The Kurile Islands.
From Nemuro I put to sea in a miserable little Japanese craft--a kind of
tug-boat--which once or twice a year goes to the principal islands of
the Kurile group, and brings back their products to Nemuro. It is
needless to say that I was the only passenger on board, though it is
fair to add that the saloon was large enough to "accommodate" two, but
not more. As for the only cabin, it had two berths, one over the other,
but no available space for dressing or undressing, which therefore had
to be got through outside, unless it was to be done by instalments,
lying down in the berth itself. I shall spare my readers a minute
description of this "ocean clipper," her tonnage, and horse-power, and I
shall not attempt to narrate the many disadvantages of travelling in a
ship engaged in the fish-manure, dried-fish, and sea-weed trade. These
three very strongly scented articles speak for themselves without the
need of words.
The Kuriles are the islands which stretch like a row of beads from the
most north-easterly coast of Yezo to the most southerly point of
Kamschatka. They extend from 145° to 158° longitude east of Greenwich,
and between 42° and 51° latitude north.
The archipelago forms part of the Japanese Empire, having been exchanged
by Russia not many years ago for the southern half of Saghalien Island,
then belonging to Japan. This group of islands is characterised mainly
by the great extent of its volcanic rocks and tertiaries, showing marked
evidence that it is only a continuation of the volcanic mountain-range
forming the backbone of Yezo, and extending from Yubaridake, in the
upper Ishikari province, to Cape Shiretoko; which volcanic region
embraces a large portion of the Tokachi, Kitami, and Nemuro provinces.
In this chain of islands there are many beautiful volcanic cones,
especially in Kunashiri and Etorofu. Iron, copper, and other metal veins
are found in small quantities in tuffs and andesites, but more important
here, moreover, are the large sulphur accumulations near and in craters,
both extinct and active; as on Mount Rahush, in Kunashiri, and the
Ichibishinai, in Etorofu, the largest island of the Kuriles. At Pontoo,
in Kunashiri, sulphur bubbles out from the bottom of a volcanic lake,
which is probably an extinct crater.
Beside being rich in minerals, the larger islands of the Kuriles abound
in game; but fishing is the main industry practised by the sparse
population of these rugged regions. The origin of the word "Kuriles" is
not certain, but in all probability it is from the Russian _kuril_,
smoke, as there are many active volcanoes in the islands. The more
poetical Japanese call them _Chishima_, or the "Thousand Islands,"
meaning that they are numberless, and the _nonchalant_ Ainu of Yezo
profess entire ignorance as to their existence, and only some of the
better informed give them the name of _Krafto_, by which they really
mean Sakhalin. The hairy people are emphatically poor geographers, and
have but little faculty for locating islands or any other places. In
fact, how could they, having no maps, and no idea even of what a map is?
The Chishima group and the island of Yezo, with all the smaller islands
along and near its coast, when taken collectively, are called by the
Japanese "The Hokkaido." The nearest of the Kuriles to Yezo is
Kunashiri, and south of it lies the smaller island of Shikotan; then
comes Etorofu, the largest of the group; then Urup; after this a number
of unhabited islets, reefs, and rocks form a barrier separating the
Otkoshk Sea from the Pacific Ocean. Shimushir, at the south-western end
of this barrier, and Onekotan, at the north-eastern, are the two
largest, Shimushir being about thirty miles in length and four or five
wide, and Onekotan about twenty-five miles long and eight wide.
Paromushir (a corruption of the Ainu words _poro_, large, and _mushiri_,
island) is the last island of the group. It has a large reef on its
south-east coast, and is divided by a channel six or seven miles wide
from Cape Lopatka, the most southern point of the Kamschatkan peninsula.
