Hokkaido:3

Japan is not a racially homogeneous nation. Japanese consist of Japanese race and Ryukyu race and Ainu race. Ryukyu race live in Okinawa and Ainu race live in Hokkaido. There are many Ainu's geographic name in Hokkaido.



The taxi driver show me a statue of a White Bear. It is a god of Ainu people. Because bears gave them its meat. Thanks to bears, Ainu people could ingest its protein. All bears in Hokkaido is black but because they are god, the color is white. I guessed ancient Ainu people have met white bears living in arctic circle. And they thought white bears are Gods. I think Ainu people are nature-friendly. And I can guess that Ainu's life is not easy. The more environment is hard to live, people become nature-friendly as Native Americans.



Originally, Ainu people lived in north and east part of mainland Japan too. Japanese race invaded their land and evict them or some or many Ainu merged with Japanese race. It seems the family race of prime minister Abe is Ainu.



In addition, in Kanto region, Koreans lived and pioneered. Thus there are many geographic name originated from Korean language. For example, Asagaya, Ichigaya, Sedagaya and so on. The "ya(谷)" is from Korean. In Japanese, precisely we read 谷 "tani" or "dani" or "Koku". Korean brought Horse soldier's culture in Japan. The Koreans were refugees. Japanese imperial court made them to immigrate in Kanto region which was isolated wilderness.



I've heard Ainu people were discriminate by Japanese until not long ago. My friend who is elder than me said "When I was a child, once I wallowed in a pond, Japanese were just looking but a Ainu's poppa jumped into the pond in aid of me. I never allow to discriminate Ainu. Most respectability man in my life is the Ainu."



Any way, I do enjoyed this trip. I made a Senryu.



カニ食べて　イカ食べイクラ　ウニマグロ　フグひれ酒で　僕はゆでだこ



かにたべて　いかたべいくら　うにまぐろ　ふぐひれざけで　ぼくはゆでだこ



Kanitabete Ikatabe Ikura Uni maguro Fuguhirezakede Boku ha yudedako



It means:

I ate crabs, I ate squids, salmon caviar, echinoid and tuna, drank Sake with fin of blowfish, I became a red, I am a boiled octopus.



食べるだけ　食べて満足　北海道　顔腹心　全て真ん丸



たべるだけ　たべてまんぞく　ほっかいどう　かおはらこころ　すべてまんまる。



Taberudake Tabete Manzoku Hokkaido Kao hara kokoro subete manmaru.



I am gratified, I ate as well as I want to eat, In Hokkaido, My face, tum and heart are round full.





Today, I bought a Digital Camera named IXY (10,000,000 pixel). I look forward to take photos of Red leaves. I can't wait.



I took the photo in a hot spring I took.



Next blog is Hokkaido:4 (Samurai)