Online dictionary of history and traditions in Japan: Ezo

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French version

Ezo

蝦夷蝦夷
alternative words: Emishi, Ainu
keywords: minority , northern territory
related topics: Ezochi , Nara period , Heian period , Sakanoue no Tamuramaro , Ezochi
related web sites: http://www.hi-net.ne.jp/~ma/ , http://yositune.ichinoseki.ac.jp/SATOK/idea/aterui.html , http://www.geocities.co.jp/SilkRoad-Desert/5231/
explanation: Old name of Ainu. Initially populated all Japanese archipelagoes, they had been gradually pushed away to the north. During Nara period, they were still living in Tohoku region and had repeated revolted agains Yamato court. Nevertheless, after a conquest of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in the early Heian period, their revolts had ceased and their territory had been shrunk to Ezochi, i.e. actual Hokkaido. Ezo is a phonetic deformation of "enju" or "emchiu" in Ainu's language and means "man".