Editing Ainu people (section)

===Dwellings and Structures ===
[[File:Ainu woman with mouth tattoos and live bear.jpg|thumb|upright|Ainu woman with mouth tattoos and a live bear]]
Their traditional habitations are reed-thatched huts, the largest about {{convert |20|ft|0|abbr=on}} square, without partitions and having a fireplace in the center. There is no chimney; there is only a hole at the angle of the roof. One window sits on the eastern side, along with two doors. The house of the village head is used as a public meeting-place when one is needed.<ref name="EB1911" />
Another kind of traditional Ainu house is called {{lang|ain-Latn|chise}}.{{sfnp|Sjöberg|1993}} The "chise" or dwelling is typically oriented east to west or parallel to a river, with the entrance on the west side also serving as a storeroom. It has three windows, including the sacred rorun-puyar on the east side, through which gods enter and leave and ceremonial tools are taken in and out. The Ainu regard this window as sacred and are told never to look in through it. A chise has a fireplace near the entrance. A husband and wife would traditionally sit on the fireplace's left side (called shiso). Children and guests would sit facing them on the fireplace's right side (called harkiso). The chise has a platform for valuables called iyoykir behind the shiso. The Ainu place sintoko (hokai) and ikayop (quivers) there. additionally there is the "Chashi" or hilltop fortification.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Abad |first=Rafael |date=2018 |title=An archaeological approach to the origins of Ainu culture 考古学からみたアイヌ文化の起源 |url=https://www.academia.edu/36896280 |url-access=registration |website=Academia}}</ref> These were found mostly around Hokkaidō, Japan. These structures served as defensive strongholds and symbolic centers for Ainu communities. The term "Chashi" comes from the Ainu word "casi," meaning palisade or fortified compound.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The "okuriba" or sacred site, was another structure that has great value to the Ainu people. it refers to a sacred ritual platform used in Ainu funerary customs. it was used to help send off the spirits of the deceased. The Okuriba  was typically a raised platform where offerings were placed. the Ainu people believed that these offerings helped the deceased transition to the Spirit World.<ref name=":0" />