Paromushir is about twice the size of Urup, and is very mountainous,
with rugged cliffs of volcanic formation, and high picturesque peaks,
bearing the same characteristics as the scenery in Etorofu and
Kunashiri, and also of Kamschatka. I have mentioned this last island, as
it is of some interest, being the most northern point of the Japanese
empire; and also to a certain extent it is interesting from a geological
point of view, but, as far as I know, it is not inhabited now, and the
few Kurilsky Ainu who formerly lived there migrated further south from
one island to another, till Shimushir[32] and Urup[33] afforded them a
more hospitable home. However, they were not to live there for long, for
the Japanese Government, asserting that subjects of the empire who chose
to live so far could not be properly looked after, sent the small ship
on which I was now travelling on a mission with orders to bring them all
down to the formerly deserted island of Shikotan. The orders had to be
obeyed; and reluctantly setting fire to the huts which they were about
to abandon and never to see again, ninety souls, all that remained of
that nomad tribe of Ainu, were embarked and carried into exile at
Shikotan. The quiet life on the Shikotan rocks little suits the roaming
disposition of the Kurilsky Ainu; and though even formerly they were
rapidly dying out, the rate of mortality has increased since their
exile. Having thus verified the fact that of the "Thousand Islands" of
the Chishima group only three are inhabited, I shall avoid giving a
monotonous description of each bare-looking islet and rock, and I shall
land my readers at Shikotan, on a visit to the Kurilsky Ainu, who are
important to us in connection with the Ainu of Yezo.
[32] _Shimushir_, High Island.
[33] _Urup_, name given to a kind of salmon.
It was early in the morning when I looked out of the porthole, and by a
fine moonlight saw that we were close to the coast. Huge cliffs and
peaks, ending in a sharp point, some converging towards one another,
some standing upright against the whitish cold sky, were reflected in
the smooth water under the lee of the island. The moon, surrounded by a
yellowish halo, shone bright over the rugged scene, giving delicate
bluish tints to all the shadows; while the water, disturbed and cut by
the prow of our craft, rose in gentle waves, pursuing one another, as if
running for a place of refuge in the mysterious dark shadows of the
cliffs. So weird, so enchanted and wild was the scene, that I jumped out
of my stuffy bunk and went on deck. There I stood, notwithstanding the
cold, gazing at the gigantic overhanging black rocks, at the precipices,
crevices, and natural openings through which now and then the radiant
moon peeped, covering the dark green water with a long undulating streak
of silver dashes. There I stood, listening to the voices of the waves,
which rippled on the shingle, contemplating this strange and poetic work
of nature. I am certain that if sirens there ever were in this world,
their home must have been among the whimsical and _bizarre_ rocks of
Shikotan Island. The old "tub" on which I was "ploughing the waves"
moved slowly through this heavenly spectacle of ever-increasing beauty.
When the sun rose, enchantment was added to enchantment. The cold bluish
colour of the rocks became gradually warmer; and, as the light grew
stronger, the tops of the cliffs turned into a mass of brilliant
colours. Nature was waking slowly from her torpid sleep, and, in the
freshness of the morning, a light breeze, caressing the shore, brought
with it the smell of land.
The captain, a Japanese, informed me that we should soon enter the
harbour of Shikotan, and, pointing to some huge pillars, said that was
the entrance. We drew nearer and nearer to it, and the nearer we drew
the more I became convinced that the captain was under an
hallucination. I could only see rock after rock, huge pillar after huge
pillar; but no entrance whatever.
"We are just going in," said the captain, laughing at my astonishment,
and he gave orders to the quartermaster at the wheel to steer straight
for one of the pillars. We were but a few yards from it when our craft
was made to swing rapidly on her starboard side, and we turned round a
gigantic shoulder of rock, to find ourselves in a narrow channel. One
minute later we were in a pretty circular harbour, surrounded by high
peaks--in fact, a kind of "fiord." The access to this harbour is
certainly difficult to find, but when you are fairly in, it is seen to
afford a well-sheltered anchorage. It has more the appearance of a small
mountain lake than that of a sea-harbour; and undoubtedly it is a
submerged crater. It is perfectly circular, and very deep, but not of
large capacity. Directly opposite the entrance, on the shore, is a small
narrow valley, on which is situated the village of the Kurilsky Ainu.
Four men rowed me ashore, and I went to the village.
