The Ainu group at the Saint Louis ExpositionStarr, Frederick
History
The Ainu group at the Saint Louis Exposition
Starr, Frederick
Ainu; Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)
In the morning, we took the party to Yokohama, leaving them with Mr.
Inagaki, to see the company’s doctor and the wharf doctor, to be
inspected, bathed and fumigated and to secure their certificates for
embarkation; a full day was none too much. As for us, between tickets
and baggage, arranging for the shipment of the house and household
stuff, and a hundred other things, we were kept swinging between
Tokio and Yokohama. But at last all was done and on the morning of
March 18, our whole party were aboard the Empress of Japan, upon
which a little separate steerage had been rigged up for the Ainu
where we believed they would be happier and more secluded than in the
common steerage. On the voyage all were seasick except the two older
men and the two babies. They probably suffered keenly. At all events,
we are told that the words they use in describing their sufferings
are of the most emphatic.
On the night of the 28th of March, we had the usual entertainment in
the cabin. There were many Japanese passengers upon the list and,
besides the usual music and recitations, we were favored with some
Japanese sleight-of-hand performances, and an instrumental solo on
a strange Japanese wind instrument. The proceeds of the sale of
souvenir programs were to be given to the Japanese fund for wounded
soldiers. As evidence of their appreciation of this act, the Japanese
at the close of the program distributed souvenirs to all the other
passengers,— a pretty fan, a bit of silk, a piece of lacquer. We were
invited to contribute a part to the program by bringing in the Ainu
and making an address about them. The address was well received but
gave occasion to a little sparring. We did not see the program until
it was printed and then found that we were announced to present a
“short description of the Aino, followed by an Aino bear-dance by
three of the tribe on board.” Our people were in ceremonial dress
and made a fine appearance. We described the physical type, the
tattooing, the dress and the salutations, after which Sangyea and
Kutoroge gave a _yukara_ and we made some remarks about the problem
of Ainu origin and relationship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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