Yukar are Ainu sagas that form a long, rich tradition of oral literature.
Perhaps the only book relating the epic songs of the Ainu in English is "Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: The Epic Tradition of the Ainu", North Point 1982 and University of Tokyo Press 1979, by Donald L. Philippi.
Traditional tales describe floating worlds with "Ainu Mosir", or the land of the humans (as opposed to "Kamui Mosir", the land of the gods), resting on the back of a fish whose movements cause earthquakes.
Dr. Kyōsuke Kindaichi collected yukar and translated them into Japanese.
See Ainu music.