When the Japanese imported these Kurilsky Ainu to Shikotan, they allowed
them to build their huts in their own way; but this done, a railing with
a gate was erected, closing the entrance of the valley which overlooks
the harbour, thus preventing the poor wretches from abandoning the
island to resume their migratory habits, and return to their more
northern homes. Inside this gate two rows of huts, exactly similar to
those of the Yezo Ainu, have been constructed by the exiles. There are
sixteen huts altogether, and not a single one of them is built over a
pit. In Chapter IX, I have fully explained the characteristics and mode
of living, which leaves no doubt as to these people being proper Ainu,
and not pit-dwellers, as some have asserted; though of course their type
is slightly modified by external conditions--a common occurrence in all
races. Take a Londoner, a provincial, and a seaman, and though they be
all three Englishmen, one will have a washed-out look, the other will be
healthy and strong, but not so sturdy, wiry, and weather-beaten as the
sailor. The same natural process is at work with this tribe of Ainu.
They conform their life according to circumstances and places; and
though they possess the same general characteristics as the rest of the
Ainu, in some small details they cannot but differ from them.
Shikotan was a deserted island previous to these poor wretches being
transplanted there by the Japanese Government. It does not abound in
game, like Shimushir, Urup, or Poromushir, whence they were taken.
[Illustration: SHIKOTAN AINU.]
The story of this tribe of Ainu is a sad one. Hunting, sealing, and
fishing were their only aims in life, their only pastimes, the only
things they lived for. At Shikotan they have none of these things. There
is no big game; the only animal found being a beautiful species of white
long-tailed fox. There are no large rivers at Shikotan; there is hardly
any vegetation, and the whole island is nothing but a mass of barren
rocks.
The food of the Kurilsky Ainu consisted chiefly of meat of bear and
seals, berries, and eggs of sea-birds. They were a migratory people, and
in their small cranky canoes they often crossed from one island to
another, carrying with them all their property, consisting of skin
garments and fishing and hunting implements, these latter the same as
those employed by other Ainu. The dress of the men is shaped like a
short tunic, made of sea-birds' skins, with the feathers inside. Some of
the smart ones are trimmed with seal, and they are worn fastened round
the waist with a girdle of sealskin or a belt of sea-lion hide, often
ornamented with molten lead buttons or Chinese cash. The women's garment
is much longer, and reaches nearly to the feet; it falls loosely, and
has long sleeves covering the hands; it is fastened with a girdle in bad
weather, and the gown is then pulled up to the knee, showing the long
yellow boots. When carrying water or working this is also done, as it
gives greater freedom to the limbs, making walking and all movement much
easier. A red, yellow, or brightly-coloured handkerchief, of Russian
manufacture, is tied round the neck and another round the back of the
head, and this makes the women look like Italian peasants. As the gown
is worn usually loose it has the identical shape of a dressing-gown; it
is ornamented with yellow feathers of puffins round the neck and the
edge. Both men and women wear either moccasins, or long boots made of
sealskin, with the fur inside, or else they wear salmon-skin boots, like
the Ainu of Yezo. No woman that I saw at Shikotan had a moustache
tattooed round her lips, or any tattoo marks on her arms. Very few of
them wore earrings, though all had the ears bored for that purpose, and
had worn them. The earrings which they possessed were mostly strings of
coral beads and metal ornaments of Russian manufacture, which, like the
brightly-coloured handkerchiefs, they had received in bartering with the
crew of a sealing schooner. Since they have been at Shikotan the men
have been presented with old caps and overcoats, similar to those of the
Japanese police. Previous to this, however, when the Kuriles were under
the rigid Russian _régime_, the Kurilsky Ainu men were compelled to trim
their hair and beard, which was the first step taken by the priests of
the Coptic Church in Christianising these nomadic barbarians. When this
hair-dressing order was complied with, as the first link of the chain,
the Coptic creed was enforced on them, and the barbarous Kurilsky Ainu
became well-trimmed orthodox Christians.
At Shikotan, as it is, fishing on a small scale is their main
occupation, praying the next, and Jacko, the chief of the village, is
the high priest. Jacko's predecessor, in fulfilling the duties of this
high post, was a man who had dropped his Ainu name, and had been
baptized as Alexandrovitch. His house is now occupied by Jacko. It is
the first on the right-hand side when the village is entered from the
harbour side, and it is larger than any of the others; it is built of
wood instead of rushes and reeds. The interior is divided into two
rooms, and in the second are three stands, the middle one of which has a
cross on it. On each of these stands is a Russian Bible, with images
hanging on the page-marks. Several rough stools and a couple of benches
are placed in rows in front of these stands, and on the walls hang two
or three Russian religious images. Taken altogether, and compared with
other Ainu huts, Jacko's chapel had quite a stately appearance.
