Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1901-11-15
SAVAGES IN JAPAN.
The HAIRY Amos AND THEIR RESER
vATIONS IN THE EMPIRE.

leans and Europeans as 1.-THE hair
Amos" are the only aboriginal peopl
now living in Japan. They are Gale
"hairy" In contradistinction 10 III
smooth faced Japanese, Koreans an
Chinese. Their present home is in Hob
kaido. or Yesso, the most northerly par
Of the empire. although IL is suppose
that in earlier times they occupies
most Of the entire country. Ancestor
Of the japanese of today found them II
possession and by force OF superio
arms and civilization gradually drov
them to the north. much In the sam
way as the savages were driven bacl
toward the Pacific by the early settler
In America.
The Anus live today pretty much a
the Indians on their reservations in TIT
west. They are still for the most par
half savage. and the Japanese nam'
| for them, "Yesso," means barbarian
They are very skillful in hunting an6
fishing. which are their chief occupa
tons. They are under the protection
of the imperial government and art
entirely separated from the Japanese
The latest census showed that they
number very nearly 1000.
Among the many curious customs OF
the Anus perhaps the quantest is their
method of naming their children. They
observe n peculiar economy in giving
names. The infant must 20 without a
name until il shows itself worthy OF
bearing one. II ii is sickly and not
likely to live. il is not considered worth
while TO waste name upon ii. As
each child must by immemoriai custom
have brand new name, used 10y nc
one in the community. names are scarce
and must be guarded. Ii the child
should be given a name borne by some
one else. the ghost of the former pos
SCISSOR OF the name may come back
from the underworld TO avenge the
slight.
Ii is customary 10 take name from
some incident that occurred al the
child's birth or it is left to the parents
afterward TO choose one for it, Should
the infant come into the world with IL
smiling face it might be called lkishi-
maburu. which means smile. or fond
parents may call ii kamoisSage "a
pulling rope Of the gods if they wish
their child To be In the special care of
the gods.
From the age Of : to 10 Ainu children
OF either sex have their heads shaved,
bur after II they are allowed TO hal D..
long hair and wear the same clothes
As grown persons They wear no cloth
Ing unless the weather is very cold.
The favorite and almost exclusive or
namont is the earring. usually made Of
metal What clothing is worn is made
OF straw They never wear shoes or
other covering for the feet except as a
great luxury and mark OF distinction
on ceremoniouS occasions.
The men carry small knives and to-
bacco pouches. and the women carry
small looking glasses and knives. The
knife is used as symbolic. The maiden
wears II with the blade bare. but when
she marries II is worn in sheath. The
women also paint their faces, using a
kind of ink for the purpose.
The Anus live mostly by fishing and
hunting. They hunt the bear and deer,
catch salmon and other fish and grow
potatoes and millet. Whenever they
can get il they eat rice. which they re-
gard as the best food. though they do
not raise it themselves. Both sexes
smoke tobacco and drink liquor.
The marriage customs differ widely
from those Of the Japanese The ques-
ton is first settled between the youth
and maiden. who then refer the matter
10 their parents through a mediator,
who should bee a relative Of the pro
spoctive bridegroom The man must
send present Of lacquered ware
which is regarded 10y them as one OF
the most precious things IN the world
/ This however. is reclaimed by him II
/ his wife afterward seeks divorce
Anus live I'm dwellings Of about the
/ same class as those of the American
+ Indians. The rude hut has two win
dows, one Of them for ord nary earthly
uses, the other reserved for the en-
trance Of the gods.
Woman is fairly treated and held II
deep respect The man is not allowed
10 enter tie house when the woman is
IA il alone. and he Is not permitted L
walk behind q woman. When mar
meets a woman. he must salute FIRST
by smoothing his beard and rubin.
his hands Then she responds 10y
touching her nose with finger of he
left hand
During October the Anus hold a re
ligious fete. which is called the bea
festival. because they sacrifice IA bea
which has been carefully fostered TO
three years
judicial punishment among the Anus
consists of severe beating with {
stick administered to the culprit. Th,
crimes are generally Understanding ar
ticles or the wife of q neighbor. Al
there are eight men to one woman tn,
majority Of the males are not married
and wife stealing is very common. TIL,
accused Is subjected TO long examina
ton 10y the chief OF the community AM
Is then compelled TO resort to the ordea
OF fire. He must take stone out o
boiling water II Innocent. the Ainu
think he will not be injured. III tn
UupStion cnnnot no spfflpd I'm this wa