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Reviews
Our Land Was a Forest: An Ainu Memoir by Mikiso Hane, Kayano Shigeru, Lili Selden, Kyoko Selden
cheriekg's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
Absolutely fascinating to read, both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. Kayano admits he is not a writer and between that and the translation, the writing is at times awkward or confusing, but it doesn't matter. The story makes up for it.
mira_st's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
jakeyjake's review against another edition
A memoir written in straightforward prose from one of the key contributors to the preservation of Ainu culture and language. His story gives a sense for the 20th century situation of the Ainu inhabitants of Ainu Mosir (the island of Hokkaido). The Ainu people were oppressed by Yayoi Japanese settler colonialists who arrived on their shores and enslaved many to work far from their hometowns during the Edo period. Later Japanese assimilationist policies (including forced relocation to less habitable places), similar to those leveled against indigenous peoples by settler colonialists around the world, and ecological abuses led to wide economic precarity and disrupted the cultural and linguistic practices of the Ainu people.
Kayano Shigeru spent his life cutting lumber in Ainu Mosir, saving up and buying Ainu artifacts from his neighbors, making Ainu carvings and, later in his life, assisting scholars in documenting Ainu stories and language. He helped establish two museums in southern Ainu Mosir / Hokkaido and also served on the city council there for many years.
If you're interested in hearing spoken Ainu, from what I can tell this YouTube creator was a young student of Kayano Shigeru and is teaching some basics on her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsvS5QjLwvlVhWpK48L57Cg
Though I have little confidence that it will happen, I will continue to hope that the Japanese government, as well as the United States government, will attempt to make some form of reparations to the indigenous people whose lives and culture have been so abused. Restitution could/should be in the form of the returning of large amounts of land where possible and also in the form of financial reparations and some forms of governmental self determination. But at the very least, current governments should ensure funds to support the preservation of culture and language, as well as ensure that indigenous minority groups are represented in the governing bodies of their parliaments/diets.
A few quotes:
"I hope also to make it known that Matsuura Takeshiro who, angered by the cruelty of Matsumae province and the 'location' contractors (read: enslavers of Ainu people), made repeated proposals that eventually led to the abolition of forced labor." pg 31
At one point in his childhood, Kayano Shigeru's father is arrested and put in jail for salmon fishing based on laws set up by the Japanese. "We only caught enough to feed our families. It was in fact the shamo's (Japanese) indiscriminate fishing that caused the decrease in salmon around that time. The shasmo were in essence blaming the Ainu for a problem they themselves had created."
The Japanese 'provided' land for the Ainu to farm on (even though the Ainu were a 'hunting people.' "In 'providing' land, the Japanese also legitimated their plunder of the region. The mountains around Nibutani, among others, became the Japanese nation's 'national forests' before we realized it and later were sold off to a big financial combine."
"This makes for an unqualified invasion. I have no knowledge of the usual methods by which strong countries invade weaker ones. There is no denying, however, that the people belonging to the 'Japanese nation' ignored the rights of the Ainu, the prior inhabitants, and—without so much as removing their soiled shoes—stormed into Ainu Mosir, the land of the Ainu... This is perhaps a crude rendering, but in simple terms we have no recollection of selling or lending Ainu Mosir to the Japanese state."
Kayano Shigeru spent his life cutting lumber in Ainu Mosir, saving up and buying Ainu artifacts from his neighbors, making Ainu carvings and, later in his life, assisting scholars in documenting Ainu stories and language. He helped establish two museums in southern Ainu Mosir / Hokkaido and also served on the city council there for many years.
If you're interested in hearing spoken Ainu, from what I can tell this YouTube creator was a young student of Kayano Shigeru and is teaching some basics on her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsvS5QjLwvlVhWpK48L57Cg
Though I have little confidence that it will happen, I will continue to hope that the Japanese government, as well as the United States government, will attempt to make some form of reparations to the indigenous people whose lives and culture have been so abused. Restitution could/should be in the form of the returning of large amounts of land where possible and also in the form of financial reparations and some forms of governmental self determination. But at the very least, current governments should ensure funds to support the preservation of culture and language, as well as ensure that indigenous minority groups are represented in the governing bodies of their parliaments/diets.
A few quotes:
"I hope also to make it known that Matsuura Takeshiro who, angered by the cruelty of Matsumae province and the 'location' contractors (read: enslavers of Ainu people), made repeated proposals that eventually led to the abolition of forced labor." pg 31
At one point in his childhood, Kayano Shigeru's father is arrested and put in jail for salmon fishing based on laws set up by the Japanese. "We only caught enough to feed our families. It was in fact the shamo's (Japanese) indiscriminate fishing that caused the decrease in salmon around that time. The shasmo were in essence blaming the Ainu for a problem they themselves had created."
The Japanese 'provided' land for the Ainu to farm on (even though the Ainu were a 'hunting people.' "In 'providing' land, the Japanese also legitimated their plunder of the region. The mountains around Nibutani, among others, became the Japanese nation's 'national forests' before we realized it and later were sold off to a big financial combine."
"This makes for an unqualified invasion. I have no knowledge of the usual methods by which strong countries invade weaker ones. There is no denying, however, that the people belonging to the 'Japanese nation' ignored the rights of the Ainu, the prior inhabitants, and—without so much as removing their soiled shoes—stormed into Ainu Mosir, the land of the Ainu... This is perhaps a crude rendering, but in simple terms we have no recollection of selling or lending Ainu Mosir to the Japanese state."
breadbummer's review against another edition
4.0
A quick and interesting read; I'm glad this was assigned for class. I've been wanting to learn more about the Ainu for a while, and I'm very grateful that this had the format of a story (that is, it had emotion and wasn't just filled with dates like a textbook) while still holding the accuracy of a textbook. While a lot of the innards are supremely depressing to read (though important to know), Kayano makes sure to both start and end on a hopeful note, which is something I definitely appreciate.
roryjf's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful story of a man and his efforts to preserve his culture.
youfelinedevil's review
4.0
“‘Whoever dies first is the lucky one.’ - I repeated it again and again in my heart. I was saddened by their words. Their import cannot possibly be grasped by those who have not been robbed of the very roots of their culture and language.”
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