emishi
The Emishi, Ebisu or Ezo (蝦夷; Japanese pronunciation: [eꜜ.mʲi.ɕi, eꜜ.bʲi.sɯ, eꜜ.(d)zo]) were a group of people who lived in parts of northern Honshū in present-day Japan, especially in the Tōhoku region.
The first mention of the Emishi in literature that can be corroborated with outside sources dates to the 5th century, in which they are referred to as máorén (Chinese: 毛人—, romanized: hairy people) in Chinese records. Some Emishi tribes resisted the rule of various Japanese emperors during the Asuka, Nara, and early Heian periods (7th–10th centuries).
The origin of the Emishi is disputed and continues to be a topic of discussion; however, some theories propose a connection to either the Zoku-Jōmon peoples of Japan that became the ancestors of the Ainu people, or pre-Yamato migrants. It has been posited that the Emishi may have either spoken a unique Japonic language similar to the Umpaku dialect, or a distinct language related to the Ainu languages, or both. Moreover, even though there is a significant geographical gap between Northeast Japan and the South—particularly Northern Kyushu, which is believed to be the initial site of rice agriculture in the archipelago—evidence indicates that local communities in northeast Japan entirely embraced rice cultivation in the early Yayoi period. This relationship could have been facilitated by human migration along the coastline of the Sea of Japan, suggesting a link between the northeast and the adoption of rice farming during the Yayoi era. A majority of scholars have also noted cultural similarities to the Ainu. The Emishi that inhabited northern Honshu likely consisted of several tribes, which included pre-Ainu people, non-Yamato, and admixed people, who united and resisted the expansion of the Yamato Kingship and subsequent states.
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