482 Canadian Record of Science. 



renowned warrior and the savages of the north. His 

 account, which he has sent to us, is as follows; — 



The Worship of Yoshitsune by the Ainu. 



" It appears to be a generally received opinion among 

 those persons, whether Japanese or foreign, who have writ- 

 ten or made any special inquiries respecting the subject, 

 that the Ainu people are in the habit of worshiping the 

 image or spirit of Kurohonguwan Minamoto no Yoshitsund 

 who, it will be remembered, was driven to Yezo by his 

 elder brother in the twelfth century of our era. And, 

 indeed, when we call to mind that there is a little shrine 

 upon a cliff at the village of Piratori, containing an idol 

 representing that great personage ; that some Ainu residing 

 at and immediately round Piratori itself actually tell 

 inquirers that _ some few of their number do at times, 

 though not often, worship at the said shrine ; and when we 

 note the fact that most, if not all, of the Ainu men recog- 

 nize the name Yoshitsune, then we see that this generally 

 received and constantly asserted opinion has, apparently, a 

 good degree of foundation in fact. The writer of these 

 lines formerly shared, in common with man}' others, the 

 generally received views on this subject, but after long 

 residence with the people themselves, having spent many 

 months in the village of Piratori (at, so to speak, the very 

 doors of the shrine in question), he has been obliged to 

 change his opinion, or at least very considerably to modify 

 it, in regard to this as well as many other subjects con- 

 nected with the Ainu. The following remarks contain a 

 few facts bearing upon this question, and the writer's rea- 

 sons for believing that the Ainu do not, in the commonly 

 received meaning of the term, actually worship either the 

 spirit or image of Kurohonguwan Minamoto no Yoshitsune. 



"In the first place, it must be clearly understood that when 

 persons say the Ainu worship Yoshitsune, they mean that 

 people not as a nation, but merely a few individuals resi- 

 dent in the Saru district. Again, the facts are still more 

 narrowed when we make strict inquiries ; for it is not even 

 pretended that all the Saru Ainu worship him, but only 



