16 NOTES ON THE KURIL ISLANDS. 



This is probably true, for there is little, if any, trace of Ainu blood 

 in the northern Japanese. 



During my stay on Yetorup in 1875, 1 was told by the Japanese 

 doctor of the place that when the Japanese first came to the island, 

 about a hundred years before, there were some fifteen hundred 

 Ainu there. They were a fine, strong, healthy lot of people, living 

 chiefiy on bears, seals, sea-lions, sea-otters, and fish, the roots of 

 several wild plants, berries, and sea-birds and their eggs, a plenti- 

 ful supply of all these being easily obtained in their due seasons. 

 From the advent of the Japanese their numbers gradually 

 decreased, until at that time (1875) there were less than 450. 



The doctor also informed me that about seventy years previously 

 (1805), two Hitotsubashi Yakunin (Japanese officials) were sent to 

 Yetorup to take up their quarters. These were the first officials to 

 reside on the island. The first lived at Oito, but later on at 

 Shana, further up on the north-west coast, where a sort of fort or 

 castle was built. 



Forty years after this there was strife amongst the Ainu of 

 the island, the northern natives fighting with the southerners, 

 about some presents which had to be sent every year to the Ainu 

 chief in Yezo. As recently as 1859 there were, according to his 

 account, 1200 natives on Yetorup. 



The Japanese appear to have established themselves on the 

 island without opposition from the Ainu. 



This account of the doctor's, in some respects, agrees with that 

 given in Mr. W. G. Aston's paper, published in vol. i. of the 

 Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Jajmn, entitled " Russian 

 Descents in Saghalin and Itorup in 1806 and 1807," where I find, 

 " At this time (1807) the Japanese colony (on Yetorup) was in 

 a tolerably fiourishing condition. It had been established more 

 than ten years before, and had then a population of more than 

 1000 Ainu and 300 to 350 Japanese, including five women; most of 

 the Japanese were, however, soldiers garrisoned at Shana." 



The reason of the Russian descents was to coerce the Japanese 

 Government into agreeing to a commercial treaty with Russia, 

 the Tycoons Government having persistently refused all friendly 

 overtures to that end, and ordered the Russian ships bearing a 

 letter from the Czar to the Tycoon on this subject to quit the 

 harbour of Nagasaki. This, together with the imprisoning of fourteen 



