Emishi

[Nerroth]

I was trying to find more information in English about the Emishi of northern Honshu, and managed to dig up this site; does the information presented (and referenced) there offer a good reflection on what is currently known about the Emishi, or is there a different English-language resource (in print or online form) which would be recommended instead?
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[kitsuno]

The site looks pretty good. Here are some other books and articles, it depends on what era you're interested in:

Ethnogenesis in the Japanese Islands, by Mark Hudson.

A Prehistoric Maritime Culture of the Okhotsk By Harumi Befu and Chester S. Chard

Ainu Ethnicity and the Boundaries of the Early Modern Japanese State by David L. Howell

Ainu Ethnogenesis and the Northern Fujiwara By Mark J. Hudson

Regional Variations in Ainu Culture by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney
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[JLBadgley]

One thing I noticed on that site was his connection of the Emishi with Caucasian. While there certainly may be evidence of Caucasian ancestry amongst the Ainu, the Ainu do not appear to be direct descendants of the Emishi, from what I've read. In fact, the "Emishi" may not have been any different than the people living inside Yamato, other than as a description of people who lived outside of the Yamato polity.

There is certainly a continuation of Jomon culture in the Tohoku region and further north well past when it had declined in the areas of the Yamato polity. However, "Jomon" and "Epi-Jomon" cultures are hardly homogenous from south to north, and early descriptions of Japan show it as an island of myriad tribes and "kingdoms".

In addition, we see "Emishi" leaders co-opted by the state into helping defend the border lands and thus becoming part of the Yamato bureaucracy--and occasionally reverting back to their previous loyalties.

Still, lots of good info out there. Good luck!

[kitsuno]

The "emishi" were not technically only the Ainu, but could be anyone who lived in the north and was an enemy of the state.

But the actual Ainu are generally accepted to be genetically the first wave proto-Asians, and not descended from the "2nd wave" of mainlanders who moved into Kyushu after the Jomon period, but are related to Okinawans in some ways - and are definitely not caucasian. We cover this in better detail in the "Intro to Japanese History" podcast, I'm pretty sure it's in Part 2. Right now I'm just going off memory.
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[shikisoku]

First wave=Jomon were South Mongoloid, 2nd wave=Yayoi were North Mongoloid.
Tattoo and long bow seem to be legacy of South Mongoloid.
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[Nerroth]

Thanks for the feedback so far.


In terms of the Emishi and the Ainu, the book covering early-modern Ezo I posted about over on the Edo board had a section in it which proposes that, culturally speaking, the Watarishima Emishi first mentioned in the Heian period may have evolved into the Satsumon culture on Ezo; and that a fusion of the Satsumon and the more northerly Okhotsk culture (along with other extenal influences) may have led to the emergence of the Ainu in the twelfth century.

(Some of this segment can be seen in the Google preview linked to on this page.)


Although, in this case, I was wondering less about the Watarishima Emishi (who are interesting in their own right) but more about whether or not there was much in the way of info about the Tohoku Emishi; the horse-riding peoples who opposed the northern expansion of the Yamato state and its successors.


(For example, how much evidence is there of these Emishi influencing the first use of cavalry by Japanese armies, if any? And is there any truth to the argument that more than one northern samurai clan ultimately owed its roots to assimilated Emishi horse archers?)
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[shikisoku]

Aterui?
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