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The Yamato state launched expeditions into [[Emishi]] ("barbarian") lands in northeastern Japan as early as the 7th century; though these largely took place in what is now considered the [[Tohoku|Tôhoku region]] of [[Honshu|Honshû]], Tôhoku at that time was in significant ways an extension of the same cultural area as Hokkaidô; these expeditions contributed to pushing the indigenous peoples north, out of Tôhoku and into Hokkaidô, as the Yamato state gradually expanded its influence over the region. As the term "Emishi" was used not only for "barbarian" peoples who were ethnically or culturally distinct from the Japanese (Wajin), but also for people who were simply politically distinct - those outside the sway of the Yamato state or those actively rejecting the authority of that state - it is difficult to make blanket statements about whether "the Emishi" as a whole were or were not Ainu. However, scholars such as [[Tessa Morris-Suzuki]] have noted that very few, if any, sources prior to the 14th century employ the term "Ainu," and very few after that time employ the term "Emishi." In other words, there is an argument to be made that these are different terms for the same people - to at least some extent - and not for wholly distinct groups.<ref>Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. "Creating the Frontier: Border, Identity, and History in Japan's Far North." ''East Asian History'' 7 (June 1994). pp4.</ref>
The Yamato state launched expeditions into [[Emishi]] ("barbarian") lands in northeastern Japan as early as the 7th century; though these largely took place in what is now considered the [[Tohoku|Tôhoku region]] of [[Honshu|Honshû]], Tôhoku at that time was in significant ways an extension of the same cultural area as Hokkaidô; these expeditions contributed to pushing the indigenous peoples north, out of Tôhoku and into Hokkaidô, as the Yamato state gradually expanded its influence over the region. As the term "Emishi" was used not only for "barbarian" peoples who were ethnically or culturally distinct from the Japanese (Wajin), but also for people who were simply politically distinct - those outside the sway of the Yamato state or those actively rejecting the authority of that state - it is difficult to make blanket statements about whether "the Emishi" as a whole were or were not Ainu. However, scholars such as [[Tessa Morris-Suzuki]] have noted that very few, if any, sources prior to the 14th century employ the term "Ainu," and very few after that time employ the term "Emishi." In other words, there is an argument to be made that these are different terms for the same people - to at least some extent - and not for wholly distinct groups.<ref>Morris-Suzuki, Tessa. "Creating the Frontier: Border, Identity, and History in Japan's Far North." ''East Asian History'' 7 (June 1994). pp4.</ref>
From the 16th century or so (or perhaps earlier) onwards, Ainu society was organized into small communities called ''[[kotan]]''. There was no one chief, king, or council uniting all Ainu, or any sort of government administration or bureaucracy; the ''kotan'' was, more or less, the largest social (or political) entity in Ainu society.<ref>Mark Watson, "Tokyo Ainu and the Urban Indigenous Experience," in ann-elise lewallen, Mark Hudson, Mark Watson (eds.), ''Beyond Ainu Studies'', University of Hawaii Press (2015), 72.</ref> ''Kotan'' were self-organized, usually locating themselves near a river or seashore. They did not "own" land in any manner resembling modern concepts of ownership, with written contracts, legal codes, and/or systems of inheritance. Rather, so long as a plot of land was under cultivation by an individual, family, or ''kotan'', others would respect the claim or "rights" to that land.<ref>Morris-Suzuki, 15.</ref> The men of a given ''kotan'' would hunt and fish in their area, chiefly [[bear]] and [[salmon]], while the women farmed, mainly millet, beans, barley, wheat, sorghum, and vegetables. They would usually burn the field first, creating ash which served as fertilizer, and would then cultivate a given plot for a year or two before allowing that area to return to nature, and turning to a different plot of land to claim as theirs to cultivate for a period. Bows called ''ku'' and made of Japanese yew (Ainu: ''kuneni'') were used along with poisoned arrows for hunting boar, bears, deer, and other animals. The Ainu, especially in Sakhalin, also bred [[dogs]], which they used for a variety of purposes, including as hunting companions, sled dogs, and for their fur/skins and their meat.
One particularly notable Ainu revolt took place in [[1457]]. Led by a chieftain named [[Koshamain]], Ainu attacked a Japanese settlement headed by the samurai [[Takeda Nobuhiro|Kakizaki (Takeda) Nobuhiro]]. Though this would be one of the largest Ainu revolts in all of history, it ultimately ended in defeat for the Ainu. Though the Japanese still did not claim or exercise anything approaching total control of the territory, nevertheless, Nobuhiro and his settlement remained, additional settlements were established, including [[Katsuyama castle]] in [[1462]], and some groups of Ainu or other local native populations were obliged to begin paying [[tribute]] to samurai settlement heads.
One particularly notable Ainu revolt took place in [[1457]]. Led by a chieftain named [[Koshamain]], Ainu attacked a Japanese settlement headed by the samurai [[Takeda Nobuhiro|Kakizaki (Takeda) Nobuhiro]]. Though this would be one of the largest Ainu revolts in all of history, it ultimately ended in defeat for the Ainu. Though the Japanese still did not claim or exercise anything approaching total control of the territory, nevertheless, Nobuhiro and his settlement remained, additional settlements were established, including [[Katsuyama castle]] in [[1462]], and some groups of Ainu or other local native populations were obliged to begin paying [[tribute]] to samurai settlement heads.
