Omusha
# Omusha

Omusha (オムシャ), also umusa or umsa, was an Ainu greeting ritual that, like the related uimamu (ウイマム), became a ceremonial—of trade—full of the political symbolism of subservience, to the Matsumae Domain.

## Name

The word is understood to derive from the Ainu u (ウ), referring to mutuality, and musa (ムシャ), translated and defined by John Batchelor as "to stroke the head in salutation".

## Related images

* Ainu celebrating Omsia (from Siebold's Nippon (1832–1851))
* Omusha involving the Hidaka Ainu (C19), by Hirasawa Byōzan (Hakodate City Central Library)
* Scenes of the Ezo Fishing Grounds (C18), by Kodama Teiryō (小玉貞良) (Art Gallery of South Australia)
* Sketch for Scenes of the Ezo Fishing Grounds (C18), by Kodama Teiryō (Hakodate City Museum)
