The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1904-11-19
TREATED LIKE BEASTS.
The Lot Of the Ainu Woman in Japan
Is Miserable One.

The Ainu people, the aborigines OF
Japan, are a strange, h&ry race living
in Yezo, the northermos% island OF
the Japanese group. Their origin and
past history are lost in obscurity; they
are rapidly becoming extinct, the few
thousands surviving today being but
the remnant of a once numerous ma
ton extending all over Japan in pre-
historic times.
The Ainu women are treated as in
ferior beings by the men. Their whole
life is prolonged slavery. They are
regarded as slaves.
In the spring the women, both old
and young, crawl out of their sleeping
places in the small hours of the morn
ing, eat a hasty meal OF cold vegetable
stew, with perhaps morsel OF half
cooked dried fish by way of relish.
shoulder their tools and proceed to
work in their gardens They dig up
the soil and SOW the seeds, returning
to their huts at sunset only to paTtake
of another meal like that OF the morn
ing, and again lie down to sleep.
In the winter, especially during No
vember and December, the women as
sist the men to net and spear the large
salmon which are found in the rivers
about this time. After this the main
stock Of wood for winter fires has to
be cut and split, dragged or carried
home and stored away. Then the mil
let must be pounded. the beans and
peas shelled and a thousand and one
other little things attended to. Thus,
YOU see, the Ainu woman is little more
than the abject slave Of man.
One might imagine that when the
Ainu woman's lot is 50 hard and la
bOrious out of doors, she must surely
lead an easier life at home and there
find rest and little comfort. But this
is not SO. Even in the house she must
do what little cooking there is to be
done-they have no servant problem
and she must also attend to the clean
ing, smoking and drying of fish, must
keep the fire going and the water tank
full, must look after the children, pay
attention to the husbands wants and
see to the making and mending OF
clothes.
Polytheism being the religion of this
strange people, they have innumerable
gods, but the women have little or no
religious solace in all their cares. In
the opinion of the men, woman is
not capable of learning anything about
a god She is held to be such an in
ferior being that the gods take no
thought or care about her. The Ainu
widows are particularly unfortunate,
for their presence is barely tolerated
at any service or ceremonial. By no
means may they be present where
prayer is going on. Even at a bear
feast the women must take back seat
and content themselves with such
crumbs Of food and drops of oaks" or
rice wine, as the men may condescend
to give them.
The existence of the Ainu women
thus being one of such trial, privation,
sorrow and hard work, it is not
strange that they usually have down
trodden, hopeless look. They have
neither joy in the present life nor
bright hopes for the life to come.
Their whole time and thought are
given to the necessary drudgery of
everyday life. A woman may do all
she can, and yet receive neither
thanks nor encouragement from her
husband. 1t is little wonder, then,
that many of these women, overcome
by the troubles and worries of such an
existence, regard life as a burden and
sorrow and give way to despair. Many
thus tired Of living. die by their own
hand. Hanging is their favorite
method of suicide