. .- tTi mgffi mm 63 liii Street JHONTREAL THE AINU OF JAPAN PRINTED BY SFOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON AN AINU THE AINU OF JAPAN THE RELIGION, SUPERSTITIONS, AND GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HAIRY ABORIGINES OF JAPAN BY THE EEV. JOHN BATCHELOK C.M.S. MISSIONARY TO THE AINU COMPILER OF 'AN AINU-KXGLISH-JAPANESE DICTIONARY* AUTHOR OF ' AN AINU GRAMMAR ' TRANS LITER ATOR OF THE ' NIPPON SKI KOKAI KITO BUN' AUTHOR OF 'SPECIMENS OF AINU FOLK-LORE ' ' NOTES ON THE AINU ' ETC. WITH EIGHTY ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON THE RELIGIOUS TEACT SOCIETY 56 PATERNOSTER Row, 65 ST PAUL'S CHURCHYARD AND 164 PICCADILLY 1892 N PREFACE THE major portion of the chapters contained in this volume were not originally intended for publication, but were written as letters to relatives, who naturally take a great interest in Mission work, especially in Japan. But, before I had finished the series, it was thought by my friends that what I was writing for private perusal might perhaps prove interesting to the public if put into book form. Hence the appearance of this work. Moreover, having received many letters inquiring about the Ainu some asking questions concerning their manners and customs, others about their religion, and some, again, of their special superstitions I have the more readily fallen in with the suggestion. Some of the chapters contained in this book com- prise short articles and legends which I have published elsewhere, but which are not easily obtainable. The greater part of the volume, however, is entirely new. Many of the illustrations which enrich the volume THE AINU OF JAPAN are from photographs ; but my best thanks are due to my wife and helper for the great assistance she has rendered me in the matter of drawing the large number reproduced from her sketches. No doubt a very great deal more might be said about the Ainu, and I feel that only the outside of the subject has been touched in this book. The subsequent chapters are merely notes by the way. They have been set down at odd times, and collected as the writer has had cause to inquire into things whilst prosecuting his special work amongst the Ainu. But his object will be attained if it leads his readers to appreciate the good points of this strange race ; and, above all, if it leads them to feel renewed interest in the efforts that are being made to bring them under the civilising influence and the saving grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE AINU 13 II. AINU WOMEN 34 III. CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS 45 IV. HUT-BUILDING AND HoUSE-WAKMING 54 V. FURNITURE 72 VI. INAO, OR EELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 86 VII. ETIQUETTE ......... 101 VIII. EDUCATION . 109 IX. THE ARTS AND PLEASURES OF LIFE 123 X. JUSTICE AND MARRIAGE . 135 XI. DEER-HUNTING AND FISHING ...... 143 XII. BEAR-HUNTING 158 XIII. AINU FATHERLAND AND GOVERNMENT .... 179 XIV. FEAR OF ANGRY WOMEN AND TREATMENT OF THE SICK 191 XV. DEATH AND BURIAL 203 XVI. GHOSTS AND THE FUTURE LIFE 219 XVII. AINU POLYTHEISM 239 XVIII. INCIDENTS AND WORDS ILLUSTRATIVE OF AINU EELIGIOUS BELIEFS 254 XIX. EELIGIOUS LEGENDS 262 XX. CAUSES OF AINU DECREASE 281 XXL PREHISTORIC TIMES IN JAPAN 291 XXII. 313 XXIII. MISSIONARY WORK AMONG THE' AINU .... 325 INDEX 333 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE AN AINU Frontispiece AINU, OB ABORIGINES OF JAPAN 15 A HAIBY SPECIMEN 17 OUB AINU SERVANTS 21 ANOTHER HAIRY ONE 28 BACK VIEW OF AINU HEAD OF HAIR 25 AINU CHIEF'S COAT (BACK) 27 AINU MAN ABOUT TO DRINK , . 30 AINU WOMAN AND CHILD 36 AN AINU CRADLE 44 AINU WOMAN'S DRESS 46 AINU MAN'S COAT 47 AINU TREASURES 51 AN AINU VILLAGE 54 AN AINU HUT 56 A STOREHOUSE 60 HUT OF A NEWLY-MARRIED AlNU 62 JAPANESE HUT WITH AINU ROOF 64 AN AINU FAMILY TAKING A MEAL 69 PLAN OF AN AINU HUT 73 AINU SPOONS 77 A COMMON MOUSTACHE LIFTER 78 A CEREMONIAL MOUSTACHE LIFTER .78 AINU PESTLE AND MORTAR . . . 78 PARTS OF A LOOM 79 AINU WOMEN WEAVING 81 A TARA . . . . . . . . ... . ' . .83 TOBACCO PIPE-HOLDER AND Box . 84 INAO NETOBA, OR THE CHIEF INAO . . " 88 CHI-EHOROKA-KEP, OB ' THE SHAVED BACKWARDS ' 90 A NUSA, OB CLUSTEB OF INAO 91 NUSA AND SKULLS AT EAST END OF A HUT 96 AN AINU FAMILY . 100 AINU MEN SALUTING 102 12 THE AINU OF JAPAN PAGE AINU MEN SALUTING 103 AINU WOMAN SALUTING 105 SALUTING A CHILD 106 AINU BOAT AND BRIDGE 117 THE MUKKURI, OK JEW'S-HARP 129 UKABA 183 THE HOT-WATER OKDEAL 136 THE STAKE ORDEAL 137 IPAKKE-NI, OR DEER DECOY 144 AINU DECOYING DEER (from a Japanese drawing) 145 A SPRING-BOW SET 147 THE SPRING-BOW 147 AN OTTER-TRAP READY SET . . 149 AN OTTER-TRAP (IN SECTIONS) 149 RAT-TRAP (IN SECTION) 151 RAT-TRAP (SET) 151 A MAREK, OR SALMON-SPEAR 152 A SPEAR USED TO CATCH PIKE 154 A POISONED ARROW 170 A BEAR CAGE 172 THE CROWN WORN AT A BEAR FEAST 175 BLUNT ARROWS 17(5 ANCIENT WAR-CLUB, SHOWING PLACE FOR THE STONE .... 180 ANCIENT WAR-CLUB 180 A KAMSCHATKAN CANOE 184 A DOG-SLEIGH 185 A SLEDGE 186 A SNOW-SHOE 187 HANGING BY THE HAIR 189 TOMBSTONE OF AN AINU MAN 208 TOMBSTONE OF AN AINU WOMAN 211 A WIDOW'S BONNET 213 EXTERIOR OF THE HUT IN WHICH THE CHILD DIED .... 214 INTERIOR OF THE HUT IN WHICH THE CHILD DIED 216 CHIEF PENRI 220 DESCENDANT OF AINU AND JAPANESE 289 FLINT KNIVES 296 STONE-MALLET SWORD 299 WAR-CLUB 299 PREHISTORIC POTTERY 301 INSCRIPTION AT OTARUNAI ......... 303 STONE ADZES 306 PROBABLE SHAPE OF KOROPOK-GURU'S HUT 307 PLAN OF KURILE HUT 311 EXTERIOR OF KURILE HUT 311 AINU Bow AND QUIVER 315 THE AINU OF JAPAN CHAPTER 1 THE AINU THE Ainu, of whom these pages treat, are the aborigines of Japan. Much has been said and written about the Japanese of late years, and almost every house of im- portance in England and America has something in the way of art of either old or young Japan in it. But the Ainu were in Japan ages before the present race of -Japanese obtained their foothold in those islands, though very little indeed has so far been discovered about this peculiar race. The oldest book of which the Japanese can boast was written A.D. 712, and in it the following sentence occurs : ' When our august ancestors descended from heaven in a boat, they found upon this island several barbarous races, the most fierce of whom were the Ainu.' This, translated into modern matter-of-fact 14 THE AINU OF JAPAN language, simply means that, when the present race of Japanese first came to Japan in their ships, they found the country already inhabited. This ancient race has been gradually driven from the south of this ' Land of the Rising Sun ' towards the north, till, at the present day, there are but sixteen or seventeen thousand of them left. This subject will be more fully discussed in Chapters XX., XXL, and those who take an interest in general ethnology are referred to those chapters. The present home of the Ainu is Yezo and the Kurile Islands, belonging to the Japanese Empire, and Saghalien, which is now a part of Russia. Only the Yezo Ainu, the subjects of his Imperial Majest}^ the Em- peror of Japan, are spoken of in this book. Yezo, now officially called Hokkaido, is an island of North Japan, extending from longitude 139 50' to longitude 146 east, and from latitude 41 30' to latitude 45 30' north, its area being 35,739 square miles. The population consists of about 17,000 Ainu and 350,000 Japanese, who have immigrated to this island. The winters are very severe in Yezo, and there is often a heavy snowfall ; while the summers are singularly hot, though short. The island, which is very mountainous, abounds in volcanoes ; and earthquakes are frequent, though not often sharp. The country is well wooded with oak, limes, chestnuts, birch, magnolia, and pine, and water is very plentiful. The mineral wealth con- THE AINU 15 sists chiefly of coal, sulphur and copper ore. The principal animals are bears, deer, wolves, otters, and hares; and the principal fish, upon which the Ainu AINU, OR ABORIGINES OF JAPAN in great measure subsist, are trout, salmon, herrings, codfish, swordfish, and, when obtainable, whale and walrus. i6 THE AINU OF JAPAN Objection may be taken to our spelling the name of these people Ainu, while others who have written of this race have called them Aino and Ainos. Aino is a Japanese nickname ; and it is always applied by them to the Ainu when they speak of them. It is a term they anciently used to express their contempt for them, and has by degrees come into common use. The word Aino means ' mongrel ' or * half-breed,' and has refer- ence to a degrading Japanese tradition, which describes the descent of the Ainu from a human being and a dog. Therefore, when any person uses the word Aino, he really means, whether knowingly or not, ' mongrel ' or ' half brute beast, half human being.' Such a term should be studiously avoided. English writers, of course, are not to be in any way blamed for using the form Aino, since it unavoidably came to them at second-hand through the Japanese, and not directly from the people tli em selves. But the name this race of people themselves use is Ainu, which means ' man ' or ' men.' The sound is very similar, but the difference of meaning between the two words is emphatic and vital. It would be well, therefore, if henceforth all writers would discard the Japanese nickname, which is foreign, and use only that native word by which these people designate them- selves. By this tradition of their origin the lower class of Japanese have, in their ignorance, endeavoured to THE AINU 17 account for the hairiness of the Ainu. That they are hairy is a matter of fact, which is noticed by all writers ; yet there are very many individual members of the race A HAIRY SPECIMEN who are not a bit more hairy than ordinary Europeans. This hairiness has been greatly exaggerated. We should naturally expect that conspicuous specimens of B i8 THE AINU OF JAPAN hairy men would be found among them ; but that is no reason for the conclusion that all are so thickly covered with hair as some would have us believe. The accom- panying engraving is a good illustration of an extreme form of hairiness. The body of the man depicted is completely covered, but not so thickly that the skin cannot be seen ; and there are not many so hairy as he appears to be. I know of but one other man who rivals him in this respect, though I could point to five or six nearly as well covered. The Ainu people are not a handsome nation, though, as individuals, the race is strong, thick-set, squarely- built and full- chested. The chief thing that strikes one on meeting an Ainu for the first time is his fine beard, moppy hair, and sparkling eyes ; next, his dirty appearance, poor clothing, and, should he be near at hand, his odour. The Ainu certainly do not, upon first acquaintance, produce a very favourable im- pression ; in fact, to many people they quickly become repulsive, especially on account of their filth. Perhaps this is the reason why so much that is not quite true and that is not very creditable has been written about them. A person who intends to visit the Ainu must be prepared to shut his eyes to a very great deal, and he must not turn up his nose at a little dirt. Foreigners, as a rule, have not much cared to mix with such a filthy and degraded-looking race, and have hence THE AINU 19 not taken the trouble to seek and find out what lies beneath the rough and very rugged surface. Nothing is truer than ' all that glitters is not gold ' ; but it should also be remembered that some things which do not glitter are as good as gold, and that a diamond needs cutting and polishing before its beauty can be fully seen. When the Ainu are dressed in their best garments, and have been washed and trimmed, they are really a fine-looking people. The heart must not always be judged by the general outward appearance. After more than eight years' experience amongst this people, and after having lived with them in their own huts and mixed with them both in their daily tasks and amusements after having listened to their troubles, been by their side in sickness and in health, seen them at their religious exercises, and been present when the hand of death has been upon them the present writer is prepared to affirm that a more kind, gentle, and sym- pathetic people would be very difficult to find. The Ainu only need sympathy and kind treatment to bring out their real character. But they do look dirty, and they generally wear a depressed look. But the Ainu nature is as truly human as that of any other race. See him in a bear hunt, or meet him directly after he has killed a bear, and hear him describe the scene ; or ask his help when you are in trouble, and you will have the opportunity of seeing both his bravery and his kindness. It is a great mistake B 2 20 THE AINU OF JAPAN to say that the Ainu are as degraded as they look, or as irreclaimable as they appear. They can be the most faithful and honest servants, as we have often proved during our fourteen years' experience in Japan. The Ainu is very much what others make him. Treat him as a man, and he will show himself to be a man ; but treat him as a child, and he will act as a child, and at the same time think how very foolish the one is who treated him so. Close acquaintance with them adds one more to the many proofs of the truth of those words of Scripture : ' God hath made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having deter- mined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation.' The average height of true Ainu men that is, those who have no Japanese blood in their veins is five feet four inches, and that of the women five feet one and a half or two inches. But the Ainu and Japanese half- breeds are smaller. The men average five feet two inches, and the women five feet. This is a curious fact, and one which I think has not before been noticed. The men have very fine and handsome dark beards, shaggy eyebrows, sparkling dark brown or black deeply- set eyes, prominent cheek-bones, high foreheads, and bushy heads of hair. The skin is whiter than that of the Japanese, for they do not possess the bilious-looking complexion so prevalent in the latter race. The sun THE AINU 2 3 ANOTHER HAIEY ONE has tanned the parts exposed to his rays, giving them a brunette complexion. The hair and beards turn grey 24 THE AINU OF JAPAN somewhat early, thus giving comparatively young men a venerable and patriarchal appearance. The hair of both the men and women is cut behind in the shape of a quarter moon, the fore part sometimes being allowed to reach to the shoulders, whilst the nape of the neck and the fore part of the head are clean shaven. There are no barbers, however ; so the women do the shaving that is to say, each woman looks after the appearance of her husband. This operation must have been difficult in very ancient times, and was pro- bably performed by the aid of sharp stones. The Ainu now use Japanese' razors. The illustration shows the general length of hair, and how it is cut behind. The women cut their hair after the same fashion. On lirst coining into contact with those Ainu who reside near or upon the Japanese frontier, one cannot help noticing that before strangers they have an air of slavishness, slovenliness, and general depression, which renders them in appearance the reverse of interesting and pleasing to the eye. They are apt either to excite con- tempt and disgust, or to arouse one's pity. They very seldom wash their persons, and less often their clothes. Moreover, they all carry a somewhat large burden of minute but robust-looking, well-fed insects about their person and apparel. This state of things is only what might be expected ; for how have the Ainu been treated by the Japanese THE AINU during the slow march of the ages ? They have been conquered and crushed under foot by them. Each official and person of the soldier class used, so the