Evening star., 1942-05-17
RocioI Origin
OF the japanese
BIZ Frederic J. HdSkir1.

host of people elsewhere, have In re-
cent months concerned themselves about
where the japanese are going. not the
place from which they sprang. But the
Smithsonian Institution and its staff Of
experts while interested in the ultimate
goal of the Japanese, have been doing
a little back trailing and have revealed
some interesting facts on the origin Of
the race which now seeks to dominate
the Pacific
DR.. Carl Whiting Bishop Of the Smith
sonian staff, a noted archeologist and
ethnologist says that the Japanese race
and culture are hybrids derived from
three major sources. This conclusion Is
reached after making extensive studies
of Far Eastern origins, and obviously
with the hope that 1t may lead to a
better understanding of the japanese
character evolution.
The evidence is conclusive, Dr.. Bishop
says, that basically both in race and
| in the fundamentals of their culture, the
| japanese are most closely akin to ancient
| Mongoloid inhabitants of the Asiatic
coast lands during the new Stone Age
which persisted to about the dawn Of
the Christian era. These ancient people
| invaded the Japanese islands, and al
though they found there the now near
extinct Ainu they were able to establish
| themselves and become the dominant
race. That of itself is interesting, pro-
tolri 1f
because the estimated number of the
| Ainu still alive is only about 10000. while
| the descendants Of those who finally
established themselves in the face OF
| opposition from the mysterious Ainu,
and are now the Japanese, number TO-
| 100000.
But the invaders were not the jap
| anese as known today, the Smithsonian
expert says. He concludes that they were
| closely akin to the now existing peoples
| OF Indo-China They were able to sur
vive largely by fishing, and later built I'D
a substantial economic life on this in
dustry including planting. In time they
became expert builders of large canoes.
! Some of these culture elements are
traceable in Japan, and the present So
called amphibious warfare itself may
be credited to these ancestors.
The Japanese are the greatest Of all
hShermen, and SO it appears that DR..
Bishops conclusion that the forebears of
the japanese were also good fishermen
Is correct. Moreover, these ancient
flsher-folk descended on the Ainu as did
the japanese on the Americans on De-
cember 7. l94l, showing temperance
OF the ancestral trait after several CEN
turtles. That, too, is not without interest.
and biology may play an important part
in determining future wars.
When the ancient Mongoloid inhabit-
ants OF the Asiatic coast entered the
japanese islands is only a conjecture,
but probably the conquest was not COM
pleted much before the 10th century.
Moreover, ethnologists are still uncer-
tain as TO the origin of the Ainu which
the Mongoloids found upon their arrival.
How long the Ainu were able to hold
their territory is also uncertain. hut
II appears from studies made by the
Smithsonian that, as late as the hast
half OF the 18th century they were
making bold but futile fight with their
primitive weapons against foes clad in
armor and with more advanced fighting
equipment.
But while the race from which the
japanese sprang was able to subdue the
Anu and finally take possession of their
land. the Alnu eXerted a wide influence
on the race that finally developed into
the present-day Japanese, and even now
traces of the Ainu mixture are visible
throughout Japan. Particularly strong
was this strain among the former Sam
urai, or knightly class. in large part
descended from the Ainu Incorporated in
the japanese armies in the 8th and
9th centuries. It was to this inheri-
tance that the naughty, two-sworded
man of later times owed his less Mongo-
loid features, heavier beard and ruddier
complexion.
DR.. Bishop says: "It would be difficult
to exaggerate the influence which the
Ainu have eXerted over the historical
development of the japanese Empire. To
the long centuries of warfare which
their subjugation entailed were due the
rise of that hereditary warrior class and
system of military government without
which Japan would almost certainly
have vegetated into a feeble imitation
OF China, without either the will or the
force to think and act for herself"
Superimposed on this Ainu-Neolithic
Mongoloid mixture was higher type OF
| civilization which began to reach ,JaDan
near the beginning Of the Christian era,
and which was accompanied by certain
infusion of fresh blood, largely from
Korea. Some came direct from China.
The chief effect of this, however, was
on the upper class.
The Japanese first appear in written
history about the close of the second
century when a long period of turmoil
was ended by the rise of powerful queen
over the land of Wo, or Western Japan.
who by her command of magic extended
her influence far and wide over the
various tribes. Thus was established the
nucleus of the Japanese nation. She had.
so accounts relate, no husband, but was
assisted in governing by her brother, ap-
parently an only partly understood in
stance of royal brother-and-sis mar
riage which almost certainly existed in
the Mongoloid element.
Chinese records refer TO ''the great
Wo" and also to "the queen country"