THE KOROPOK-GUnU OR PIT-DWELLERS OF YEZO. 33 



them essays have lately appeared in the Jiji Shimpo dated Feb. 21-23, and 26 of 

 this year (1907) by 'Sir. Sasaki Yasugoro ; essays which would have proved to 

 be of greater value had they been written in a more temperate manner, and serious, 

 courteous strain. In the Jin-sei, pp 1-8 of vol. 3, part I. Jan. 2 1 : and in vol. 3. f)art 

 2, pp 57-66, Feb. 21, will be found a resume of an interesting paper on *• The 

 Ancient Inhabitants of Japan " by Dr. XaGAI, read in Germany. 



In all these writings one cannot but be struck with the amount of time and 

 labour which has been spent in attempting to demonstrate that these Pit-dwellers 

 were called Koropok-giirii because the}^ are said to have lived beneath the Petasites 

 plant. Koropok being erroneously supposed to mean " beneath the Petasites.'" 



On first coming into contact with the Ainu, now more than thirty years ago, I 

 was told of a race of people said to have lived in Yezo many years before the 

 Ainu,-a race of people whom the Ainu found living in pits and whom they in time 

 extirminated. Those who told me of these folk said they were so called because 

 they were dwarfs who were so small that they could with ease walk beneath the 

 Petasites plants or take shelter beneath them when it rained. The\- told me that 

 Koro was short for Korokoni which means Petasites ; that pok meant " beneath " ; 

 and that guru stood for " persons.'.' Being at that time altogether ignorant of the 

 Ainu tongue I accepted the name and derivation without question and gave 

 publicity- to it in my writings both in English and Japanese. But a further 

 acquaintance with the Ainu themselves and with their native traditions, with the 

 idioms of their language and the derivations of the words they use. have compelled 

 me to see the necessity- of reviewing my old beliefs and abandoning the former 

 explanation by making room for another in its place. Koropok cannot possibly 

 mean " beneath the Petasites. " The derivation of the word will not allow of it. 

 To mean this the name would have to be Korokoni-pok-un-giiru. or possibly 

 Korohmnpok-un-guru, while as matter of fact it is neither. The real name is 

 Koropok-un-guru, i.e. " Pit-dwellers, ' and nothing else. The plant Petasites does 

 not appear in the name at all. Koropok is merely a variation still in use of choro- 

 pok, which means "under;" "below." Un is a locative particle meaning 

 " residing," and guru is the ordinarj' word for " person ' or " people. ' The ver>' 

 same idiom occurs in such constructions as the following. Kando-un-Kamm, " the 

 deities who dwell in heaven " ; Kim-un-guru, " people dwelb'ng among the 

 mountains. " Rep-un-guru, " people who dwell across the sea." Oya-moshir-un- 

 guru. "foreigners," i.e. "dwellers in other conntries." Hence it may well be 

 concluded that Koropok-un-guru means " people who dwell below." i. e. " pit 

 dwellers." 