Ainu BACK VIEW OF AINU HEAD OP HAIR tell me, to make every Ainu he met go down upon his hands and knees and polish his head upon the bare ground, or thrust his nose into the very dust before him. If the downtrodden Ainu did not do this before these 26 THE AINU OF JAPAN high and lofty ones, his head was nipped off in the twinkling of an eye. Is it any wonder, then, that the Ainu still wear a slavish look ? They never received any encouragement to look up, and if they did ever dare to exert themselves for their fatherland and their wives and children, it was only to receive a more crushing blow and deeper wound. But, thanks to the growth which the cause of humanity is making in all parts of the world, very much of this kind of oppression has for ever passed away. Would that an earnest, whole-hearted reparation could be made to them ! The Ainu people are most malodorous at times ; but it should be borne in mind that the men and women sometimes walk ten or fifteen miles a day in a broiling sun with a heavy load of unsalted, sun-dried fish upon their backs. Such fish have by no means a pleasant smell, and, when once the odour gets well into their clothes, it most tenaciously remains there, and only requires a little perspiring dampness to bring it out in its strength. Not only so, but it is sometimes quite pain- ful to sit in a hut with an Ainu who has lately been eating some kinds of dried fish, particularly the skate. It makes the breath peculiarly strong and noxious. There appear to be only two occasions when the Ainu condescend to wash themselves, and then only their faces and hands are cleansed, and that but partially. These are bear feasts and funerals. Of course there are individuals who wash more often, or THE AINU 27 even sometimes take a bath. But, on these occasions above mentioned, the Ainu, both men and women, cut their hair, shave their necks, wash their hands and AINU CHIEF'S COAT (BACK) faces, and put on their best or embroidered clothes and their ornaments. At such times the people are greatly improved in appearance, and are not at all a bad- looking race. Even their children are generally left 28 THE AINU OF JAPAN unwashed and uncared for, covered with incrustations of dirt. Ainu men love inaction, as far as work in the gardens is concerned. But there is nothing an Ainu loves so much as hunting, excepting, perhaps, getting intoxicated. They have a wild nature, which hreaks out every now and then. Servants have to be allowed to go off to the mountains for a day, to have a good run in the fresh air ; or sometimes a horseback ride, or a day's fishing. No Ainu man will do any manner of work that can be done by his wife, who is too frequently his willing slave ; for woman is a creature predestined to minister to man's wants, and to do everything that can be done in the shape of manual labour. Thus, whilst the women are hard at work in their gardens, the men, if not fishing, or hunting, or drinking, or sleeping, or gossiping, or riding horses, may possibly be found helping their wives in the gardens, either with their hands or with their advice. However, they love horses ; hence it is that so many of them are employed as horse-drivers by the Japanese. They are very good horsemen indeed. They ride off to the mountains, and will quickly find and drive a large drove of horses into any track they wish ; down the paths they will gallop after them, and most skilfully head them and bring them home. These are the droves of wild horses Miss Bird speaks of in her book every one of them, excepting the colts, of course, Irokcn in ! THE AINU 29 Miss Bird has written, in her popular and widely-read book, ' Unbeaten Tracks in Japan,' to the effect that ' it is nonsense to write of the religious ideas of a people who have none, and of beliefs among a people who are merely adult children. The traveller who formulates an Aino creed must evolve it from his inner consciousness. I have taken infinite trouble to learn from themselves what their religious notions are, and Shinondi tells me that they have told him all they know, and the whole sum of them is a few vague fears and hopes, and a suspicion that there are things outside themselves more powerful than themselves, whose influences may be obtained, or whose evil influences may be averted, by libations of sake.' Sake, it should be noted, is not an Ainu word, but the name of an intoxicating spirit the Japanese make from fermented rice. I once tasted it, and then its flavour reminded me of very bad sherry. The Ainu call it Tonoto * official milk.' They probably named it thus in fun, and it would be just like the Ainu if they did. In ancient times the Japanese used to trade with the Ainu by barter. They never allowed the Ainu to have money ; but when they purchased skins, fish, deer's horns, and other commodities from them, the Japanese used to pay in household utensils, clothing, and sake, or rice-wine. If the Ainu did any work for the Japanese officials, they were usually paid for their labour in sake. Hence, I think it quite possible that the name ' official 30 THE AINU OF JAPAN milk ' was given to this drink because they were ex- pected to thrive upon it, as though it were milk or food. The evil effects this practice has had upon the Ainu may easily be imagined. It has made them a AINU MAN ABOUT TO DRINK nation of drunkards. In fact, strong drink has become such a power among them that by many it is supposed to be absolutely necessary for the acceptable worship of THE AINU 31 the various deities. So that Miss Bird is right when she says that the Ainu think the ' powers outside them- selves, more powerful than themselves/ will exert their good influences upon, or turn their evil influences away from them if they offer libations of sake. It will also be easily seen that the Ainu do not look upon drunken- ness as wicked, or a thing to be detested. Fully ninety- five per cent, get drunk whenever they can obtain enough sake, and to be drunk is their ideal of supreme happiness. Nevertheless, the power of the Gospel is beginning to be felt by those Ainu with whom we have been most in contact. The leaven is gradually working in their hearts for good. The way the people look upon drunkenness is steadily undergoing a change, and their views of what true happiness really is are becoming higher and purer. I have known Ainu women rush into their huts to hide their drunken husbands, when they have seen us about to look in upon them. Children, too, when they have been sent to the Japanese wine- vendors to purchase drink, look remarkably guilty when they meet us, and endeavour to hide their bottles behind them. They feel guilty and ashamed. They have learned that drunkenness is a vice, and this is the first step towards amendment of life. They are beginning to know, also, that the use of strong drink is not absolutely necessary to the acceptable performance of religious service. 32 THE AINU OF JAPAN There was a time, too, when I could have almost unreservedly endorsed what Miss Bird has stated in the passage just quoted concerning Ainu religious ideas. That, however, was before it had been my lot and privilege to dwell among these people. But after long residence in Ainu huts, and after continuous experience of their everyday life, dwelling with them and visiting them in times of sickness and of health, and after much personal intercourse with them, and a patient comparison of their early traditions with one another, and with their present words and actions, I entirely disagree with Miss Bird's views upon the religious notions of this peculiar and little understood people. Everyone will agree that it would be ' nonsense to write of the religious ideas of a people who have none, and of beliefs among a people who are merely adult children ' ; but Miss Bird is clearly in the wrong when she implies that the Ainu are without religion, though they may be ' merely adult children.' As a matter of fact, these people are exceedingly religious, notwith- standing all that has been said to the contrary. And, however true it may be that a mere ' traveller who formulates an Aino creed must evolve it from his inner consciousness,' yet, as one who has spent more years with them than Miss Bird did weeks, I shall venture, in a later chapter, to give an Ainu creed. This creed will be evolved from their -daily life and words, and from their highly-prized, carefully transmitted traditions. THE AINU 33 It must not be thought that I intend to maintain that the Ainu have formulated the various articles of their faith, and hold them at hand ready for use, like people of a higher faith and more cultivated mind. Nor do I mean that an Ainu can, when asked, im- mediately repeat off-hand what he believes, as though he had learned it by rote. Creeds carefully drawn up according to theological order, logical sequence, and well- ordered thought do not belong to such a primitive, un- trained, and uncontroversial race as the Ainu. Their faith is rugged, unpolished, and the various items that compose it are often disconnected and incoherent. It comes to light as the circumstances and events of daily life suggest or occasion it. It is no matter for surprise, therefore, that Miss Bird's Ainu Shinondi could not give her any full ac- count of his religious faith when invited to do so. More- over, if there is anything an Ainu is likely to be reticent about when talking with a stranger who is ignorant of his language, it is his religious beliefs and observances. 34 THE AINU OF JAPAN CHAPTER II AINU WOMEN AINU women appear at first sight astonishingly ugly, dirty, and thoroughly spiritless. Pitiably miserable and unattractive do they look. They have dark, sooty- coloured tattoo marks upon the upper and lower lips, and sometimes a line of the same disfiguring ornamen- tation across the foreheads. Various patterns are en- grained upon the backs of their grimy hands. Their feet are unshod ; their hair, matted and unkempt, reaches down to the shoulders in front, and is cut in a kind of crescent shape behind. In addition to all this, their garments are slovenly, untidy, and their coun- tenances sullen and dejected. It is not, perhaps, surprising that some of those who come into contact with these people, and after a very slight acquaintance with them, should go away disgusted, and with the opinion that it would be no great loss to humanity if the Ainu were to become extinct. But such is not the writer's view. It is true indeed that, intellectually speaking, a nobler race, the Japanese, is dispossessing the Ainu, and AINU WOMEN 3-5 that his disappearance or absorption is possibly being rendered necessary by the wonderful events which have taken place in Japan of late years; but, for all that, the Ainu is worthy not only of pity, but of practical sympathy and help. It would, however, be a calumny to assert that all the hard-working Ainu women are ugly. Some of them, especially the younger ones, are quite good-looking. Their features are a little round, perhaps, and the cheek- bone somewhat high ; but their complexion is of a pleasant, rosy kind. They are shy, and before a stranger, particularly if the stranger is of the male sex, they fix their eyes upon the ground, and place the hand over their lips, as a sign of reverence and respect. Before women, however, they are not so shy, but will look up and talk. It is then that their beauty may be seen. Their smile is pleasing and their eyes dark and sparkling ; their voices are soft and musical, and their figures well formed. It is the tattooing that makes the elder women so unpleasant to the eye. Owing to this the women in middle life look inelegant, and in old age are positively ugly. The discontinuance of tattooing and the free use of soap and combs would soon work marked improvement in their looks that is, according to Western ideas. They themselves, of course, believe that by tattooing their mouths, foreheads, and hands, they enhance their beauty. We once took quite a young Ainu girl into our service, c 2 36 TffE AINU OF JAPAN that she might be the better able to learn house-work. When she came to the age of twelve years, there was AINU WOMAN AND CHILD not a vestige of tattoo upon her face, and my wife was particularly careful to request that she should not be AINU WOMEN 37 tattooed. After having lived with us for about two years, we left that village for a trip elsewhere, leaving the girl and her aunt in charge of our goods and chat- tels. We were away two months, and when we returned , behold, our little servant had had her face partially disfigured with tattoo. Upon asking her why she had done so, she replied : * All the other girls are tattooed, and I felt lonely, not being as they.' The real cause was the force of habit upon her parents, particularly her mother. The old people always say, with reference to this, ' Our ancestors were thus tattooed, so therefore must we be.' The tattoo of which the Ainu women are so fond is bluish-black in colour. Some of this colouring is put round the mouth, one stripe drawn across the forehead, various patterns placed upon the backs of the hands and upon the arms, and, in some cases, rings are stained into the base of the fingers. The process of tattooing is very primitive and simple. It is somewhat painful, and hence only a little is done at a time. It takes several years to properly decorate a person. The process is as follows. Some ash bark is first procured and put into a pan to soak ; then a fire is made, and an iron pot or kettle hung over it. Next, a little birch bark is brought and burnt under the pot till the under part is well blackened. Birch bark is a wonderful thing for pro- ducing soot and blackness : hence its use for tattooing purposes. So soon as the bottom of the pot is thoroughly 38 THE AINU OF JAPAN black, a woman takes a knife, cuts a few dashes into the part to be tattooed, then takes some of the soot upon her finger and rubs it well in ; she then takes a piece of cloth, and, dipping it into the ash-bark liquor, well washes the tattooed parts. When children are operated upon, the centre of the upper lip receives the first touches, then the lower lip, and so on alternately until the marks reach almost from ear to ear. The forehead, hands, and arms appear to be done after marriage, though there seems to be no special rule about it. Ainu women are treated as inferior beings by most of the men. Their whole life is a slavish drudgery. They are regarded almost as slaves. From morning till night, and from one year's end to the other, it is work, work, work ; and their work is manual labour of the heaviest and most tiring kind. This would not, perhaps, be quite so bad if men shared their labours ; but that is altogether out of the question. There is very little variety in their toil excepting that which is necessarily brought about by the seasons. They have next to no recreations or special amusements to brighten up their dull lives a little. Now and then a marriage occurs, and at very long intervals a bear feast comes to give them a little pleasure. In the spring time the women, both old and young, crawl out of their sleeping places in the small hours of the morning, eat a hasty meal of cold vegetable stew, with perhaps a morsel of uncooked dried fish by way of AINU WOMEN 39 relish, shoulder their tools, and proceed to the patches of land they call their gardens, to dig up the soil and sow the seeds, returning to their huts at sunset only to take another meal like that of the morning, and again lie down to sleep. They often take but two meals a day one in the early morning, and the other at night ; but then they make up for the midday meal by eating in the evening perhaps twice or thrice as much as an ordinary person. Sometimes they eat a good meal, rest for about half an hour, then take another, and retire to bed in quite a happy frame of mind. It is on such occasions that one sometimes hears the expression Ibe aeramushinne ' I am in a state of knowing that I have eaten.' Some women appear able to go without food for a very long time, and can carry heavy loads upon their backs all day without touching a particle of food. In the early spring the women and girls go to the moun- tains to get the fibre from elm-trees, with which they make a kind of cloth called attash. During the summer months they have not quite so much to do in their gardens ; they therefore work a good deal at weaving cloth, making and mending clothes, twisting string and coarse thread, and cutting wood. But as soon as the autumn comes round and the crops of barley and millet have to be reaped and harvested, the beans and peas gathered, and the pota- toes dug up and stored, all are astir. 