About this belief system

Ainu culture refers to the spiritual and cultural beliefs of the Ainu (or Aynu) people indigenous to northern Japan and parts of Russia.

Top myths

Kamui and Wagtail Genesis
Creation myth
Unknown author
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Top deities

Kamui

Background

The Ainu people are indigineous to northern Japan and parts of Russia. They do not speak a Japanese language and are referred to under many different names: Ainu, Aynu, Ezo, and others. Their name translates to meaning "people" or "human." [1]

Notes

1.
🡩Leeming, CME, 35f.

Ainu myths: A-Z

  • Kamui and Wagtail Genesis Creation myth

    Nuthsell

    Kamui, the supreme creator deity, fashioned the world on a large fish while in his divine abode. His formation of land was covered by water that the fish spewed out. Kamui then sent a small Wagtail bird to make it habitable. The confused bird fluttered and stomped the ground to make a habitable island for the Ainu people.

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Ainu deities: A-Z

  • Kamui Ainu · 1 myth

    Kamui was a supreme deity associated with creation in the Ainu belief system of northern Japan.

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Cite this page

MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Ainu." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 25 Jun. 2020, omnika.org/stable/727. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

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APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)

OMNIKA (2020, June 25). Ainu. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/727

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CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Ainu." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created June 25, 2020. Accessed April 11, 2025. https://omnika.org/stable/727.

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Bibliography

Leeming, David A. Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia. 2nd edition. Vol. 1 [Parts I-II]. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010.
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