ABORIGINES OF JAPAN. 93 



much diversity among them in the form and expression of 

 the features, the amount and kind of hair and beard, and in 

 complexion, which varies from white to a very dark yellow- 

 ish-brown. 



The first settlers, or aborigines, of Japan, seem to have 

 come from Central Asia, by way of the great northern island 

 of Saghalien, which is separated from Siberia only by a few 

 miles of shallow water. There is satisfactory evidence, in 

 the ancient kitchen-heaps of this race on the island of Hondo, 

 as well as in the traditions of the people, that they formerly 

 occupied the country in very considerable numbers. • They 

 were savages, subsisting almost exclusively upon fish, and the 

 flesh of wild animals. They lived in rude huts of poles, 

 thatched with grass, or covered with bark, and were clad in 

 garments woven from the bast of trees, or in such as they 

 made from the skins of salmon, seals, and the beasts of the 

 forests. These peculiar people have been gradually amalga- 

 mated with the more civilized and warlike races which 

 entered Japan from the south ; so that none can now be found 

 on Hondo. A few thousand, however, still exist on the 

 island of Yezo. They call themselves Ainos, and are re- 

 markable for their unusual hairiness, by which they are 

 readily distinguished from the Mongolians. They seem to 

 have made little or no progress in art or civilization during 

 the last thirty centuries. Their agricultural skill is exhibited 

 chiefly in digging native lily-bulbs, yams, and burdock-roots, 

 and in gathering edible seaweed and wild fruits. Their 

 domestic animal, if he can be so called, is a wolf-like dog, 

 which is able to hunt and fish for himself, and is sometimes 

 useful in dragging sledges, but, as often happens among 

 civilized men, appears to be principally prized for the pleasure 

 of his company. 



The conquerors of the Ainos undoubtedly brought from 

 their respective countries much knowledge of the arts of 

 agriculture, pottery, and metallurgy ; and they have steadily 

 improved in learning and civilization. Some of their indus- 

 trial arts have been brought to such perfection, notwithstand- 

 ing their total ignorance of Western science, that this wonder- 

 ful people have successfully competed for the highest honors 

 at the recent World's Expositions. Their paper is thinner, 

 smoother, and tougher than that of any other nation, and is 



