“Source: Illustration of harpooning in Ezo-shima Kikan (Curious Sights of Ezo Island) by Shimanojo Murakami
Ocean hunting thrived in coastal Hokkaido areas and Sakhalin. Ainu people caught cod fish, flounder, sardines, herring, swordfish, ocean sunfish, whales, seals, fur seals and so forth. Meat, fats/oils, viscera, etc. were used as food, whereas marine animal furs and skins were used to make clothes and other items.”

photo courtesy: Northern Studies Collection, Hokkaido University Library