THE AINU GROUP (AT TOKIO).
THE
AINU GROUP
At the Saint Louis Exposition
BY
FREDERICK STARR
CHICAGO
The Open Court Publishing Company
1904
Copyright by
The Open Court Publishing Co.
1904.
This book is dedicated
to
W J McGEE,
Who made my Ainu trip possible,
and to
John Batchelor,
Who made it a success.
PREFACE
This book does not pretend to be a study ofthe Ainu. It is a simple narrative of my journeyin Yezo and a description of the group of Ainuthat I brought to this country. It is true that Isketch some features of Ainu life and suggest somequestions regarding this peculiarly interesting people.Readers who wish fuller information willfind much in Rev. John Batchelor’s books.
[Pg 1]
THE AINU GROUP
The most characteristic feature of the St. LouisExposition is life, action. To a greater degreethan in any preceding Exposition the buildings arefull of action—machinery is in motion, artisansare at work, things are being done. This characteristicis found in the Department of Anthropologyas well as in those of Machinery and theLiberal Arts. While it is true that it presentscases filled with objects, diagrams, maps, pictures,models, the usual dead material of Ethnographicaland Archæological Museums, it is also true thatit has lavished its main effort upon the outdoorEthnological Exhibit, where representatives of upwardsof thirty living tribes are to be seen in nativedress, living in houses of their own construction,cooking and eating the food to which they areaccustomed at home, and practising those simplearts and industries, which they have, themselves,developed. Among these many groups, fromNorth and South America, from Africa and Asia,is a little group of the Ainu from Northern Japan,a people who are, for many reasons, of exceptionalinterest.
In August of 1903, I was approached with the[Pg 2]proposition that I should go to Japan to securethis group and bring it to this country. The plansfor the expedition were finally completed in Januaryof 1904, and on the 14th of that month Ileft St. Louis with one companion, my young Mexicanphotographer, Manuel Gonzales. Our journeyto Yokohama was uneventful. We reachedthere on February 9th and went up to Tokio onthe 10th, where a stop