Kamui and the Ainu

In the 2006 game Okami, developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom, the lead character Amaterasu travels to a frozen land north of the game's "Nippon" to a place called "Kamui." Kamui is a land covered in snow and sparsely populated with a group of shapeshifting villagers called the Oina. The Oina all wear masks depicting different species of animals; bears, deer, and tanuki making their appearances on the visages of the villagers.

The land of Kamui and it's people are a direct reference to the real-world island of Hokkaido and the Ainu that live there. The Ainu possess a culture and mythology distinct from that of greater Shinto belief in Japan, praying instead to animal spirits known as Kamuy. The Kamuy are as numerous and varied as the Kami of Shinto belief or even the gods of Greek or Norse mythology.

Some of the most notable Kamuy in Ainu culture include Kim-Un Kamuy and Horkew Kamuy. Kim-Un Kamuy is depicted as a bear god who rules over mountains. The bear is arguably the most important symbol in Ainu culture, so much so that they have a ritual dedicated to it: the Ainu would capture a living bear cub and raise it for a year, providing it with food, water, and shelter. After the year ended, the bear would be ritually slain with arrows and consumed by the tribe. The tribe would offer to the spirit of the bear a feast of its own flesh, representing the nurturing and gratitude shared between the people and the animal.

Horkew Kamuy, on the other hand, is lesser-known but still significant in Ainu culture, as it is believed to be the progenitor of the Ainu people. In the Tokachi and Hidaka tribes in particular, a myth existed that an ancient princess had a vision of meeting her husband atop a mountain; when she arrived at the summit, she found the great white wolf Horkew Kamuy, and their union gave birth to the Ainu people. It is for this reason that the Ainu would often leave parts of their hunted kills behind to be eaten by wild wolves, and would even allow their domesticated dogs to breed with the wolves in order to foster more lupine traits in their hunting partners.

The myth of Horkew Kamuy may directly explain why the Oina people in Okami, despite wearing masks depicting several different species, are only able to transform into wolves. Horkew Kamuy also being described specifically as a white wolf may indeed have played a role in the design of Amaterasu herself.