KENT’S CAVERN, TORQUAY—AINU OF JAPAN 259 
AINU OF JAPAN. 
Report of Committee, appointed to carry out research among the Ainu of 
Japan, on work done by Dr. N. Gordon Munro in Yezxo between Novem- 
ber 1933 and May 1934 (Prof. C. G. SeLicman, F.R.S., Chairman ; 
Mrs. C. G. SELIGMAN, Secretary ; Dr. H. S. Harrison, Capt. T. A. 
Joyce, O.B.E., Rt. Hon. Lord Racran). 
Havinc travelled over a considerable part of Yezo, Dr. Munro finds that 
among the Ainu at the present day there are differences in belief and ritual 
in different parts of the island. ‘Two factors are probably concerned in 
these differences, one ancient, the other modern. (1) In the old days 
tribal conflicts were common ; the Ainu do not seem to have been united 
under any central authority, and there was no general priesthood to establish 
a canon of belief or ritual. (2) The modern factor is brought about by 
the clash of culture between Ainu and Japanese, with the consequent 
change in the old mode of life of the majority of Ainu communities. 
Hunting on land being practically a thing of the past, the Ainu depend 
more than ever upon the river and sea for sustenance. No longer can they 
barter skins for necessities or luxuries, but are compelled to eke out a living 
by attending to horses, doing odd jobs and a little field cultivation, in which 
the women play a prominent part. Ainu shopkeepers are extremely rare, 
and carpenters, blacksmiths and suchlike are almost unknown. They 
have no opportunity to learn, and if they did the Ainu communities are 
mostly too poor to support them. Ainu psychology, too, is characteristic of 
a primitive folk in transition from unsettled occupations to those that de- 
mand patient application. A Japanese servant will usually stick to his or 
her work until finished, but ‘ my experience with several Ainu servants is 
that they are not interested in domestic work.’ 
Considering these two factors together, it is perhaps remarkable that there 
should be as much resemblance as there is between the Ainu of one region 
and another. Possibly the strict exogamy developed in ancient times 
favoured the general levelling of ideas and customs throughout the Ainu 
country. 
In spite of the decay of the old mode of life among the Ainu, there are 
still a fair number of pure-blooded elders (ekashi) among the Ainu of the 
Saru district, much of the following information being due to an old ekashi 
of 80 years, and an accomplished ritual dancer, who does not drink, is as 
bright as a man of 40. 
SoOcIAL ORGANISATION. 
Inheritance and authority are patrilineal and marriage patrilocal, at least 
many inquiries north and south yielded only this answer. Descent, how- 
ever, is strictly matrilineal, and exogamy is or was rigidly enforced. The 
Rev. Dr. Batchelor has stated (Ainu Life and Lore, p. 15) that the family 
tie was stronger on the mother’s side and that the brother of the mother was 
looked upon as the real head of the family. Dr. Munro’s inquiries of at 
- least a dozen ekashi in the Hokkaido, in various places, failed to obtain 
more confirmation than that the mother’s brother had a voice, though not 
a decisive choice, in the selection of a husband for the daughter. In 
Saghalin, he was informed by two ekashi who had lived there, the mother’s 
brother has still some authority over her children, and it is hoped to learn 
more about this by local investigation. Dr. Batchelor has also stated that 
