At the 17th ICOS conference in Helsinki, I gave a paper entitled “Ainu Substratum in the Distribution of
Japanese Microtoponyms” and I now would like to present my continuing studies on this topic. In Tohoku
(North East District of Japan), there remain many place names having the same word structures as the
names in Hokkaido where there still remain Ainu aborigines. But many names in Tohoku have changed
through contact with the Japanese language, and it is necessary to interpret these names as to how they
changed from Ainu to a Japanized word.