THE KOROPOK-GURU OR PIT-DWELLERS OF YEZO. 35 



Idv Mr. \L\M1YA RiNZO, it is said that the mode of building houses in Karafto was 

 the same as that of the Ainu of Hokkaido. A site was chosen, he tells us. on a 

 hill side and excavated to a depth of three or four feet Four posts were driven 

 into the ground and the inter\-ening spaces were filled in with the branches of trees, 

 bark, and grass. He says nothing at all about Petasites ha\-ing been used for this 

 purpose. A ladder was used for entrance and exit. 



An old Ainu with whom I was talking some years ago on the subject told me 

 that the pits were only used during the winter months, and also that Vezo is 

 reported to have been much more cold many jears ago than it is now. In Karafto 

 these pits were occupied only from September till March about, when the people 

 resided in huts built above ground. 



In 1899 Prof. TORIl paid a \-isit to the Kuriles. He here found some remains 

 of pit-dwellings which had been in recent use. The pit-dwellings were called 

 Toiche, " earth houses," and the huts used for summer residence were named 

 Inunche. Inun really means to stay away from home as when in persuit of one's 

 livelihood, as when fishing or working in a distant garden. In Shumshir also. 

 Lieutenant GUNJI found over 60 pits in one place, over many of which the huts still 

 remained. Yet no dwarfs nor any Koropok-gnru other than Ainu have ever been 

 seen by any of these witnesses ! 



The pieces of pottery- and the effigies which have been found from time to time 

 about the pits on Southern Chishima, Shumshir, and Poromushir, as well as on Yezo 

 show that the Ainu made potter)'. The word for " earthen-ware " is seiy which also 

 means *' shell.'' It appears \x\. the word for " house," which is cJdsei. It also 

 occurs in the word set-net, ** an earthen body." i. e. *' an earthen-ware idol " or 

 " image." The word net means " body." Sei-nima is an *' earthen-ware plate." 

 Ainu earthen-ware has now given place to that made by the Japanese. 



The old^Ainu word still at times to be heard for the marks left in tattooing 

 carries us back to the time when the Ainu used flint knives. That word is anchi- 

 piri, i. e. " flint-wounds." Piri means " wound," and anchi " coal " and " dark 

 obsidian " {Tokachi is hi). The Ainu therefore belong to the stone age of Japan. 



It is also of interest to remark that these old Ainu pit-dwellers used paint. 

 Nore, to which the Japanese word nuru •' to paint " is allied, means " paint " and 

 " to paint." The name can still be recognized in the Ainu word for " to flatter." 

 It is pa-tiore. Pa means " mouth." and nore " paint ; " hence panore " mouth- 

 paint," i. e. " to flatter." 



There is evidence to show that some imagine the clay figures and stone 

 implements which have been dug up at various places belonged to a pre- Ainu race. 



