THE HAIRY AINU 



pencil as freely as the pen. Although now confined to Yezo, part of Saghalin, and the 

 southern members of the Kurile Islands, their territory appears to have formerly comprised 

 a great part, if not the whole, of Japan. In the national traditions there was a time when 

 they could look out on their watery domain and exclaim, " Gods of the sea, open your divine 

 eyes. Wherever your eyes turn, there echoes the sound of the Ainu speech." The full-blooded 

 and half-caste survivors of this remote Asiatic branch of the Caucasian race scarcely number 

 20,000. They are not Mongolian, as some writers have attempted to prove ; but their low 

 stature, and the skulls of all shapes (long, round, and intermediate), seem to show that they 

 have to some extent mingled with the surrounding Mongolian peoples. 



The features are not regular in the European sense; yet the faces are often handsome, 

 with large, slightly curved noses, clear brown or greenish eyes set straight in the head, and 

 olive-brown or fair complexions. Miss Bird (Mrs. Bishop), in the account of her travels in 

 "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," says that the Ainu possess many excellent qualities, and take 

 advantage of such opportunities as they can find to better themselves. She describes them as 

 being "about the middle height, broad-chested, broad-shouldered, very strongly built, the arms 

 and legs short and muscular, the hands and feet large. The bodies of maiiy are covered with 

 short bristly hair. I have seen two boys," she says, "whose backs are covered with fur as, 

 fine and soft as that of a cat. The foreheads are very high, broad, and prominent, and at 

 first sight give one the impression of an unusual capacity for intellectual development. The 

 nose is straight but short, the cheek-bones low, the eyebrows full, forming a straight line 

 nearly across the face. The eyes are large, tolerably deep-set, and very beautiful, the colour 

 a rich liquid brown, the expression singularly soft, the skin of an Italian olive tint, and light 

 enough to show the changes of colour in the cheeks." The people pride themselves above all 

 things on their hairiness, and their name 

 in the language of the people signifies 

 "Hairy Men." 



Probably the first thing that strikes 

 the visitor to Yezo is the odour of dried 

 fish which prevails everywhere, and tells of 

 the principal industry. Other smells abound 

 too, for the Ainu are a very dirty people. 

 The huts are small, with hardly any furniture 

 or bedding. It is easy for the stranger to 

 gain admission, for the Ainu are a hospitable 

 race. Having entered, he sees that there 

 is only one small window, not large enough 

 to light the interior, and the many smells 

 are most disagreeable. In the dimness he 

 will perhaps see an old man, perfectly 

 naked, with a fine head, long white hair 

 and beard, sitting on the ground among a 

 mass of seaweed, which he is disentangling 

 as fast as he can, arranging it in something 

 like order. A couple of young men and 

 a couple of young women, with bright, 

 intelligent eyes, and high cheek-bones, are 

 assisting in the work. In their quiet, gentle 

 way they all bring their hands together, rub 

 the palms, and, lifting their arms, slowly 

 stroke their hair. The men stroke the 

 beard also with the backs of their hands, 

 while the women draw the first finger under A DAUGHTER OF JAPAN. 



