Ainu culture
Ainu culture
The Ainu are an indigenous people of Japan. Traditional Ainu culture was quite different from Japanese culture, with roots stretching back more than 10,000 years. It is still alive and vibrant today. The Ainu are traditionally animists, believing that everything in nature has a kamuy (spirit or god) on the inside. Never shaving after a certain age, the men had full beards and moustaches Wikipedia →
Above: Ainu playing cards by Nintendo, 1979. 52 cards + 2 jokers. There are two different decks of Ainu cards; this deck is sometimes referred to as "Ainu I" to distinguish it from the second deck, sometimes referred to as "Ainu II." The court card designs are different in the two decks. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.
Above: a group of Ainu people.