40 THE AINU OF JAPAN The Ainu mode of reaping is a long process, for it consists of walking through the gardens and pinching off the millet and barley heads with sharp shells. The straw is left standing ; the Ainu have no use for that. Then, a little later on, just before the snow begins to fall, the women and children go away into the forests to pick up chestnuts, which are used as an article of food among them. About the same time they dig up the roots of the dog-tooth violet. These they wash, boil, and mash up into a pulp, then make into cakes and dry in the sun for winter food. The Ainu gardens consist merely of small patches of land, generally upon the banks of rivers or in a valley. They cultivate one piece of land for two or three years running, then let that go to waste and take a fresh plot. This is quite necessary, for they use no manure. The Ainu understand nothing about agriculture ; they have no idea as to how to cultivate the land. So long as a woman can procure sufficient food for her family to last through the winter, that is all she cares about. When- ever the gardens fail, the Ainu live by hunting in the mountains, by what they can catch in the sea, or by such things as grow naturally. A few generations ago there was a very great famine in Yezo, so that thousands upon thousands of animals- deer, bears, foxes, wolves, and rats died. The Ainu would not have minded the famine so much but for this. The death of the animals was far worse than the failure AINU WOMEN 41 of the crops ; for the staple food was flesh. A great number of the Ainu died, starved to death. The people who lived towards the south of Yezo saved themselves by fleeing to Mororan, in Volcano Bay, where they were kept alive by eating shell-fish the Haliotis tuber culata, or ' sea-ear.' These fish are very plentiful about Chiripet and Mororan. I believe the story of this ancient famine is quite true ; for near the sea- shore, about two miles from Mororan, there are some very large lumps of sea-ear shells to be seen, covered with nearly a foot of black earth. In the winter time, particularly during the latter part of November and the early part of December, the women assist the men to net or spear the large salmon which are found in the rivers about this time. After this the main stock of wood for winter firing has to be cut, split, dragged or carried home, and stored away. Then millet must be pounded, the beans and peas shelled, and a thousand and one other little things attended to. Thus is the woman the slave of the man. It might be thought that, if an Ainu woman's lot is hard and laborious out of doors, she must surely lead an easier life at home, and there find rest and a little comfort. But even here she has a great deal to do, with little rest and next to no comfort. The cooking must be attended to. But this is not a very formidable task, as cooking has not yet attained to any very high perfection. In no sense are the Ainu epicures. The 42 THE AINU OF JAPAN women also must attend to the cleaning, smoking, and drying of fish ; must keep the fire going and the water- butt full ; must look after the children, and pay due attention to their husbands' wants, and see to the mending and making of clothes. There is, to be sure, very little scullery work to be done not, indeed, because the utensils are in every case scarce, but because the Ainu do not see why an eating cup, shell, or platter need be washed at all excepting upon very rare oc- casions. 'After all,' they argue, 'it is only food that goes into our utensils ; why need they, then, be washed ? They will be used and dirtied again directly ; therefore let them remain dirty.' Hence there is very little ' wash- ing-up' in an Ainu hut. Nevertheless, there are a few exceptions to this, as well as to every other rule. Nor do the Ainu women have any religious solace in all their cares. The men seem to think that they are not capable of learning anything about God, or are such inferior beings that the gods take no thought or care about them. Ainu widows are particularly unfortunate, and have a specially hard time, for their presence is barely tolerated. By no means may they be present where prayer is going on. The existence of Ainu women being one of such trial, sorrow, and hard work, it is not to be wondered at that many of them have a downtrodden, hopeless look. They have no special joys in the present, and no bright hopes for the future. Their whole time and thought AINU WOMEN 43 are given to the necessary tasks of everyday life. A woman may do all she can, and yet receive neither thanks nor encouragement from her husband. No wonder that some of them, overcome by the troubles and worries of everyday existence, think life a burden and sorrow, and give way to despair. Some, thus tired of living, die by their own hand. They hang themselves, this being the favourite way of committing suicide. Ainu women are very fond of their children. But the poor little mites, when about a month old, are- often left quite alone in a hut, suspended from the roof in their cradles. Nevertheless, this is not from want of feeling, for the Ainu women do love their children ; but to let a child lie in its cradle and cry is not only thought to be good for its lungs, but is a part of its education. * Babies,' say they, ' are like talkative men and women ; they must have their say.' So the best way to keep a child quiet is to let it cry as much as it will. It soon learns to grow tired of howling. Such, at any rate, is the Ainu feminine belief. An Ainu cradle is made of wood, and is generally suspended from a beam in the hut in such a manner as to hang in a warm place by the fireside. It is about two feet and a half or three feet in length, and twenty inches or so wide. For a married couple to have no children is sup- posed to be a great disgrace, and is by them traced to the belief that one or other of the parties has 44 THE AINU OF JAPAN committed some sin. This world is named Uaremoshiri 'the multiplying world ' and people were placed in it to increase and multiply. If, therefore, no children are forthcoming, it is considered to be a special punishment from the gods. Having no offspring used to be con- sidered an amply sufficient reason for divorcing a wife. The author knows an Ainu who has divorced no less than three wives because they bore him no children. AN AINU CKADLE A curious custom used to exist amongst this people. As soon as a child was born, the father had to consider himself very ill, and had, therefore, to stay at home wrapped up by the fire. But the wife, poor creature ! had to stir about as much and as quickly as possible. The idea seems to have been that life was passing from the father into his child. 45 CHAPTEK III CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS THE chief article of dress worn by the Ainu is a long garment, which they call attush. This word really means simply * elm fibre ' or * elm thread.' And, as these words indicate, the dresses are made from the inner bark of elm- trees. Such garments are very brittle when dry, but when wet they are exceedingly strong. The elm bark is peeled off the trees in the early spring, just when the sap commences to flow up- ward to the young shoots and newly-forming buds. When sufficient bark has been taken, it is carried home and put into water to soak and get soft ; and when sufficiently soaked it is taken out of the water, and the layers of bark separated, and the fibres divided into threads and wound up into balls for use. Sewing thread is made in the same way, only that is chewed until it becomes round and solid. When all the threads have been prepared, the women sit down and proceed with their weaving. These garments are very rough indeed and are of a dirty brown colour. Those Ainu who can afford it prefer to wear Japanese clothing. 4 6 THE AINU OF JAPAN The women take pride in fancy needlework, and are very tasteful in their arrangement of both pattern and colour. This embroidery, or fancy needlework, is done AINU WOMAN'S DRESS with Japanese stuffs and coloured threads and cottons upon a groundwork of their own elm-bark cloth. One of these dresses, in the writer's possession, took up all the spare time of a woman during a whole year to make. CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS 47 The work of different villages presents different patterns ; those of one are not necessarily the 'same as those of another. In fact, when an Ainu of one district goes AINU MAN'S COAT into another clothed in an embroidered dress, the people he meets can with almost certainty tell where he comes from by the patterns of his coat ! There are patterns suitable for men, and others for 48 THE AINU OF JAPAN women. No man would think of wearing a coat with patterns on it which are recognised as belonging to women ; nor would a woman put on a coat that had patterns appropriated by the men. The women's gar- ments are not so highly decorated as those of the men. The wives take a pride in dressing up their husbands, especially on the occasion of a bear feast ; but they themselves prefer a good show of beads, earrings, finger rings, necklaces, and bracelets, set off with a tastefully tattooed mouth. The men take great pride in their wives' needlework, and they are exceedingly particular about having the corners of their ornamental patterns properly turned. If a curve is not quite so well turned as a man thinks it should be, or a line not quite straight, he will storm away finely, and sometimes make his wife unpick her work and do it all over again. For winter wear, the women sew dog, bear, deer, wolf, or fox skins upon the back of their attush or elm- fibre garments, and wear skin shoes. These shoes are made of deer and salmon skins. Formerly they used also to wear skin trousers ; but as skins are now somewhat scarce, these articles of dress are dispensed with. The women, both in summer and winter, wear leggings made of grass or rushes, and both men and women sleep with their heads wrapped up in a cloth or head-dress. The treasures and ornaments of well-to-do Ainu consist, not in such things as gold, silver, or precious CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS 49 stones, but in Japanese lacquer-ware vessels and old swords. The former are called shintoko that is, ' things of beauty ' and the latter tonibe that is, ' shining things.' The shintoko used to be paid to the people, well filled with wine, in return for the skins of animals and fish, and were sometimes bestowed upon the chiefs as a mark of distinction. They are nearly all of Japanese manu- facture; but some come from Corea. The tombe are ancient swords old heirlooms, which, however, are now bladeless, for the Ainu were not allowed by the ancient Japanese to have any blades in their swords. These bladeless swords are usually stowed away in long boxes, and placed upon the beams of the huts. They also set a high value upon old bows and arrows and tobacco boxes. Ainu women are very childlike in their fondness for toy-like ornaments, and some of the wary Japanese pedlars have taken advantage of this weakness and made large profits out of it. For instance, earrings made of white metal, but called silver, and worth about sixpence in Hakodate, are sold to the Ainu women for six shillings ; and rings which sell at a shilling in Hakodate sold in Piratori for twelve shillings. If those who buy have not the money required for the purchase, the pedlars do not mind, though they haggle a great deal about it. Finally, at the earnest request of the buyer, they condescend to take skins or fish in payment. In this way two or three fox skins or a deer skin go for a pair of metal earrings ! D So THE AINU OF JAPAN Besides earrings, the women are extremely fond of glass beads. Some of these beads are of Japanese make, others have come from China. The Ainu believe that the ancients got them from the Rushikai that is, Russians and Manchurians. Beads which cost a penny or two in Hakodate are sold to the Ainu for three shillings. Finger rings some made of brass and called gold, others made of white metal and called silver are also eagerly acquired ; and many a pedlar has made a good harvest out of such gimcrack trumpery. The necklaces of the Ainu women and children are generally home- made. These consist of a collar of leather or Japanese cloth, upon which melted white metal is fixed in shape something like a flower. They are sometimes made of lead. The women of Saghalien wear belts of the same shape, but ornamented with Chinese cash instead of lead. Ainu women are also very fond of fastening their clothes together by means of any shells which strike their fancy as being pretty ; but if they can get hold of an old sword-guard, they place it in the fire to make it look like bronze, and their happiness is complete. The Ainu, both men and women, wear earrings, although those the men wear are nothing more than pieces of red material. This fact reminds me of a circumstance of a somewhat peculiar nature which happened a few years ago. I had, one evening, been speaking to the Ainu about the brotherhood of man, D 2 CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS 53 whatever the country, race, colour, language, or civilisa- tion might be. The address was well received, and appeared to have made some impression on the listeners, and I was, upon finishing my address, politely invited to have my ears bored, that my brotherhood with the Ainu race might thereby be sealed! Much of what good feeling may have been stirred up by my address was reduced, I fear, to a nullity because I refused to have my ears bored and a piece of red cloth stuck through ! Of course, it would have made matters far worse had I attempted to explain to them that I desired to raise them up to the Christian level and Christian ideas in these things ; for they might possibly have thought I was looking down upon them on account of this custom of ear-boring, and it always behoves us in such cases to be careful about causing any unnecessary offence. 