essay

The Ainos of Yezo Japan

Report of the U.S. National Museum, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1890Washington, D.c.Published In 1891 • Pages: 429-502

By: Hitchcock, Romyn.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This source presents a generalized ethnography of the Yezo Ainus, with special emphasis throughout on Japanese-Ainu cultural relations and influences, both as they exist at the present time and in the past. The author, a natural scientist, discusses at length the physical characteristics of the Ainu, then continues with brief resumes of Ainu clothing, house-types, household utensils and food, use of intoxicationg beverages (i.e. Sake), smoking apparatus, musical instruments, weaving, mode of personal greetings, marriage customs, sanctions, weapons, boats and religion. The author concludes with a lengthy discussion of the Ainu Bear Cult and associated ceremonialism and Ainu mythology with many illustrative examples from the literature. The entire work is supplemented by thirty-seven photographic plates illustrating various aspects of Ainu culture.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Acculturation and culture contact
External relations
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Ainu
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2019
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
East Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Natural Scientist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1962
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1888
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1888
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Yezo, Japan
NotesAdditional notes
By Romyn Hitchcock
Includes bibliographical references (p. 501-502) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
14019773
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Ainu