The Ainu group at the Saint Louis Exposition

by Frederick Starr

At daylight we were plowing through the waters of the Sound. From Victoria a few hours brought us to Vancouver, where everything amused and interested our people. Inspected by one physician at Victoria, by another at Vancouver, and by a third in the office of the United States Immigration Bureau on the Vancouver dock, they must have wondered what it all meant. We are sure we did and we do not hesitate to say that of all foolish pretense at science these inspections deserve the premium. We refrain from detailing their method, but will only say that each of the three pursued a different procedure and that the third one examined only the eyes. They were all three personally polite and kind, but the whole thing is a farce. The immigration officers, among whom we found a friend, Colonel Albert Whyte, were most polite and put us to as little trouble and delay as possible. After our immigration certificates were issued we waited some little time for the Doctor and as the people were extremely tired they seated themselves in the office. Little Kiko was hungry and Shutratek, like a good mother, was doing her natural duty by the baby. The Secretary of the Japanese Consul had come in to see the Ainu; he was all smiles and friendliness until he saw Shutratek and the baby. His rebuke was vigorous and probably the poor woman was warned against future public care of her baby. The Japanese are all fearful lest we shall make the error of thinking that the Ainu are their ancestors or that we shall suppose the Japanese culture has come out from Ainu! This sensitiveness we have seen on many occasions.

SHUTRATEK.

We were obliged to spend two nights in Vancouver. The first night we left the people on the steamer, taking them on shore, however, for a walk in the early evening. Many things interested them, but nothing more than a stuffed elk in a corner window. Kutoroge looked at it from every point of view, then heaved a sigh and asked where such were found alive. We gestured expansively that they lived in all the country around. He shook his head expressively and said he’d like to hunt such deer as that.

In the morning all were removed to one of the Japanese hotels, after which we went down to pass the United States Customs Inspection. The great horses that we met, so unlike the little stocky animals of Japan, were an unfailing delight to the men, who wanted to examine them and caress them but were afraid of them, scared at their least movement. When we had passed the Customs, the morning was quite gone and Mr. Mayo, the Inspector, invited the whole party to the dog show in the afternoon. It was really a good show and certainly a thing the Ainu had never dreamed of. On the whole they were greatly pleased, but Shirake, frightened at the movement of so many animals and the noise of so much barking, burst into tears and cried as if her heart would break. After the dog show we sent them out to Stanley Park, that magnificent bit of a primeval forest set apart for a people’s playground, with Manuel and Mr. Inagaki. Near evening we went after them and found them a picture of content. The women and children were sitting and playing on the grass, while the men were swinging, with childish delight. They had been greatly pleased with the living animals in the cages; we tried to convince Kutoroge that the grizzly bear was, as the books say, the same as he knows in Japan, but he insisted that the Yezo bears were different from any of those here in captivity.

MANUEL AND KIKO: SALUTATION OF THANKS.

We had been invited to be guests of the local Japanese mission, conducted by Mr. Kaburagi, who was educated in the United States. Both he and his wife speak excellent English. The gathering took place in the mission rooms in the evening. Among the half-dozen whites who were guests were Prof. Odlum and Colonel and Mrs. Whyte. Prof. Odlum is the President of the local scientific and historical society and has been in Yezo. Years before A. Henry Savage Landor made his journey around the island, of which he makes such boast in his sadly inaccurate “Alone with the Hairy Ainu,” Prof. Odlum had gone over the same ground in much saner fashion. It was a great pleasure to him to again see Ainu, the people with whose homes he had once been familiar and into whose language he had made some translations. The room in which we were gathered was suited to a gathering, perhaps of two hundred persons; if so, there must have been three hundred present, mostly young Japanese men. The leader is a natural orator and a man of energy. A definite program had been arranged between him and Mr. Inagaki. Yazo spoke of Ainu agriculture, Goro of dress and ornament and tattooing, Kutoroge told of the bear-hunt. Prof. Odlum was called upon and briefly expressed his sympathy with Japan in her war and referred to his own experiences in Yezo. I then spoke in English of Ainu life and customs, having Kin and Kiko show salutation, thanks, and petition, which captured the audience, and the old men gave a yukara. This trick of Kin and Kiko is one which Manuel discovered and has a bit developed. On shipboard, when we carried lumps of sugar or fruits or cakes down to the children, as we did every afternoon, we insisted on their standing to receive them. On seeing the gift, the little hand was raised and the finger drawn across the upper lip, then the two hands were crossed one on the other, palms up, just in front of the body, when the gift was laid upon them. It was very pretty, particularly when done by little Kiko. Rarely have we seen such general interest and close attention as this crowd of young Japanese gave throughout our little entertainment. At its close they showered gifts upon the Ainu. The men each received a dollar; each woman received cloth for a dress; the children were given toys and bonbons. To the party collectively was given a great box of cakes. The plan had been to give Japanese cakes, as those to which they were accustomed, but the crafty creatures had expressed a preference for American cakes! Loaded down with gifts and completely tired—a Customs House Inspection, a Dog Show, a Park Picnic, and an Evening Entertainment all in one day!—they went home.

Of course, we everywhere attracted crowds. In Japan these crowds were never troublesome. In Vancouver fifty persons would gather immediately on our stopping on the streets, but it was the best behaved street crowd we have ever seen in a city of white people. In Seattle it was less tolerant, but only once was anything absolutely unpleasant said. In Saint Louis there was more rudeness, but nowhere was there so much as we had dreaded. From Seattle to Saint Louis, at almost every station passed during the daytime, people crowded to see the Ainu and asked their questions and made their comments but all good-naturedly. Several adventures with drunken men upon the car took place, but these poor fellows were usually bubbling over with goodwill and were only troublesome in their well-meant advances of kindliness. Both at stations and in the cars meetings with Indians took place and it was curious to see the mutual close inspection. On the whole the Ainu took the inspection well and sometimes reciprocated fully. At Fort Sheridan, Wyoming, negro soldiers were at the station. Kutoroge was greatly excited and examined them closely. He finally asked us whether the color was temporary or permanent, and then wanted to know whether it was generally distributed over the body or confined to the face and hands.

At Seattle, on account of a bad arrangement of trains we had almost twenty-four hours to wait. Here the men were much interested in the totem-pole set up in the city and inquired about its use and the Indians, who made it. We rode over one of the great inclined cable-lines; they were a little timid and quiet on the way up, but when we came coursing down, their joy was great. Kutoroge and Goro, in particular, clapped their hands like children, jumped up and down and shouted with delight.