54 THE AINU OF JAPAN CHAPTEK IV HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING AINU huts are most uncomfortable places, for amongst this race household comfort is quite a secondary con- AN AINU VILLAGE sideration. If they can secure bare existence and animal sustenance, they are content. Ainu villages, seen from a distance, appear quite picturesque, situated, as HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 57 they generally are, along the banks of rivers. And the individual huts in some districts are neat and pretty- looking buildings, for some of the men and women take quite a pride in thatching their homes. But all the picturesqueness and the beauty disappear upon a closer inspection. After a few weeks or months some people think a few days fully sufficient spent in one of them, a Japanese hotel seems a very paradise for comfort. In building their huts the Ainu commence at the roof. This consists of bare rafters tied to horizontal poles at the lower end, and a long ridge-pole at the upper, and across these again are laid smaller poles, to which the thatch is fixed. The inner layers of bark, especially of elm-trees, and pieces of creeping plants, are used as rope or strings for tying the separate poles together. As soon as the roof is finished, poles about five or six feet long are driven into the earth at a dis- tance of four or five feet apart, and across these smaller pieces of wood are lashed, to which the thatch is tied, and thus the walls of a hut are formed. These poles have each a fork or branch in the top. When they are all set up in their proper places, the roof is lifted bodily up, and the bottom horizontal poles allowed to rest in the forks at the top of the uprights. The thatching is then proceeded with. This takes several days to finish, for the huts are almost entirely thatched with reeds, from the ridge-pole of the roof to the bottom of the uprights, which are stuck into the 5 8 THE AINU OF JAPAN earth. Both men and women work at house-building, and the spring and autumn are the proper seasons for this occupation. Every hut is furnished with two holes, made just beneath the eaves, which serve as windows one in the east end, and the other on the south side. Screens made of rushes or reeds are placed on the outside of these, and in some cases wooden shutters also. These are all so fixed as to admit of being drawn up or let down from the inside at will, according as circumstances may require or the occupants desire ; for the strings or cords to which the screens and shutters are attached pass upwards under the eaves, and over the horizontal roof-pole into the hut. It is not considered polite to look into a hut through the south window, and it is a positive insult, both to gods and men, to look in at an east window ; for a peculiar sacredness is attached to that part of the hut, and the people are very superstitious concerning it. Men often worship towards the east or sun-rising through the east window, and they are very careful not to desecrate it by expectorating or throwing anything out of it. The south window is often used for both of these purposes. There are no chimneys in the huts, but a hole is purposely left in the west-end angle of the roof for the escape of the smoke. This, together with the two win- dows, is considered fully sufficient for all practical pur- HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 59 poses ; but the smoke is sometimes very trying to the eyes and throat. At the west end of a hut is a door which leads directly into a porch or ante-chamber, which the Ainu call a sliem. In the south wall of this is another door, which leads into the open air. This porch is used for various purposes, such as storing firewood, pounding millet, and shelling peas and beans. The dogs also are allowed to inhabit this part of a house. A few of the larger huts are furnished with a door- way in the south wall of the main or dwelling part of the building. This doorway is situated near the east- end corner of the hut, and is fitted with a sliding door somewhat resembling a Japanese amado. The outer door of the porch is fitted with a hanging mat only, but the inner porch doorway has both a mat and sliding door. The wooden doors are closed only when the household is away from home or gone to bed. Outside, and a short distance from the west end of the hut, is placed the family godown or storehouse. This erection consists of a little lodge placed upon piles. The reason why these buildings are placed upon piles is to keep the rats and mice from making raids upon the stores. Upon the top of each pile, and between it and the floor of the godown, the Ainu generally place a square piece of wood, which makes it next to impossible for a rat to enter by climbing up the pile. Peas, beans, millet, pumpkins, and other garden products are stored 6o THE AINU OF JAPAN in these places. At least one traveller, who made a casual visit to some Ainu villages, first guessed, and then had the audacity to state, that these buildings were Ainu temples \ This is an example of what untrue statements people will make upon subjects of which they really know nothing. At the east end of every hut, and near the sacred east window, about five or six yards from it, the Ainu has what might be called his temple ; for to him it is really his special place of worship. This consists of a few poles, upon which are placed the skulls of deer, bears, foxes, and other kinds of animals which have been killed in the A STOREHOUSE hunt, and also of a large number of inao and nusa. Of course many persons have, for the want of better information, thought these inao are placed there for worship ; but such is not the case. They are offer- ings to the various gods a sort of thankoffering or memento. Twice a year, at least, the owner of the hut, together with his immediate friends and relatives, reverently approach these skulls and shavings and offer worship. This takes place in the early spring and the autumn ; also whenever there is a birth, a sickness, or death in the family. It is a touching sight to see the HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 61 old men with grave and reverent faces sitting before these sun-dried skulls, and praying to their gods. Libations of wine are often offered at this place, for it is supposed by some that the spirits of the slain animals reside there, or at least often visit their remains, and that they are pleased to accept the sacrifice of wine, and as a return for the devoutness and thoughtfulness of the offerers will render them successful in the hunt. Each hut generally has a small plot of land to itself. This is done as a protection against fire, of which the Ainu are very much afraid. In fact, the Japanese affirm that the Ainu fear a fire and the fire goddess so much that if a house once takes fire they will not even attempt either to extinguish it or save any of their property. They will not be so foolish as to rob the fire goddess of that which she desires to have. This, however, the Ainu deny. The Japanese have made a mistake, and the fact is that when an Ainu hut once catches fire there is no time to save anything, for the thatch naturally burns very rapidly indeed. I have seen two huts on fire, and they were both burnt down in less than fifteen minutes. In one case a few things were saved, but in the other the household only just managed to save themselves, and the clothes they had on. The Ainu are not so senseless as to attempt the impossible that is, to put out the flames of a burning hut but they do all they can to save their treasures, especially their heirlooms, and to prevent the 62 THE AINU OF JAPAN fire from spreading. The Ainu call or alarm of fire is a shrill, weird, unearthly noise, somewhat resembling the note of the screech-owl, and can be heard for a great distance. The women can best utter the scream ; the men generally call out ' Wool ! ' Ainu huts vary very little in size. The chief's hut is generally a little larger than the rest in a village. HUT OF A NEWLY-MARRIED AINU Amongst the common people the hut differs slightly in size, according to the length of time the occupiers have been married. When a newly-married couple com- mence housekeeping, their first hut is very diminutive, their second is a little larger, the third larger still, and so on, till the husband can afford to build one of the proper dimensions. The first dwelling almost always HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 63 forms the porch to the second, and the second to the third, and so on : thus all is not labour in vain. How- ever, a hut never consists of more than two sections, and these are the porch or ante- chamber and the main dwelling-place. Every time a new house is built, or an addition made to an old one, wine has to be procured, millet pounded and made into unleavened cakes or dumplings, and a feast given. The Ainu are nearly as conservative a people as the Chinese. It is exceedingly difficult to get them to change any of their customs. In short, if one man amongst them desires to make some improvement or other, even in so slight a matter as adding a few planks or boards to his hut, he cannot do so unless all the other Ainu in his village are made joyful with strong drink, and so led to give their consent. A man at Horobetsu, who, for an Ainu, was a rich man, determined to build a new house. He intended to improve on the Ainu mode of architecture, and build his house in the Japanese style. He had finished all but the roof when a deputation of his brethren waited upon him and informed him that, unless he put a roof thatched after the approved Ainu style upon the house, he would be boycotted. He was obliged to listen to this, for he was the proprietor of a large fishing station. That house has, it is needless to say, a proper Ainu roof upon it, as the illustration shows. As soon as a new hut is built, and immediately after 6 4 THE AINU OF JAPAN the family has moved into it, the owner sends to his relatives and the chiefs and people of his village, who, by-the-by, all assist in the work of building, and invites them to the house-warming feast. Millet, made damp with water, is pounded into dough in wooden mortars, and kneaded into cakes, which are presently boiled. Of course all this is done by the women. Sake is procured from the Japanese wine -vendors, or, failing this, some liquor is made by fermenting millet. When all things JAPANESE HUT WITH AINU ROOF are ready, the chiefs, together with the men, sit down in a circle at the east or sacred end of the hut, having the tub of wine in the centre the honoured chiefs and landlord first, and the common people after. Each in turn, according to age and dignity, has a cup of wine given him. They then proceed to worship the various gods as follows. Each man dips the piece of wood used to keep the moustache out of what they may be drinking HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 65 into the wine, and offers three drops to the particular god or gods he may wish to worship. In this way a multitude of blessings are invoked from innumerable deities. For instance, one man addresses the goddess of fire ; another the god of the sleeping places ; another the god who presides over the treasures and hunting paraphernalia ; another the god who is supposed to look after the pots, pans, kettles, water-tubs, and other house- hold utensils; whilst another worships the gods who keep the windows and doors, and the east and west ends of the huts. After all the deities who are supposed to preside over the different places and goods within the hut have been duly honoured, the men go round the outside of the hut, and invoke the gods who guard the water-springs and out-houses, garden plots and paths. After this, the men return to the hut, and continue their eating and drinking ; and when they have satisfied their appetite they give a little wine very little, for they do it grudgingly to their wives and daughters, who, seated behind their husbands and fathers, have to take what they please to give. Each man likes to obtain all the wine possible, and delights in getting as drunk as he can. They often quarrel because they fancy some one person has had more than his share of drink The hut is a pitiable sight after one of these feasts, the floor being covered with men dead drunk. At this particular feast the Ainu make their inao, or 66 THE AINU OF JAPAN shavings of willow wood of different forms, some to hang inside, and others outside of the huts ; some, again, to stick up by the fireside, next the sleeping places, in the treasure corner, at the east window, at the corner where the water-butts are kept, and at the doorways ; and others at the springs in the gardens, and by the out- houses. The house-warming feast is a most important affair in Ainu daily life. The favour of the gods, without any exception, must be solicited with proper words and in a befitting manner. None must be left out, lest they be angry and revenge themselves upon the inhabitants of the hut by bringing disease and death, misfortune and famine. Were the goddess of the water- spring, for example, forgotten, she might revenge herself by drying up the springs and ceasing to give water. If the gods who preside over the sleeping places were omitted, they might take away all sleep from the family. This very common act of life emphasises the fact that the Ainu have a creed, and it illustrates the way in which they believe in the ubiquity and daily providence of the gods. In Christian lands it is customary for every true Christian to acknowledge God's providential goodness by ' saying grace.' This is a right and godly act. But think for a moment what this act implies and involves. It implies a knowledge of a living, sentient Being higher than HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 6? man ; it involves the idea of dependence upon that Being ; and it is an act of worship indicating a proper sense of devotion. It further implies that the worshipper believes himself to possess some natural yet mysterious faculty or power by which he can approach that living Being whom he calls God, and to whom he returns thanks. I was very much surprised, when I first visited the Ainu, to see many of them, especially the heads of families, acknowledge God's goodness, and give Him thanks before eating. I do not mean to say they always do this, but they are all taught to do so, and that in a set formula. And I have never yet met the Ainu who does not, before drinking wine, make his salutations, stroke his beard, worship and thank the gods for their benefits. One of their forms of ' grace ' is : '0 God, our Nourisher, I thank Thee for this food : bless it to the service of my body.' Here, then, by this common everyday act, we get one article of Ainu religious faith viz., that he believes in a power above himself, on whom he depends for his daily food, and whom he can approach in prayer and thanksgiving by a faculty within him- self. Ainu food, though not in every case that which Europeans prefer, does not, when properly cooked, come amiss at a pinch. For example, fresh salmon, codfish, venison, bear's flesh, beans, millet, potatoes, and peas, are all good in themselves when cooked properly. But E 2 68 THE AINU OF JAPAN the Ainu do not know how to cook. They are remarkably fond of stew, strongly flavoured with badly- dried fish, and almost every article of food is cast into the stewpot, and is there completely spoiled. However, their food is not always cooked in this manner, for fish is sometimes roasted before the fire, and potatoes are baked in the ashes upon the hearth. A hungry man can make a good and enjoyable meal off such things. They are very fond of salmon, salmon - trout, young sharks, swordfish, and whale ; and, in the way of flesh, bear's fat and marrow-bones, the haunch of venison, and any part of a horse or bullock. Seaweed and various herbs, the roots of some kinds of lilies, and many water plants, as well as leeks and onions, are used as vegetables ; while grouse, wild geese, and cranes serve for game. When taking a meal, the mistress of the house, together with her husband and youngest children, sit on the side of the fireplace that is to the left-hand on looking into a hut from the west-end door. The rest of the family occupy the right-hand side, strangers the lower end, near the door, and honoured guests the east or sacred end of the hearth. There is no dishing- up to be done. The mistress ladles the food out of the stewpot as it hangs over the fire, and passes it to the one for whom it is intended. One advantage of this is, a person gets his dinner really hot, and meat and pudding covers are not required. HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 69 Visitors are generally served first, then the husband, and lastly the remaining members of the family. The Ainu have a very limited supply of eating utensils. Now, if the cups are not sufficient to go round the whole number taking food, two or more have to use the same cup. But this is not often the case, for each AN AINU FAMILY TAKING A MEAL member of a family has generally his own cup or shell safely stowed away near his sleeping place, ever ready to be produced when required. When a person wishes for more food, it is the correct thing to ask the mistress to replenish his cup. If she is too much engaged, or at all inclined to be familiar, as she is, for instance, 70 THE AINU OF JAPAN among her own friends and relatives, she simply removes the pot-lid and points to the ladle, thereby indicating that the person may help himself. The Ainu cannot be commended for their cleanliness in the treatment of food. They very seldom wash their pots and pans, and still less their eating cups. It is therefore worthy of remark that the index finger is called in Ainu Itangi kem asliiklpet that is, ' the finger for licking the cup.' It is so called because people generally cleanse their eating cups by first wiping the inside of them with their index finger and then licking it! Various kinds of animal food the Ainu eat have been mentioned ; but it must not be supposed that they are well off, or always in possession of a well-stocked larder. Nowadays many of the people do not know the taste of venison, as there are so few deer about. They were very numerous a few years ago, but have nearly all been killed off by the Japanese hunters, who came with their guns and proceeded to destroy them wholesale for the factories which the Government of Yezo established for the canning of venison. This exterminating process went on till now hardly any deer are left. The officials have at last seen the folly of this, and have lately pro- hibited both Japanese and Ainu alike from killing deer, and a fine is imposed if anyone is caught hunting them. Hence venison now must be struck off the list of articles of Ainu food. Bear's flesh is also very scarce. Salmon HUT-BUILDING AND HOUSE-WARMING 71 only comes at particular times each year, and the people know nothing about the art of preserving fish by salting, and do not even possess salt. They dry a few fish in the sun ; but fish so prepared is remarkably odoriferous, and of a very high flavour. 