Obihiro Centennial City Museum

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Reconstruction of a cise

cise [House] Side view
cise [House] Front entrance view
Window for kamuy on altar side of the cise

The Ainu in the Tokachi area built their cise (houses) with a window for kamuy (gods) to come and go. These windows always faced upstream nearby rivers. The nusa (altar) was placed opposite this window. The area surrounding the cise contained cages to keep bear cubs that were caught, sheds for storing food, and toilet outhouses, etc.