First Ainu reference in Japanese documents?

[JohnMetsn]

Hello,

I need a little help from you. I just finished my thesis about Ainu, where I wrote that the first Ainu reference in Japanese documents is from Kamakura period .

But it seems that my professor doesn't agree with that and asking me when and where were Ainu people mentioned before that in Japanese documents.

I was trying to find the answer, but with no luck.

Does anybody here know the right answer?

Thank you!!

 

[epigene]

From what I learned at school long ago and from books and websites today, the first Ainu reference appears in the first-ever written "historical" accounts of Japan, namely, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki (early 8th century). In these accounts, they are referred to as Emishi, whom many historians believe are the ancestors of the Ainu or Ainu people themselves.

Who Were the Emishi?

Kofun Culture