72 THE AINU OF JAPAN CHAPTEK V FURNITURE THERE is not much furniture in an Ainu hut. The centre of the building is taken up with the hearth, which is a long open space surrounded with pieces of wood. In this space as many as three or four fires can be kept burning at one time if necessary. Above the fireplace is suspended from the roof an apparatus or frame containing pot-hooks and all kinds of cooking paraphernalia. This instrument is called tuna. Above this necessary piece of furniture, fish, bear's flesh, and venison are hung to dry ; and as the tuna is a kind of framework with a few bars as a bottom, wheat, barley, or millet are placed in mats and put upon it, that they may be cured ready for threshing and pounding into flour. That part of the hut extending from the head of the fireplace to the east window is, as already stated, held sacred, and is set apart for special strangers and visi- tors, particularly for honoured guests. The right-hand corner is the place where all the Ainu treasures are kept, also a great number of family inao and n-usa ; and upon the beams over these, heirlooms, old swords, bows and FURNITURE 73 arrows, spears, and fishing implements are stowed away. In long boxes next to these are preserved the special ornamental clothes and important things belong- ing to the master of the hut. EAST WIN DO IV 1 SLEEPING PLACE PUT UP fOf) ME GUESTS PLACE WATEK TUBS oO PLAN OF AN AINU HUT Next to the sacred east corner comes the bedstead of the heads of the family. This consists merely of a raised platform or bench, having a screen of mats hung round it. After the bed comes the private corner of the mis- 74 THE AINU OF JAPAN tress, where she keeps a little box in which are stored her beads, rings, necklaces, and other little nicknacks. Next to this is the sleeping place for the daughters of the family ; then the doorway leading into the ante-chamber. On the other side of the doorway the water-butt, tubs, pots and pans are generally found. After this the sleep- ing shelves of the male members find a place. Then comes the south door, when a hut can boast of two doors. Friends sleep at the east end, near the window. The master and mistress and younger members of the family look upon the right-hand side of the hearth as their special place, and the rest of the family occupy the opposite side. Honoured guests take the head of the fireplace, and common visitors remain at the west end of the hearth near the doorway. Sometimes the Ainu, especially when they expect visitors, place mats made of a hard kind of reed upon the floor ; and upon these they spread yet another softer mat, made of rushes and grass. These are used instead of stools and chairs to sit upon. Hence, to spread a mat for a person is equal to offering him a chair. I once got into a dreadful scrape, though quite unintentionally, through jokingly telling an Ainu that I would roll him in a mat. On this occasion 1 was packing up some of my things preparatory to paying a visit to another village. An old man, who was very eager to assist me, would insist on rolling up in mats for transportation the things I did not want to FURNITURE 75 go. I jokingly said, at last, that unless he ceased I would roll him up too. The old man flew into a passion at once, and I was quite at a loss to understand why he should be so angry. I have since learnt that to tell an Ainu one will roll him up in a mat is equivalent to informing him that you are ready to bury him ! This is due to the fact that Ainu, when they die, are rolled up in mats and buried ; they are not placed in coffins. Ainu huts are so unsubstantially built that at times the wind whistles through them at such a rate that it is next to an impossibility to keep a lamp or candle burning. On one occasion I had mats hung up all round me in the attempt to keep my candle burning ; but all my efforts were of no avail, and there was nothing for it but to retire early to bed. My bed was somewhat hard, for it consisted of bare boards. Never- theless, after a few weeks' practice, even a board bed becomes quite a comfortable and healthy place for a tired body. The chief difficulty about a board bed is that, in winter, the boards seem to throw out no heat ; hence I had to keep myself warm with the hard and dry untanned skins of animals and hot-water bottles for Ainu huts are remarkably cold in winter. More- over, the dried fish, some of which hangs rotting in the roof, emits anything but a savoury odour. The smoke, too, is a great nuisance, and causes the eyes to smart and run with water. As for fleas, beetles, and other 76 THE AINU OF JAPAN objectionable insects, the huts in some districts swarm with them during the summer months. Snakes occasion- ally visit the thatch of the roof in search of mice and sparrows' nests. Fleas are the most troublesome of the insects, and appear to have a special liking for white man's blood. On one occasion, when I arose in the morning, my body was completely covered with bites ; but, strange to say, ever since that night they have been unable to make any impression whatever upon me. Intending travellers in Ainu-land should carry with them a large supply of Keat ing's insect powder. The domestic implements used by the Ainu are not very numerous. Some of them are very simply made, but others are quite nicely carved. The cups, dishes, pots and pans are all of Japanese manufacture ; but trays, spoons, and pounding mortars are home- made, as are also their weaving looms. Ainu children are not brought up on pap administered with silver spoons. Wooden spoons are quite sufficient for them. Sometimes pap made of millet is given to young 1 children with a wooden spoon or with a piece of shell ; sometimes with the fingers ; and occasionally mothers give their offspring food from their own mouths. This is a favourite method of making very young children take medicine. By this means even babies are made to swallow noxious physic before they know what has taken place. It is certainly not a cleanly habit, but it is very effectual, and quickly done. FURNITURE 77 The spoons used for cooking purposes are of various shapes, and two of the most common patterns are shown in the illustrations. That marked 1 is used for stirring millet cakes when they are being cooked for a feast. That marked 2 is used for ladling out millet or rice or stew from the pot. There are spoons of other \ patterns and sizes, but they call for no special remark. The ornamenta- tion is mere matter of taste, and is devised ac- cording to the carver's own fancy. The engravings on the next page represent two moustache lifters. They are, of course, used only by the men. It is a curious instrument, and is only called into use when drink- ing. Its purpose is two- fold. The men invariably use it when they are at worship ; for with the end of it they offer drops of wine to the gods to whom they pray. Further, the moustache lifters are used to keep the moustache out of the cup whilst the men drink. It is considered to be very unseemly and impolite to allow AINU SPOONS 78 THE AINU OF JAPAN one's moustache to go into the wine as it is being drunk. It is disrespectful to the persons present, and is thought to be dishonouring to the deities. A COMMON MOUSTACHE LIFTER . . / ~^f7 A CEREMONIAL MOUSTACHE LIFTER At drinking ceremonies that is to say, at a funeral or house-warming feast the Ainu use what they call a kike-ush-bashui, ' a moustache lifter having shavings at- tached to it.' They are made of willow. All of these instru- ments, however, do not have shavings attached to them ; but the men w r ho pride themselves on their hunting abilities have bears carved upon them. They are very proud of these, and set great store by them. The mortar and pestle are also in common use in AINU PESTLE AND MORTAR PARTS OF A LOOM 8o THE AINU OF JAPAN an Ainu hut. These instruments are home made, and each consists of a solid piece of wood. The mortar is used for threshing out wheat and millet, also for beating millet into flour and paste. This paste is used for making cakes for the special feasts. The pestle is held by the middle, so that it has really two ends. Next to implements used in the preparation of food, the weaving loom is a most important article. It is a simple affair, consisting of six parts. The illustration shows what they are. No. 1 is called a kamakap ; it very much resembles a ship's log- winder. It is used to keep the warp thread separated. No. 2 is called an osa. It is something like a comb, and is used to keep the warp straight. No. 3 is the shuttle, used for carrying the thread of the woof from one side of the cloth to the other, between the threads of the warp. It is called ahunka-nit. No. 4 is called a peka-o-nit, and is used for the purpose of changing the warp threads. No. 5 is called attush-bera. It is used to knock the woof close home. No. 6 is merely a small piece of wood used as a beginning or foundation for the cloth. It will be easily understood that this very primitive mode of weaving is most tedious, and therefore requires a great amount of patience. It takes a very long time to weave a yard of cloth with such a machine. However, the Ainu do not understand anything about the value of time. Ainu candlesticks and lamps are not very elaborate affairs. They consist of a piece of stick split at one end. < FURNITURE This stick is stuck into the hearth, and a piece of lighted birch bark is fixed in the split end. Birch bark burns very well indeed, but the light it gives is of a very glaring kind ; one cannot see to do much by it. Fire used to be produced by rubbing very dry pieces of the roots of elm-trees together. Friction is said by the people to work quicker upon this kind of wood than upon any other. But as soon as the Ainu came into closer contact with the Japanese, they bought and used flints and steels. These were worked so that the sparks fell upon touchwood, which takes fire easily and quickly when dry. Now, however, matches of Japanese make are in daily use. The Ainu like to carry their loads of fish, or wood, or what- ever it may be, upon their backs. They prefer to have their hands free, and use their heads to help carry their bundles. The person about to carry a bundle ties what is called a tara or chi-ashke-tara round the bundle, throws it on to the back, and places the headpiece of the tara over the forehead. There is not so much work for the head to do as one would expect, for the main part of the weight of the load is on the lower F2 A TARA 8 4 THE AINU OF JAPAN part of the back. It is astonishing what heavy loads can be carried in this way. The preceding illustration represents a tar a, showing particularly that part which goes over the forehead. It has cloth and cotton worked into it, which keeps it, in a measure, from hurting the carrier's head. TOBACCO PIPE-HOLDER AND BOX The Ainu do not use baskets much, though they have a few ; but they have invented a kind of bag, which is a mat rolled up, and a piece of cloth sewn over each end. This article is very common. It is called chitarabe. This is also carried by means of the tara. Smoking tobacco is not a real Ainu custom, any more than tobacco itself is indigenous to Yezo. Smoking was FURNITURE 85 probably learned from the Japanese. Certainly, many of the pipes used are of Japanese origin, though some appear to have come from Manchuria. The old women smoke as well as the men, though the younger do not. The tobacco box and pipe-holder shown in the engraving are said to be very old. They are made of walnut wood. The box itself has some small pieces of deer bone inlaid, and the pipe-holder is prettily carved. It is very difficult to get hold of so good a set, for the Ainu prize them very highly, and sometimes have them buried with their owners, although they are smashed to pieces before being thrown into the grave. The little piece of wire which is attached to the top of the pipe-holder is used for cleaning out the bowl of the pipe, and the round hole at the bottom is to put the pipe through when finished with. 86 THE AINU OF JAPAN CHAPTEK VI INAO, OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS MANY curious and most amusing, though perhaps very natural, mistakes have frequently been made by visitors to the Ainu. For example, a photographer once came to Ainu-land and took a photograph of a storehouse or granary. He developed his negative, printed off some pictures, wrote ' Ainu Temple ' beneath them, and placed them in his shop window for sale. As a matter of fact, we have already noted that the Ainu have no temples, meeting-houses, or chapels, in which to meet for public worship, or shrines to hold their gods. Another visitor has told us that inao or willow- shavings are household gods ; while a third has gravely remarked that some of these willow -shavings represent male, and others female, gods ! These assertions are mere guesses, and nothing more ; and even Miss Bird, correct as she generally is, was led astray on this point. Writing on this subject, she says : ' Household gods form an essential part of the furnishing of every house. In this one, at the left of the entrance, there are ten white wands, with shavings depending from the upper end, stuck in the wall; INAO, OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 87 another projecting from the [window which faces the sunrise ; and the great god, a white post, two feet high, with spirals of shavings depending from the top, is always planted in the floor, near the wall on the left side.' Miss Bird is accurate as to these shavings being placed in different parts of the hut, but she is not correct in calling them gods. They are not gods, but sacred offerings to them ; and they are made especially to show the faith and devotion of the offerer, and are offered as a token thereof. When placed about singly they are called inao, and when a number are put together they go by the name ^of nusa. Nusa is the name the Japanese give to certain pieces of silk they hang up in the Shinto temples before the gods. Inao, then, briefly denned, are pieces of whittled willow wood, having the shavings left attached to the top ; or, as Miss Bird says, they are ' white wands with shavings depending from the upper end.' The engraving represents one particular kind, which goes by the name of inao netola that is, 'the chief inao.' They are called ' chief ' because they are of the highest import- ance, since they are specially made for the gods who are supposed to stand first in order. The Ainu way of explaining this fact is very peculiar, and well serves to illustrate their general ideas about the Godhead. These inao netoba, they say, are symbols or signs presented to the * distant gods.' By distant gods they mean the 88 THE AINU OF JAPAN chief gods, or those who are remote from human beings, in contradistinction to the minor deities, or those near at hand. For, be it understood, the greater and higher and more honourable the god, the further off is his dwelling, and the more in number are the lesser and intermediary gods through whom he acts. We thus find the Ainu idea of the government of the world and I.