Just as the Ainu of Yezo have partly acquired the Japanese language, the
Kurilsky Ainu have learned to talk Russian, besides speaking an Ainu
dialect.
On Sundays, or on any day which Jacko thinks is a Sunday, the chief
reads the mass before a congregation of the other fifty-nine hairy
Christians of the Russian Orthodox Church; he does not spare them a
sermon, which sometimes lasts half the day, and his audience are most
attentive and well behaved. None of them would think of leaving church
before service is over; but one detail in which these hairy Christians
are not yet fully Christianised is, that no collection plate is ever
sent round! The Kurilsky Ainu have undoubtedly accepted the form of
their adopted religion, but I rather doubt whether they have fallen in
with the principle. Their former barbarian ideas and superstitions are
still well rooted in their brain, and each individual was a curious and
enviable combination of a perfect heathen and a thorough Christian,
according to what suited him or her better at the time being. In other
words, they believed in two diametrically opposed principles, one of
which fitted in with every phase of their life when the other was
deficient.
As many as ninety people, all told, were landed at Shikotan, but thirty
had already succumbed when I visited the island. A graveyard on a hill
on the west side of the village was indeed a sad reminder of this fact.
It will not be long before all the others will pass away, for
consumption and rheumatism have a great hold on most of the wretches. In
ten years from now, I dare say, not one of the Kurilsky tribe of Ainu
will be left on this earth. It is pitiful that the last remains of these
independent people will end their days secluded and in exile on the
barren rocks of Shikotan.
As it is, they seem to take life easily, and, with a characteristic
proper to all nomadic peoples, they make the best of what they can get.
They are not shy, and they have dropped the formalities and grand
salutations of other Ainu. They are, however, as dirty, especially in
their homes. The women dress their hair in small tresses.
The children wear long gowns similar to those of the women, and one or
two of the children I saw had very fair hair. As will be seen by the
illustrations, some of the men and women possess good features, more
resembling those of European races than those of Mongolian type. They
are gentle and quiet, like all other Ainu. They are submissive, and
resigned to their sad fate.
The island of Skikotan is almost circular in shape, and it has one or
two small anchorages on its north coast. I judged its diameter to be
about twelve or thirteen miles. Etorofu and Kunashiri, though much
larger in size, are of less interest to us in connection with the Ainu,
as most of that race found there migrate from Yezo during the fishing
season; therefore, nothing is to be added about them.
Etorofu is a long, narrow, but irregular island, over one hundred miles
in length, and varying in breadth from five or six to twenty miles. It
is very mountainous, and has some bold, rugged scenery, owing to its
volcanic formation. Etorofu is by far the largest island of the Kurile
group, and it possesses many safe anchorages, especially on its
north-west coast, where several mountainous capes branch off the narrow
strip of land, and afford small ships a fairly safe harbourage from west
and south-westerly winds. Unfortunately, however, they are open to
northerly and north-east gales, during the prevalence of which, should a
ship happen to be cruising about in those latitudes, she would have to
run for a shelter to the south-east coast. The south-east coast is not
peopled, with the exception of a very few huts near Moyorotake, or "Bear
Bay," at its most south-eastern point. A better shelter, however, is to
be found in the bay, nearly in the middle of the island, on the shores
of which are a few huts at Onembets and Imotsuto. Most of the coast is
deserted, and the south-east portion is very rocky, huge cliffs, with
high richly-coloured mountains in the background, ending like an
impassable wall into the sea. Where the island is narrower there are
some low terraces with scrub bamboo and stunted trees. Larch is found in
Etorofu, while it is seldom found in Yezo. Heather-like plants are also
indigenous in Etorofu, and cranberry bushes are frequent near the coast.
From Betoya or Bettobu Bay down to its most south-western point Etorofu
is all mountainous, with the exception of a small valley near Rubets.
It is along the banks of the Bettobu River, in that small valley and on
those terraces, that the numerous pits of the Koro-pok-kuru are found,
and also at Rupets, further south on the same coast. This, however, I
have already explained in connection with the pit-dwellers. The two
small fishing-stations above mentioned are respectively under the lee of
the headlands ending in Cape Ikahasonets and Notoro Cape. On the first
headland the mountain of Tsiriju rises to a great altitude. The largest
fishing-station is at Shana, on the western side of this headland, and
further north, besides Bettobu, is the small station of Shibets.
