Wonderful World of Netsuk. Raymond Bushell

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      PLATE 1. HAIRY AINU. The Ainu are the aborigines of japan. According to their oral legends, they came from a land of snow and ice devoid of forests or birds. The land of their legends is thought to be Siberia. They are a Caucasian race, taller and bonier than the japanese, with luxuriant mustaches and beards as opposed to the smooth-skinned japanese. Originally the Ainu were settled extensively throughout japan, but today they are concentrated around Shiraoi in Hokkaido, the northern japanese island, in much the same way as the American Indians on the Arizona reservations.

      The Ainu's life is one of fishing and hunting. The great annual Ainu festival is devoted to the worship and sacrifice of a bear. In the illustration, the Ainu is carrying a catch of seals on his back.

      The geometric patterns on Ainu clothes resemble American Indian decorations. I like the Scotsman's plaid, the pattern tells which village or clan an Ainu traveler is from. Material: wood. Unsigned. Height: 7.9 cm. From the collection of Cornelius Van S. Roosevelt, Washington, D. C.

      The Wonderful World

       of Netsuke

      With One Hundred Masterpieces of

       Miniature Sculpture in Color

      by RAYMOND BUSHELL

      CHARLES E. TUTTLE CO.: PUBLISHERS

       Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan

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