\AO XETOBA, Oil THE CHIEF INAO men to be fashioned after the model of human govern- ments with their kings and officers. This class of inao, sometimes also known as the chisel koro inao, or 'household inao,' is often made and placed, in the first instance, before the hearth, and the goddess of fire, who often goes by the name of ' angel ' or ' messenger,' is called upon to notify the Creator, or INAO, OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 89 the goddess of the Sun, who is looked upon as the chief of the deities, that an offering has been made to them. The inao are always presented with prayers, and no prayer is supposed to be acceptable to the gods without this peculiar sign of devotion. This particular kind of inao is made by shaving the wood upwards. When done with they are placed in the sacred north-east corner of the hut ; and when they have become very dry and brown with age they are further removed and placed outside the hut opposite the east window ; and when they have become too shabby to remain there they are brought indoors, and respectfully burnt, with prayer, upon the hearth. The kind of inao which appears to rank next in im- portance is the chi-ehoroka-kep that is, 'the shaved back- wards.' These, as their name implies, are made by being shaved downwards from the top instead of upwards from the bottom. Some of these wands have three sets of shavings left attached to them, while others have but two. I have never been able to learn the rule which governs the exact number of sets of shavings which should be left in given cases. The Ainu themselves do not appear to be quite certain on this point ; they seem to fashion them after their uncertain ideas about what will be accept- able. But, though they may not be particular as to the number of clusters of shavings they leave on one stick, they are extremely careful about having six dis- tinct shavings in each cluster upon either side of the 90 THE AINU OF JAPAN stem, for six is the sacred or perfect number of the people. These chi-ehoroka-kep symbols are made as offerings to the Ehange Kamui, which signifies ' the gods near at hand.' By this term they mean those gods who are supposed to be between them and the higher gods, who CHI-EHOROKA-KEP, OR 'THE SHAVED BACKWARDS' are too honourable to act immediately and of them- selves. Thus, for example, this kind of inao are often seen by the springs of water, upon the river banks, in the gardens, by the side of out-houses, near precipices, and sometimes, when a lesser deity is being invoked, by the fireside. It will thus be observed that this special kind INAO, OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 91 of offering is presented to the local deities, or those deities who are thought to be more in direct touch with men. A third kind, inao-kike that is, * inao shavings ' are simply shavings of willow, and appear to be used as much by way of ornament as for offerings to the gods. However, they never quite lose their religious value and A NUSA, OR CLUSTER OF INAO significance, as being associated with worship and made of the sacred willow-tree. Being but shavings, they are hung up in the windows and doorways of the huts, and are looked upon as charms, and considered safeguards from evil. The nusa, to which reference has already been made, can hardly be called a kind of inao, since the word is applied especially to a cluster or great number of inao 92 THE AINU OF JAPAN placed together. Such clusters may be seen upon the sea-shore, at the fishing stations, and at the east end of the dwelling huts. The engraving represents one of these clusters as they appear upon the sea-shore. These offerings are called keina-ush inao, or 'legged inao,' or * inao having legs,' and they are so called be- cause they are tied to stakes stuck in the ground, which go by the name of kema, or ' legs.' They are placed upon the sea-shore as offerings to one of the two sea gods, called Hep un kamui, or ' sea gods.' One of these, strange as it may appear, is thought to be good, and the other evil. They are brothers, and their names are Shi acha, the elder, and Mo acha, the younger. Shi acha means ' the rough ' or ' wild uncle,' and he is supposed to be of a very evil and restless disposition, and to be continually pursuing and persecuting his younger brother, Mo acha. Mo acha means ' uncle of peace.' Mo acha, being of a benevolent character and a quiet, kindly disposition, does all he can to live in peace, and benefit the Ainu race. He comes and settles down by the sea-side, and brings still, quiet winds and good weather with him. Then it is that the Ainu fishermen launch their boats and go fishing. But Shi acha, the wild and malignant elder brother, ever ready and anxious to do all the harm he can, comes and chases his peaceable brother away, and brings bad weather, so that the Ainu are obliged to haul in their boats and lines and go home without any fish. Shi acha INAO OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 93 is supposed to be the originator of all storms and ship- wrecks, and hence the nusa, which are placed upon the sea-shore, are not presented to him, the ' wild uncle,' but to the peaceable and good god. This dualism or struggle between two principles, a principle of good and a principle of evil, is said to be incessantly raging. The good and the evil are ever antagonistic the one to the other ; they always have been and always will be. Thus, as there are two gods of the sea, one good and the other evil, so there are good and evil gods who are supposed to preside over the rivers. The river deities are called Wakka-ush kamui, ' watery gods.' They are feminine, and it is their province to watch over all springs, ponds, lakes, streams, waterfalls, and rivers. There is one particular goddess who has to watch the mouths of rivers and allow the fish, particu- larly the spring and autumn salmon, to go in and out. Her name is Chiwash ekot mat, which means ' the female possessor of the places where the fresh and salt waters mingle.' It is to this goddess that nusa are set up upon the banks near the mouths of rivers. There are other gods who are supposed to have their home in the rivers ; and they go by the general name of Pet-ru-mh mat, l the females of the waterways.' They are supposed to have the oversight of all rivers and streams from their source to the sea. These deities, who are supposed to be good, are frequently worshipped. Thus, when the men go to fish in the rivers, they always 94 THE AINU OF JAPAN ask the gods to make them successful ; or, if they are descending rapids, they never forget to ask for guidance and protection, and they always remember to make offerings of inao and nusa. But there is also the evil god of rivers, who goes by the name of Sarak kamui. Sarak is a word meaning accidental death, and Sarak kamui appears to be a god or demon who presides over accidents. Its evil deeds are not confined exclusively to the fresh waters, but are the cause of all land accidents. When an accidental death has taken place, either by drowning or otherwise, the Ainu, as soon as they find it out, proceed to perform a ceremony frequently called Sarak kamui. The ceremony is as follows. Sake is procured by the relatives of the victim, and messengers are sent to the different villages to invite the men and women to join in the proceedings. The men bring their swords or long knives, and the women their head-gear. On arriving at the appointed hut, the chiefs of the people assembled proceed to chant their dirges and worship the fire god. Then, after eating some cakes, made of pounded millet, and drink- ing a good proportion of sake, they all go out of doors in single file, the men leading. The men draw their swords or knives, and hold them, point upwards, in the right hand, close to the shoulder, and then altogether they take a step with the left foot, at the same time stretching forward to the full extent the right hand with the sword, and calling, as if with one voice, ' Wool ! ' Then the INAO, OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 95 right foot is moved forward, the sword at the same time being drawn back, and the wool repeated. This is continued till the place of accident is reached. The women follow the men, and with dishevelled hair, their head-gear hanging over the shoulders, they continue to weep and howl during the whole ceremony. Arrived at the place of accident, a continual howling is kept up for some time, and the men strike hither and thither with their swords, supposing that thus they are driving away the evil Sarak kamui. This finished, the people return to the house of the deceased in the same order as they came forth, and, sad to say, feast, drink sake, and get intoxicated. The ceremony of attending Sarak kamui is called Niwen horibi. The larger clusters of inao which are to be seen outside the sacred east-end of every Ainu hut may be called the Ainu temple, for to him it is the most sacred place he knows upon earth. To this place he comes and worships the last thing before he sets out on a journey, and when he returns home again it will be nearly the first place he will visit. Here the mistress of the house generally throws her chaff after she has threshed her millet and corn ; and here, too, the hunter places the skulls of deer and bears and wolves he may have killed in the hunt. As these inao of various orders and descriptions are thus seen to be so extensively used and so closely con- nected with prayer and worship, it is no matter for surprise 9 6 THE AINU OF JAPAN that travellers have taken them to be gods ; in fact, it would have been a great wonder had they not done so. But enough has been said to show that in no sense can these willow-wands be called gods. They are merely offerings to the various deities, though they hold a very important NUSA AND RKULLH AT EAST END OF A HUT place in the Ainu religion. They are made and offered upon almost every occasion of prayer, and placed in the domain of particular titular deities, and near their supposed dwelling-places. Thus, when a person is taken ill, his friend or relative, the chief of the village, INAO, OR RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS 97 gets a new piece of willow wood fresh from the forest, and sitting down before the fire, peels off the outer rind, and shaves the stick into an inao. When it is finished he places it in the corner of the hearth near the fire, and asks the fire goddess, who is supposed to be a great purifier from disease, to look kindly upon the sick one. He next addresses her by the name 'messenger,' and requests her to go to the Creator and ask Him to kindly accept the inao he has just made, to hear his prayers, and to allow her, ' the fire goddess,' to heal the sick one. The idea seems to be that the Creator is too great a personage to condescend to do the healing Himself. In like manner, when the Ainu are out hunting, they will most devoutly, when they build their lodge to sleep in, stick up the second kind of inao before their fire. At the same time they will say, ' goddess of fire, we present this inao unto thee ! pray watch over us to-night, and ask the deities to grant us success when we awake.' At the spring where they get their water, they set up another, saying, * goddess of water, we come to drink at this, thy spring ! please look upon our offering, and do us good, and watch over us.' On the morrow, before beginning the hunt, they make the first kind of inao, and offer it to the great God of all, and, using the fire goddess as mediator, ask Him to render them successful. The Ainu never go to fish in the sea without a small G 98 THE AINU OF JAPAN piece of willow wood and a knife. This is in case a storm should arise, and they therefore desire to call upon God to help them. In such a case, they hastily make a few inao shavings, and cast them into the sea, at the same time offering up a prayer that they may be saved. Every Ainu is supposed to make his household inao at least once a year, usually during the winter, or, if possible, twice a year, in the spring and autumn. Of course he makes some on the occasion of any feast or death, or when he has been successful at hunting or fishing. The ordinary and extraordinary circum- stances guide the Ainu in making these offerings. o 2 101 CHAPTEE VII ETIQUETTE THERE is probably no race, however barbarous or savage, which has not some special and recognised forms of etiquette which must be observed in the social life of its individual members. These, when rightly and duly performed by a person, cause him to be regarded as an individual of good-breeding ; if neglected, he is looked upon with disfavour, and his negligence is taken either as a personal insult or slight, or as a sign of ignorance and ill-breeding. Now, the Ainu have various matters of national decorum, and about the observance of these they are very particular indeed. Personal behaviour is a subject in which the Ainu are always careful to instruct their youth. The salutation of the men, for example, is at once a common, and yet an important and curious, part of Ainu decorum. When living in an Ainu hut, as I have done for many months at a time, I have often seen two men saluting one another. The people also always saluted me after the orthodox Ainu style, as though I were one of themselves. Of course I endeavour, 102 THE AINU OF JAPAN according to the best of my ability, to do the proper thing in return, after the most correct manner. The first step is to give a low cough and gently clear the throat before entering a hut. After this is done, and if no one comes out to invite the visitor in, he walks steadily up the centre of the hut by the right- hand side of the hearth, and sits down before the master, bare-headed and cross-legged, as though he were AINU MEN SALUTING a tailor. Then, when the throat has again been cleared, he stretches forward his hands as shown in the illustra- tion. The person he is saluting goes through similar actions, looking both attentive and respectful. The two next proceed to gently rub their hands together, by drawing back first one hand and then the other in such a way as to allow the points of the fingers to rub the palms of each hand alternately. This is done