Recent research suggests that Ainu culture originated from a merger of the Okhotsk and Satsumon cultures. Historical homeland and distribution of the Ainu people. Ainu also identify themselves as 'Utari' ('comrade' or 'people'.
This people's most widely known ethnonym, 'Ainu' ( Ainu: アィヌ Japanese: アイヌ Russian: Айны) means 'human' in the Ainu language, particularly as opposed to kamui, divine beings.
