Ainu place names designating confluence of rivers, Usu volcano, and Ainu settlements

Abstract

Many of the Ainu settlement locations changed and the resident members of the settlements also changed substantially in the Mitsuishi district of Hokkaido, Japan, 1856-1869. In spite of the fluid residential groupings, many settlements were constructed mainly by households that parent-child and/or sibling relations with each other. It is estimated that Ainu people recognized when, who, and where they lived through individual names and Ainu place names, and they moved or stayed to construct their settlements.