d from the word in their own language signifying "man." Over most of
the country of these rude and helpless indigenes the Japanese have long
since spread, only a dwindling remnant of them still inhabiting the
island of Yezo. Since the early days when a couple of them were sent as
curiosities to the Emperor of China their uncouth looks and habits have
made them objects of interest to more civilised nations. Many European
writers have described them, but hardly any with such opportunities as
Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain, Professor of Philology at the T[=o]ky[=o]
University, who has taken down from the Ainos the present collection of
their tales, and prefaced it with an account of their ways and state of
mind. It would hardly be for me to offer information on a subject so
excellently handled, but the request of the Editor of the _Folk-Lore
Journal_ that I would write an Introduction enables me to draw attention
to the views put forward by Professor Chamberlain in another
publication,[A] which, being printed in Japan, may be overlooked by many
English folk-lore students, even of those interested in the curious Aino
problem.

As is well known, the hairiness of the Ainos marks them sharply off from
the smooth-faced Japanese. No one can look at photographs of Ainos
without admitting that the often-repeated comparison of them to bearded
Russian peasants is much to the purpose. The likeness is much
strengthened by the bold quasi-European features of the Ainos
contrasting extremely with the Japanese type of face. Of course all
this has suggested a theory of the Ainos belonging to the Aryan race;
and, although the idea comes to nothing when examined strictly, its
existence is an acknowledgment of the special Aino race-type. Mention
must also be made of an anatomical peculiarity of the Aino skeleton,
consisting of a remarkable flattening of the arm-and leg-bones. On the
whole it is evident that the Ainos are an ancient race in this part of
Asia, and so far isolated that anthropology has not yet the means of
settling their physical connection with other Asiatic tribes. Professor
Chamberlain's careful examination of the Aino language leads him to a
similar result. It is made not only from his own knowledge, but with the
advantage of working with the Rev. John Batchelor, who has lived as a
missionary among the Ainos for years, and written the Grammar printed as
a part of these Aino Studies. In structure the resemblances which the
Aino p