The Ainu of Northeast Asia [Paperback]

D.W. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 1999

Here is an ideal one-volume introduction to the history and culture of the Ainu people. The book has two parts. The first part deals with the origins and culture of the Ainu. The second part focuses on the earliest history of Japanese and Russian conquests to the 1997 Nibutani Dam court case that led to a new Ainu civil rights law in the Japanese Diet. Included are a chronology, glossary of terms and names, several maps, and an index.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... a wonderful book about the struggles and triumphs of the oppressed Ainu people ... I learned about this unique culture. -- Lisa Johnson, Los Angeles CA

This book shows us recent DNA studies ... the Ainu are genetically closer to Northeast Asians and Native Americans ... -- Bob Ng

[It] ... was very informative and fills a void on my bookshelf ... I like the chronology, glossary, and index. -- Maria Cusato, East Windsor Society for World History

About the Author

Dennis W. Johnson has a degree in History from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He studied Japanese and has traveled through Ainu Mosir (the lands of the Ainu) in Hokkaido and Tohoku. He is the current chairperson of the East Windsor Township Historical Preservation Commission and the founder of the East Windsor Society for World History.

Product Details

• Paperback: 137 pages
• Publisher: Idzat International; 1st edition (July 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967148103
• ISBN-13: 978-0967148106
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,378,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent General History of the Ainu People, 9/17/2000, September 17, 2000

By 

Bertil W Johnson (East Windsor, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ainu of Northeast Asia (Paperback)

A skillful historian whose thorough research covers key aspects of the Ainu history and culture dating from 30,000 BCE to 1997 wrote this book. His sources are numerous, ranging from the Ainu's Uepeker (oral tales and old history) to the findings of the recent Nibutani Dam Case and to interviews of numerous Ainu people and scholars in Hokkaido, Japan. He incorporates the results of rigorous studies by anthropologists, archeologists and linguists as well as those of DNA scientists to present an objective view of the Ainu origins. The author successfully shows that "The Ainu people are not an enigma, but a people who have lived in Northeast Asia for centuries and continue to pass their cultural heritage to their children."

The author aptly presents Ainu historical and cultural experiences. The impact of laws by the various ruling societies on this subjugated; indigenous minority is addressed, as is the influence that the Ainu people have on their various masters. The author successfully shows that ".... the Ainu not as an isolated primitive people without a history, but a people who were a wider part of a wider history in Northeast Asia. The history of the Ainu is intertwined with the history of the Japan, the Mongol and Manchu Empire in China, and the Russian and Soviet Empire in Siberia."

The author 's efforts to make unfamiliar Ainu and Japanese words and terminology understandable are invaluable. The book's bibliography, glossary of Ainu words, chronology of events, maps, charts and illustrations are also valuable aids to understanding the Ainu history.

The reader will find this book of Ainu history to be an interesting and authoritative work that scholar and enthusiast alike can appreciate.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Work, October 20, 2001

By 

Adrian Baxter (US Navy Mississippi, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ainu of Northeast Asia (Paperback)

This is indeed a great book. It was quite evident that Mr. Johnson took his time while researching the Ainu. I think this book sheds a great deal of light on a much misunderstood subject. Any home library is incomplete without it.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a book with many misunderstandings, March 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ainu of Northeast Asia (Paperback)

Limited access to Japanese resources, outdated European references, lack of basic knowledge about Asian History ended in a book with many misunderstandings, e.g. the toponymy of Mount Fuji or the use of word "Ainu" in ancient Chinese documents.