South-west of Shana one finds Rubets, Furubets, Oitoi, and Naibo, the
latter in the bay of the same name. There are five lakes in Etorofu, two
of which are between Shana and Bettobu, one near Rubets, the other close
to Naibo; the fifth is a very small one, fifteen or sixteen miles
north-east of Bettobu. The country has a rugged look, and in some
places, as near Rubets, where the volcanic mountain masses leave space
for low terraces the scrub-bamboo is very thick, as in Yezo, and small
and stunted trees form the chief vegetation. Larch is more common on the
north-west coast than on the south-east. Good timber is rather scarce in
Etorofu, but a fair quantity of it is to be found inland, and also at
the south-western portion of the island about Naipo.
Accumulations of sulphur are found at Ichibishinai, and there is an
active volcano south-east of Bettobu, besides the beautiful volcanic
cone of Atzosa, three or four thousand feet above sea-level. All this
volcanic mountain mass, with its warmly-tinted peaks, bears the
characteristics of the central portion of Yezo; and there seems to be
little doubt that all this row of islands, with the frequent submerged
craters and volcanic cones, is nothing but the continuation of the
volcanic zone in Yezo. The main resource of Etorofu is the fishing. Four
different kinds of salmon and salmon-trout are found, one similar to the
salmon common in Yezo, the others somewhat differently marked. Salmon is
extremely plentiful, and in July and August enormous catches are made,
especially at the mouths of the rivers, where the fish are closely
packed together.
The Pico Strait, between Etorofu and Kunashiri, is about fourteen miles
wide, and a strong current from the Okhotsk Sea passes through it,
causing the sea to break in heavy tide-rips and overfalls similar to
those observed in the La Perouse Strait, between Yezo and Sakhalin.
Similar tide-rips are observed also in the channel between Etorofu and
Urup, but, being much wider (about twenty-four miles), they seem there
less formidable.
Kunashiri is the next largest island in the Kuriles after Etorofu. It is
about sixty-five miles long, and very narrow; varying from three to
eight miles in width. The north-east portion is somewhat wider, and
extremely mountainous. The highest peak of this mountain range is the
Tcha-Tcha-Nobori (the old-old-mountain), which is said to be about seven
thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea. From this volcano
starts a chain of hills--some pyramidal in form, others somewhat rounder
at the top--which forms the backbone of the island. Two more active
volcanoes besides the Tcha-Tcha are on the south-west portion of
Kunashiri, but they do not rise to a very great altitude. On Horanaho or
Rausu volcano sulphur accumulations are found, and at Pontoo (small
lake) sulphur bubbles out from the lake bottom, and seems to be worked
with profit. The Tcha-Tcha-Nobori is curiously shaped. It is like a
large cone cut about half-way up in a section, to which a smaller cone
has been attached, leaving a wide ring right round. It is extremely
picturesque, and a worthy finish to the strange outline of Kunashiri
Island.
Vegetation and products are the same as in Etorofu. Salmon is plentiful,
and a few fishing-stations are spread out here and there at long
intervals on the coast. As in Etorofu, the population of Kunashiri
migrates there from Yezo during the fishing season, and leaves the
island almost deserted in winter. The strait separating it from Yezo is
only ten or twelve miles wide. Bears and foxes are said to be very
numerous in all the larger islands of the Kuriles, and seals are
captured in large quantities during the winter months, more especially
in the islands nearer Kamschatka. Small game, as ducks, snipes, and
sandpipers, is abundant. Besides the ruggedness and strange aspect of
its numerous volcanic peaks, the bareness and the loneliness of the
coast, there is nothing in the Kurile group to entice the sightseer and
the pleasure-seeker to a cruise among the islands. The geologist and
zoologist, however, would find in the Kuriles a very rough but very
interesting field for their investigations, and a "good shot," who does
not mind a self-sacrificing and lonely life, would find some good sport
among the bears, especially in Kunashiri and Etorofu.
[Illustration: WOMAN OF THE KURILE ISLANDS]
[Illustration: ABASHIRI ISLAND.]