Music of the Ainu Native People of North Japan

Ainu music is the musical tradition of the Ainu people of northern Japan. The oral Ainu culture includes various genres, of which upopo, lighthearted ballads on daily affairs and rituals often accompanied by traditional Ainu instruments, and yukar (mimicry), a form of rhythmic epic poetry often supported by light percussion, are most prominently covered in writings on this oral Ainu culture. The contents of these ballads were an important source of understanding daily life as well as various traditions and habits of the Ainu people.

Ainu music carries spiritual resonance in almost all of its forms, and it has played an important role in both the cultural history and the cultural renaissance of the Ainu people. Almost every type of Ainu song is sacred. Traditional Ainu music can be divided into two major groups, everyday songs and epic songs. Everyday songs in Ainu tradition were sung in many situations and on an impromptu basis. They were often accompanied by the two most prevalent Ainu musical instruments: the tonkori, a plucked zither, and the mukkuri, a jaw harp played by women.

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Music is an expression of human creativity. UNESCO reports that among all the performing arts, music is the most universal and is found in every society, most often as an integral part of other performing art forms and other domains of intangible cultural heritage.

Traditional forms of music are considered carriers of cultural heritage because they represent expressions and traditions transferred through generations of a community.

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