アイヌ神謡集 Ainu Stories of the Kamui
These stories are taken from the Ainu Shin’yōshū, published in 1923. The Ainu language oral stories (also called chants or songs in English) were transcribed in roman letters and then translated into Japanese by Chiri Yukie, a young bilingual Ainu woman who was raised in her Ainu family and educated in the Japanese system. Shortly after completing the transcription and translation of 13 stories, Yukie collapsed and died of heart failure at the age of 19. While these stories are, in terms of Canadian copyright laws, now in the Public Domain, they are being used here with no explicit permission from an Ainu source. Any comments on protocols would be gratefully accepted.
The stories are modern-Japanese versions of the original stories from the 1923 publication (republished in 1976). They were chosen because of their brevity, which may make them easier to use for language learning purposes, and because they illustrate key concepts in the traditional world view of the Ainu People. The romanized version in the Ainu language is also included. An excellent background resource and translation for this book is provided by Sarah M. Strong in her work, Ainu Spirits Singing: The Living World of Chiri Yukie’s Ainu Shin’yōshū.
In the forward to Ainu Shin’yōshū, Chiri Yukie states:
“If these stories are read by the many people who kindly want to know about us, I, together with my ancestors, would be boundlessly and supremely happy.”
Here we take advantage of this invitation to learn about the Ainu through their own stories.
学習目標
- Gain an understanding of the traditional Ainu worldview by reading and listening to oral stories
- Experience the Ainu language through a romanized transcription
- Practice Japanese listening and comprehension skills
Media Attributions
Photo of Ainu Shin’yōshū title page by Nina Langton. CC-BY 4.0.
