What Ainu oral literature genre consists of long sagas or epics? The answer is yukar. Yukar are long Ainu heroic sagas and epic songs, preserved for generations through memorized oral performance rather than an indigenous writing system.
Yukar traditionally recount the adventures of heroes, gods, and other powerful beings. Many are narrated in the first person, with the performer speaking as the protagonist or spirit. Their rhythmic delivery helped singers remember lengthy texts, and performances could last for hours or even days at gatherings and ceremonies.
A related term, kamuy yukar, refers specifically to deity or spirit epics. These narratives often describe the world from the viewpoint of an animal or other being and connect storytelling with Ainu beliefs about the living natural world. The distinction is useful, but yukar is the broad genre name expected by this question.
Much of what is known today comes from recordings and transcriptions made in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Ainu writers and performers such as Yukie Chiri and Imekanu were crucial to preserving the tradition, while researchers including Kyōsuke Kindaichi documented important versions.