for some ETIQUETTE 103 little time. While rubbing the hands, the parties, one at a time, ask after each other's health, and express a wish that every heavenly blessing may be bestowed, first upon each other, then upon their wives and families, next upon their relatives, and, lastly, upon their native place. Sometimes this form of salutation is kept up for a long time, at others for only a few moments, according to circumstances and the amount of business there may be on hand. However, when this AINU MEN SALUTING part of the performance has been satisfactorily gone through, they finish by each stroking his own beard, as shown in the engraving, each at the same time making a soft rumbling sound in his throat. When this preliminary salutation is over, the visitor, after a short interval, again proceeds to rub the palms of his hands, and to tell his business. The listener also always rubs his hands in like manner as long as the speaker does. This is a very tedious affair, especially as 104 THE. AINU OF JAPAN the palm rubbing goes on very often for twenty minutes or half an hour. As soon as the particular matter which has led to the interview is settled, the master of the house intimates by a few familiar remarks that all for- mality is at an end. They then stroke their own beards to each other and commence to talk in a natural and unrestrained manner. This common salutation of the men is in a sense a religious exercise, because in the first part of the cere- mony they ask God to bestow blessings upon each other and their families, and this, as will be seen, involves an act of prayer. When worshipping their unseen gods, they salute them in exactly the same way as they do their fellow-men. The women's mode of salutation is very curious. They never, so far as I am aware, perform the ceremony to their own sex, but only to the men. On entering a hut the woman removes her head-dress and hangs it neatly over her left arm. She then brushes back the front locks of her hair and places the right hand over her mouth. All this is preliminary. When she sees that the man she desires to address has condescended to look at her, she draws the index finger of the right hand gradually up the middle of the left and up the arm to the shoulder ; then from left to right across the upper lip and close under the nose, ending by stroking and smoothing the forelocks of her hair behind the ears. She then waits for an invitation to speak. ETIQUETTE 105 When the women have been away from their native villages for a long time, and again meet their sisters and other female relatives, they appear to take great delight AINU WOMAN SALUTING in seizing one another by the shoulders and weeping upon each other's necks. I have seen women in this position for half an hour or more at a time. In fact, in this position they will chant to each other their whole 106 THE AINU OF JAPAN personal history since they last met. Questions are put and answered in this weeping, sing-song fashion. The men salute the boys and girls by seizing their heads and stroking their hair from the crown to the SALUTING A CHILD shoulders. The engraving shows how this is done. This possibly partakes more of the nature of a caress than of a salutation. Whenever a person desires to visit a hut he should ETIQUETTE 107 never enter without being asked. But, as there are no wooden doors to knock at, what is to be done ? Being unable to knock, a person has to make a noise with his throat ; something like a long guttural sounding, he-he- he-he-hem. If the person who desires to enter belongs to the village, he goes in without more ceremony ; but if he is a stranger he must wait until someone who has heard the noise comes out and takes him in. Once in- side he must go through the palm-rubbing, beard- stroking, and all the formalities of salutation. Men, after calling upon a person, always go out walking side- ways. Women also say he-he-he-he-hem before entering a hut, and as soon as they get inside make an obeisance like that which has been already described. They leave a hut by walking backwards. It is impolite for a woman to turn her back upon a man. There are many minor rules which have to be ob- served. Never enter a hut with a head-dress on. Never rush either in or out of a hut, but always go steadily and softly. Never look into a hut through the window, especially the end window. Never go eavesdropping. Never address a stranger unless he or she speaks first to you. These rules are binding upon all, men, women, and children alike. The women are always expected to take their head- dress off when they meet a man, except widows, who never remove their head-dress, but always wear the io8 THE AINU OF JAPAN widow's hood. Women always step out of the way when they see a man coming, and make room for him to pass. They always salute a man when they meet one by cover- ing their mouth with the hand and fixing their eyes upon the ground. They keep out of the way as much as pos- sible, and consider they are quite an inferior order of beings. They ought to be obedient to their husbands, and never answer them back when they speak. 109 CHAPTEB VIII EDUCATION AINU children used never to be troubled by schools or schoolmasters. The mountains, the rivers, and the sea were their school-house ; necessity was their instructor ; inclination and the weather were the only forces which made them work. The first and chief duties that the children were taught were obedience to parents, a careful regard to their elder brother, and reverence for the old men of their village. They were to speak when spoken to, and at other times to be seen, but not heard. By no means were they allowed to interrupt their elders when engaged in conversation. The men attended to the education of the boys, and the women looked after the girls of a family. The boys were taught to fish and hunt ; to make bows, arrows, and traps ; to set spring-bows in the trail of animals ; to decoy deer, and to judge of the weather by the skies. They were never taught to make poison for the destruc- tion of animals until full-grown, and even then only a few were taught the secret. i io THE AINU OF JAPAN Next they were taught the names and shapes of certain mountains and hills, the names and courses of the chief rivers and streams, so that they might not get lost when out on a hunting expedition. They also had to learn the secret and quickest routes to different places. And last, but not least, they were taught how to make inao and nusa offerings, and what forms of prayer to use upon different occasions ; the various salutations and the proper course to pursue in the various ceremonies ; also, tli9 ancient traditions. The women taught the girls to nurse children, and to prepare bark and weave it into cloth ; to sew, em- broider, and mend ; to work in the gardens, to cook, to thatch huts, to cut wood, and a thousand and one other things. They were also instructed in the art of tattooing their arms and lips, and how to weep and howl for the dead. Lastly, they were particularly taught to honour and respect and wait upon the men ; always to wait to be spoken to before addressing them ; always to get out of their way when they came along a path ; to cover the mouth with the hand when meeting them and to un- cover the head in their presence ; and they were in- structed to never forget to enter a hut with the face towards the household, and to go out backwards. Moral lessons were enforced by certain tales. Thus, for instance, diligence was encouraged and idleness discouraged by the following curious fable. Its title is : EDUCATION in THE MAN IN THE MOON ' In ancient times there was a lad who would neither obey his father nor his mother, and who even disliked to fetch water ; so, the gods being angry, put him in the side of the moon, as a warning to all people. This is the man in the moon. For this reason, let all the world understand that the words of parents, whether they be good or evil, must be obeyed.' The Ainu give a curious explanation of this legend, which is as follows : ' Though the lad was ordered to draw water, he was idle, and sat chopping at the fireplace with an edged tool. As he went out he struck the door-post, saying, " Ah, me ! you, being a door-post, do not have to draw water." Then, taking the ladle and the bucket, he went down to the river ; and when he came to the river he saw a little fish coming up the stream, to which he said : " Ah, me ! because you you awfully bony creature are a fish, you do not have to draw water." Again, seeing a salmon-trout, he said : " Ah, me ! you soft, flabby creature, you do not have to draw water." Then, descending thence, he saw an autumn salmon, to which he said, " How do you do, how do you do, Mr. Salmon ? " and straightway he was seized by the salmon, and, for the instruction of all people, placed in the moon. Thus did the angry gods to him who disliked to draw water.' Greediness was discouraged by the following tale : ii2 THE AINU OF JAPAN A TALE OF THE FOXES (Characters -Pan'ambc and Pen'ambe) 1 Pan'ambe, having a great desire to become rich, stretched his tail across the sea to the town of Matsumai. When the Lord of Matsumai saw the tail, he said, " This is a pole sent from the gods. Hang all my clothes upon it to air." So all the short-sleeved garments and good clothing were hung out. After a time, Pan'ambe drew back his tail, and all the soft silky garments and good clothing adhering to it came also ; so that he gained a whole houseful of things and became very rich. Pen'ambe, hearing of his good fortune, called upon him and said, " My dear Pan'ambe, what have you done, that you have become so rich ? " Pan'ambe replied, " Coir and take some refreshment, and I will tell you." Wh he had heard all, Pen'ambe withdrawing, said : " ThL is the very thing we ourselves had intended to do, ^ and you you abominable Pan'ambe, you disgusting en Pan'ambe ! have forestalled us." So saying, he went cr down to the sea-shore and stretched his tail across the sea to Matsumai. When the Lord of Matsumai saw it, he said, " Here is a pole sent by the gods. Hang out all my best clothes to air." So the clothes were hung upon it. But Pen'ambe, being in a great hurry to become rich, began to withdraw his tail too quickly. The Lord of Matsumai, seeing the pole move, said : " Even thus it happened once before. There came a EDUCATION 113 pole from the gods, upon which we hung our clothes to air ; but a thief stole the pole away, and we all became poor. Now again a pole has come, and we have hung our clothes upon it, but look ! there appears to be a thief about; be quick, and cut the gods' pole in two." So the officers drew their swords and cut the pole, there- by saving all the clothes. Pen'ambe was left with but half a tail ! so he drew it in, but had obtained nothing, and was in a very sorry plight. Now, if Pen'ambe had only listened to what Pan'ambe had said to him, he might have been a rich person and able to live ; but he did not like to be advised, so he became a very poor man.' Pieverence to old people was taught by the following legend : * At the head of Japan there was a metal [i.e. very hard] pine-tree. Now, the ancients, both noble and ignoble, came together and broke and bent their swords [upon that tree]. Then there came a very old man and a very old woman upon the scene. The old man had a useless old axe in his girdle, and the old woman a useless old reaping-hook. So they caused the ancients to laugh at them.' [That is, the Ainu laughed at the bare idea of such an old couple coming to render assistance.] ' Even the ancients were unable to cut down that tree; so they said: " Old man and old woman, what have you come hither to do?" The old man replied, H ii 4 THE AINU OF JAPAN " We have only come that we may see." As the old man said this he drew his useless old axe, and, striking the metal pine-tree, cut a little way into it. And the old woman, drawing her useless old reaping-hook, struck the tree and cut it through. There was a mighty crash ; the earth trembled with the fall. Then the old man and woman passed up upon the sound thereof, and a fire was seen upon their sword- scabbards. The ancients saw this and greatly wondered, and then they under- stood that it was Okikurumi and his wife.' Therefore the Ainu say : ' Let not the younger laugh at the elder, for even very old people can teach their juniors a great deal, even in so simple a matter as felling trees.' Also they say : ' Do not treat strangers slightingly, for you never know whom you are enter- taining.' These strangers who appeared to the Ainu were no other than the great hero Yoshitsune (Okiku- rumi is his Ainu name) and his wife, and yet the people did not at first know them ! This curious legend probably enshrines the memory of some ancient battle with the Japanese. The ' metal pine-tree,' or 'trees,' were possibly Japanese warriors in their armour. If that be so, Yoshitsune was pro- bably killed in helping the Ainu against his own countrymen. There are reasons for believing that he was buried at Piratori. The education of the Ainu was done by word of mouth and actual work. They never had schools or EDUCATION 115 literature of any kind. They do not like, however, to admit that they never had any books or writing materials, for they seem ashamed of being such dunces. There is not even a native word for either pen, ink, or paper, and their word for book itself is of Japanese origin. Notwithstanding all this, many of them tell us that their ancestors did understand reading and writing, but that they have now lost the art. They have in- vented a tale by which the Japanese hero, Yoshitsune, is made to steal and carry off a certain book the only book the Ainu chief of Saru had in his possession. The name of this book is said to be Tora no maki mono ; a purely Japanese name. It is, in fact, the name of a Japanese book on strategy. The tale of the theft runs thus : ' When Yoshitsune came to Yezo he was kindly taken in by the Saru chief, who had his residence at Piratori, This chief had amongst his treasures a very ancient book called Tora no maki mono, but he would never allow Yoshitsune to see it. After a time the chief adopted Yoshitsune, and gave him his younger daughter in marriage. One day, after he had been in the family some time, Yoshitsune pretended that he had bad eyes, and could not go out to work as was his wont. So he stayed at home. On that day he reproached his wife greatly and refused to eat, and told her that neither did she love him, nor did she nor her father trust him, so that he might just as well go back to his native land. She asked him in what he H 9. ii6 THE AINU OF JAPAN was mistrusted, and he replied that he had heard that his father-in-law had an ancient book somewhere in his possession, but that, although he had let him see all his other treasures, he had never produced it. Why was he so distrustful ? Upon this his wife fetched the book and let him look at it. " Now," says he, " my eyes are quite well ; and I shall go to work to-morrow." Yoshit- sune noticed where his wife had put the book, so as soon as an opportunity presented itself he stole it and ran off with it. * Now it happened that Yoshitsune's father-in-law was far away in the mountains, but he felt within him- self that something wrong was going on at home. He therefore left his work to return. As he neared home he saw Yoshitsune fleeing down the river in his father- in-law's very best and swiftest boat. ' Now, the chief always carried two harpoons about with him, a black one and a white one, which he could cast, with unerring aim, to any distance. He therefore cast the white one at the stern of the boat and trans- fixed it, but Yoshitsune the cunning man had a file with him, and filed the line in two. Then the black harpoon was cast, with a similar result. Upon this Yoshitsune stood