Description :

In 1899 the japanese parliament enacted the hokkaido former aborigines protection act a law designed to achieve the assimilation of the ainu population of northern japan the paradoxes of this piece of legislation are evident even from its title the phrase former aborigines was supposed to emphasize the fact that the ainu were now citizens of a rapidly modernizing japan destined to merge . The book is obviously biased against the japanese the yayoi ethnicity it also hides the cruel and barbaric traditions practices that the ainu ethnicity had and fantasizes about the ainu being extremely pure and victims of the evil japanese and by the way the ainu were not the original people of japan those would be the jomon ethnicity. With a rich history dating back more than six centuries the ainu people of hokkaido have one of the most unique indigenous cultures in the world this beautifully illustrated book explores the lives and ideas of the ainu with an eye toward the importance of nature and religion in their daily lives with a preface by award winning scholar dr david t suzuki the book features breathtaking . In japanese history the period between 10000 and 400 bc is known as the jomon period the people of the jomon culutre who lived at this time are regarded as japans first major culture many scholars believe that the jomon people were ainu or at least that the ainus are the descendants of the jomon people