For example, Hitoshi Watanabe focused on ethnographic data about the Ainu, an Indigenous population in northern Japan and its surrounding areas.
—Cara Ocobock, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2023
The Islands Hall This hall will focus on life and cultures in the South Pacific and the Ainu, an Indigenous people in Japan.
—Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2023
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Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2025
There’s biodiversity in the different areas, from the Sumi-e ink wash paintings to foraging for mushrooms and fish to the Ainu culture.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
Both Okinawans and the Ainu are, in Japan, minority cultures.
—Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2025
Learn About the Ainu Photo: Getty Images Most Popular
Fashion Week
Troye Sivan’s Fashion Week Look?
—Christina Liao, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
Fukunaga plans to use the footage for a short film as a follow-up to his documentary Ainu Puri (Ainu ways) that is screening at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
—Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Nov. 2024
In recent years, as with many Indigenous peoples around the world, the Ainu have begun to reclaim their rights, language, and culture.
—Helen Schulman, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024
For example, Hitoshi Watanabe focused on ethnographic data about the Ainu, an Indigenous population in northern Japan and its surrounding areas.
—Cara Ocobock, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2023
The Islands Hall This hall will focus on life and cultures in the South Pacific and the Ainu, an Indigenous people in Japan.
—Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2023
Cite this Entry
“Ainu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ainu. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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