up in the boat and reviled his wife and her father, and fled, not only with the book, but also with the harpoons and the boat.' This legend tries to account for what is undoubtedly the fact, that the Ainu have no literature. EDUCATION 119 The following legend of Okikurumi (Yoshitsune), in love with an Ainu maiden, may be of interest to some. The object of it seems to be to teach young lovers never to despair, even if they cannot obtain the objects of their affections, and never to look too much after the softer sex. ' The great Okikurumi fell deeply in love ; he became very ill, exceedingly love-sick ; he lost his appetite and bodily strength ; he laid down in his hut in sullen despair, and would eat neither good food nor bad ; he was, in short, ready to die of love. And, mark you, all this happened through taking just one glance at a beautiful woman. Dear, dear,' says the legend, ' how badly he felt ! ' Therefore let the young beware. But Okikurumi was cured of his dangerous malady. A little bird flew to the cause of this affliction, the object of his affections. Word was brought to her of his deep-seated love and critical condition. The pretty little bird wagged its tail and whispered in the lady's ear that if Okikurumi died, the soul of Ainu-land would also depart. Therefore, the bird begged her to have mercy upon poor Okikurumi for the sake of Ainu-land. The intercession was successful. An unreal, unsub- stantial woman was made in the likeness of the beauty with whom Okikurumi was smitten. She was brought to his hut, and forthwith proceeded to arrange the mats, furniture, and ornaments. Okikurumi took a sly glance at her through his arm-hole or sleeve; he was encour- 120 THE AINU OF JAPAN aged ; he got up, rejoiced, ate food, was revived and felt strong again. This done, the lady took her depar- ture ; she was not. What then did Okikurumi do ? Why, he saw that he had been deceived in the woman, and, as ' there was nothing to he done, nothing to be said,' he got well again, like a sensible man. The following is the explanation of the legend. The goddess (i.e. the beautiful maiden) felt lonely, and gazed upon the inside and surveyed the outside of the hut. She went out, and behold ! the clouds were floating and waving about in beautiful terraces upon the horizon over Ainu -land. Yes, that is what she saw ; so she returned into the hut backwards, and took down her needle-work. [By this we are taught how it was Okikurumi first caught sight of this beautiful woman with whom he fell in love. She had been sitting in the hut, and now felt a little lonesome, restless, or tired. Her eyes had been wandering about from one object to another with weary solitude. She gets up, goes outside in an aimless kind of way, and scans the horizon, which she sees is very beautiful in its grandeur, the clouds being piled one upon another in terrace-like masses. She reviews and returns into her hut. But we are told that she returns backwards. This is a sign that she was paying great respect to something or some one outside. The Ainu say that she was paying respect to the brilliant beauties of Nature, which she saw depicted upon the heavens ; EDUCATION 121 hence she came into her hut reverently walking back- wards. Now, women never pray never worship any deities at all ; I therefore venture to think that she was paying her respects to Okikurumi, whom she saw out- side.] Again, she looked to the point of her needle, and fixed her gaze upon the eye -end thereof. [That is to say, she paid great attention to her work.] Then came a little bird, called ' water- wagtail,' and sat upon the window- shutter, and wagged its tail up and down, and waved it from right to left. [The water-wagtail is much esteemed by the Ainu, for they consider it to be a bird of good omen. It is supposed to be the first bird that was created, and is thought to be a special favourite and companion of the gods. Hence it was that this bird was sent to convey the intelligence of Okikurumi's love-stricken heart and critical condition to this beautiful and indus- trious damsel.] Then two chirps and three chirps came to her, and touched the inside surface of her ears, and what she heard was this : ' The mighty Okikurumi, who is the governor of all Ainu -land, went out of doors for a little while, and, seeing you, has fallen ill of Jove on your account. ' And though two bad fish and two good fish were placed before him for food, he refused to eat.' [Two good and two bad fish is merely an expression 122 THE AINU OF JAPAN meaning that whatever food was placed before Yoshitsune he could not touch it, he was so love -sick.] ' Now, if Okikurumi should die, the soul of Ainu-land will depart.' Then the little bird called ' water-wagtail,' waving its tail, spake two words to her and said, ' Have mercy upon us, that Okikurumi may live.' Thus, then, by simply looking out upon the world, Okikurumi fell so sick of love that though two bad fish and two good iish were set before him he could not eat. Dear, dear, how badly he felt ! Therefore the form of a woman resembling the goddess was made and sent down to Okikurumi. The house was set in order ; that woman who was sent down put things to rights. Then Okikurumi looked through his sleeve and saw the beautiful woman. He got up, greatly rejoicing. He ate some food ; strength came back to his body, and the woman was gone. Okikurumi saw he had been deceived , but there was nothing to be done and nothing to say, so he got well. [Let everyone take warning from these last words. Okikurumi was deceived by the mere shadow of a woman.] So much, then, for the hero, Kurohonguwan Nima- moto no Yoshitsune, and his servant, Benkei. 123 CHAPTEE IX THE ARTS AND PLEASURES OF LIFE PASSING from Ainu education, the arts and pleasures of life demand some attention, and chief among these are music, dancing, and games. These things, of course, are not very highly developed amongst such a crude race as the Ainu. Those who belong to Western nations are apt to suppose that all music must be formed of notes in scale, with their crescendos and diminuendos. This is the kind of music to which we have been accustomed from child- hood. But the songs and chants of the Ainu do not run in fixed notes or tones, they are bound to no scale, so that their airs cannot be written down. In fact, the Ainu have music without tune. Some of the women and girls have really rich voices, and it is very pleasant to hear them hum their songs. The men and women make up some very pretty tunes in which to recite their recent acts and experi- ences. Thus, I have sometimes sat and listened to our servants when they have returned from Hakodate to their homes. I have seen them sit for an hour at a 124 THE AINU OF JAPAN stretch and relate in chant or song that which has happened to them whilst away : where they have been, what they have seen, and what they have heard. Their friends, too, have in the same way made known to them what has taken place in their midst : what children have been born, who have died, who have married, how the fishing and hunting and gardening has gone on, and all such things. It is very interesting to listen to these chants, for they give many a peep into the inner work- ings of the mind, and show a good deal of the true nature of the Ainu, and their ways of looking at things. Nor have the Ainu anything that we can call metre, or verses accurately measured in syllables. Ehyme, too, is quite unknown, and poetry exists only in the mind ; and this very often ceases to be poetry when translated into Japanese or English. Here are two legends which show the manner in which the Ainu recite or chant their traditions. AN AINU LEGEND OF A FAMINE 1. There was a woman who was ever sitting by the window and doing some kind of needle-work or other. 2. In the window of the house there was a large cup filled to the brim with wine, upon which floated a cere- monial moustache-lifter. 3. The ceremonial moustache-lifter was dancing about upon the top of the wine-cup. THE ARTS AND PLEASURES OF LIFE 125 4. In explaining the subject from the beginning, and setting it forth from the end, the tale runs thus : 5. Now look, do you think that the great God, do you think that the true God, was blind ? 6. In Ainu-land there was a great famine, and the Ainu were dying for want of food : yet with what little rice-malt and with what little millet they had they made (a cup of) wine. 7. Now, the great God had mercy, and, in order that our relatives might eat, produced both deer and fish. 8. And the great God had mercy upon us, therefore He looked upon us, and, in truth, saw that in Ainu-land there was a famine, and that the Ainu had nothing to eat. 9. Then was that cup of wine emptied into six lacquer-ware vessels. 10. In a very little while the scent of the wine filled the whole house. 11. Therefore were all the gods led in, and the gods of places were brought from everywhere ; 12. And they were all well pleased with that delicious wine. 13. Then the goddesses of the rivers and the god- desses of the mouths of rivers danced back and forth in the house. 14. Upon this all the gods laughed with smiles upon their faces ; 126 THE AINU OF JAPAN 15. And whilst they looked at the goddesses they saw them pluck out two hairs from a deer ; 16. And, as it were, blow them over the tops of the mountains; then appeared two herds of deer skipping upon the mountain tops, one of bucks and the other of does. 17. Then they plucked out two scales from a fish, and, as it were, blew them over the rivers ; and the beds of the rivers were so crowded with fish that they scraped upon the stones, and likewise the tops of the rivers were exceeding crowded. 18. So the things called fish filled all the rivers to the brim. 19. Then the Ainu went fishing and caused their boats to dance upon the rivers. 20. The young men now found fish and venison in rich abundance. 21. Hence it is that Ainu-land is so good. Hence it is that from ancient times till now there has been hunting. Hence it is that there are inheritors to this hunting. The following curious lines were sung to me by an aged Ainu, to whom I had just been explaining the dangers and evil of drinking too much wine, and to whom I had been endeavouring to show how much better it is to worship God in spirit and in truth, than by offering Him wine and whittled pieces of willow wood. The old THE ARTS AND PLEASURES OF LIFE 127 man's object in singing this tradition to me was to enforce upon my mind the fact that, notwithstanding all I had said, the gods were, at the time of the famine indicated below, pleased with these offerings, and are still delighted when the devout worshipper indicates his sincerity by setting these things before them. This song, tradition, legend, or whatever it may be called, is typical of the way in which the Ainu convey their thoughts on religion and other serious matters to one another. 1. There was something upon the seas bowing and raising its head. 2. And when they came to see what it was, they found it to be a monstrous sea-lion fast asleep, which they seized and brought ashore. 3. Now, when we look at the matter, we find that there was a famine in Ainu-land. 4. And we see that a large sea-lion was cast upon the shores of the mouth of the Saru river. 5. Thus the Ainu were able to eat, i.e. obtained food. 6. For this reason itiao and wine were offered to the gods. 7. So the gods to whom these offerings were made were pleased, and are pleased. The first and second of these verses are an intro- ductory statement of the theme. The remote ancestors of the Ainu race are represented as having seen some 128 THE AINU OF JAPAN large and curious object floating about upon the tops of the waves of the sea, and rising and falling with them. The men, therefore, launch their boats and go and see what the object may be. They find it is a mighty sea-lion (shietashbe) . They then seize the animal, and, by some means or other (how it is not stated), bring it ashore. The third and fourth verses make known the fact that at this particular time there was a famine in Ainu- land, and that the Ainu of to-day, in looking back upon this sad calamity, see in the sleeping sea-lion the hand of the gods, working to preserve the race from starvation and certain destruction. This mighty sea monster is said to have been cast upon the shores of the mouth of the Saru river. Saru, it should be remembered, is regarded by the Ainu of the south of Yezo as the chief district in this island ; and the Shishiri-muka is the largest river in Saru. Verses six and seven are intended to show that liba- tions of wine and the offering of inao have always been a well-pleasing sacrifice to the gods, and therefore are so now. They pleased the gods at that time, and that they please them now is seen from the fact that food is still extended to the Ainu race. Hence one great reason why such ancient religious customs should not be abolished. Hence, too, according to Ainu reasoning, this race of men have no cause to change one form of religion and its accompanying ceremonies and rites for another. THE ARTS AND 'PLEASURES OF LIFE 129 Thus we see that the Ainu, though without knowledge, are by no means without reason ; nor are they so stupid and easily led as some people would suppose. The Yezo Ainu possess but one musical instrument, a kind of Jew's-harp made of bamboo. It is not used by full-grown people ; but the children are very fond of playing it. This instrument is about five inches long, and has a thin narrow tongue up the centre, which measures about four inches in length and the eighth of an inch in breadth. A piece of string is attached to the THE MUKKURI, OR JEW'S-HARP butt end of the tongue. This instrument is played by holding it to the lips in the same way as children in England hold the Jew's-harp. Then the player breathes through the space in which the tongue is, and gives the string a sharp, sudden jerk. The tone produced is regu- lated, by the breath of the player. The Ainu name of this instrument is mukkuri. The Karafuto Ainu are said to have a kind of fiddle with two strings, and another with three, but I have never seen these. If there is little to say about Ainu music and musical i 130 THE AINU OF JAPAN instruments, there is also very little to tell about dancing. Ainu dancing is a senseless performance, quite devoid of elegance or grace. When the men dance it is called tapkara ; and when the women dance they call it rimsei. The two principal tapkara, or men's dances, are firot. This they call tonoto hau, i.e. ' the voice of wine.' The second is called chikup hau, i.e. ' the voice of drinking.' These are dances accompanied by bacchanalian songs, and the men always require plenty of wine before they can produce ' the voice of wine ! ' The women have four principal dances. These are called (1) ehoma ; (2) hcranne ; (3) ikken-ho-hum ; and (4) heshkotoro. The clwma dance appears to be an attempt to imitate the movements of some kind of bird, possibly the heron. The dancers generally form a ring, and continually call out clwma in unison. They also incessantly bend their backs forward, and as far back as possible when performing this dance. In the dance called heranne the performers form a ring and join hands, and, incessantly calling out hcranne, continue to bow to one another, thus bringing their heads nearly together in the centre of the ring. Ikken-ho-hum consists in attempting to make oneself look as much like a see- saw as possible, by bending the back and head forward and back as far as one can, at the same time calling out ikken-ho-hum. Heshkotoro is indescribable, and appears to be a mixture of all the others, and the word heshko- toro is called out during the performance. THE ARTS AND PLEASURES OF LIFE 131 The Ainu do not much engage in games. The hard facts of daily life, such as looking out for food