Sirokanipe ranran piskan Konkanipe ranran piskan. This Ainu poem is about an owl deity. It roughly translates to “Fall fall, silver drops, all around fall fall, golden drops, all around” (Selden). The Ainu worshiped all aspects of nature as gods, believing animals were spirits temporarily visiting the earth. The Ainu are an ancient people of nature, living in close communities and are now a minority of Japan.
The Ainu used to live in Honshu, Japan’s main island, but have since been limited to a smaller area by the Japanese. They now dwell mostly in Russia’s Sakhalin and Kuril Islands and Hokkaido (Peoples of the World). Hokkaido is Japan’s northernmost island. It is 32,247 square miles, measuring twice the size of Switzerland and making up one-fifth of Japan (Selden). Hokkaido is decorated with beautiful coasts, mountains, lakes and rivers. There are two major mountain ranges in Hokkaido, the Kitami in the north, and Hidaka in the south (Selden).
One estimated......
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Approximate Word Count: 1370
Approximate Pages: 6 (260 words per double-spaced page) |