pass and possibly farther to the south.
From Japanese history we learn that the military forces of the empire were
constantly employed to suppress the disturbances caused by the barbarous
people of the north. The necessity of this forcible repression, which
frequently recurred, was a chief reason for the formation of a military
class in the early history of Japan. One of the duties imposed on
Yamato-dake by his imperial father (A.D. 71-130) was to chastise and
subdue the Yemishi. This is the name by which the barbarous peoples of the
north and east were known among the Japanese. According to Chamberlain(16)
in his translation of _Kojiki_, the Chinese characters with which the
Yemishi is written mean Prawn Barbarians, in allusion to the long beards
which make their faces resemble a prawn's head. The hairy people now known
as Ainos are almost certainly referred to. The origin of the term Aino is
unknown. By the Japanese it is believed to be derived from _inu_, meaning
a dog, and to have been bestowed on them in contempt. The name is not used
by the Ainos themselves. In common with the inhabitants of the Kurile
islands and the Japanese portion of Saghalien they call themselves Yezo.

The present characteristics of the Ainos have led many to doubt whether
they are really the descendants of the hardy barbarians who so long
withstood the military power of the Japanese. But the effect of centuries
of repression and conquest must be taken into account. The Ainos have
become the peaceable and inoffensive people which we now find them, by
many generations of cruel and imperious restraint. That they should have
become in this sequence of events a quiet and submissive people is not
wonderful. The number of Ainos in the island of Yezo is given in 1880,
which is the last census made of them, as 16,637(17); and this number is
believed to be gradually decreasing. Travellers who have visited them
unite in testifying to their great amiability and docility. Physically
they are a sturdy and well developed race. The characteristic which has
been noticed in them more than any other is the abundant growth of hair.
The men have a heavy and bushy head of hair and a full beard which is
allowed to grow down to their chests. Other parts of the body are also
covered with a growth which far surpasses that of the ordinary races. In
the matter of food, clothing, houses and implements, they remain in the
most primitive condition. In personal habits they