Our Land Was A Forest: An Ainu Memoir (Transitions : Asia and Asian America) - Tapa dura

Based on the author's own experiences and on stories passed down from generation to generation, this book chronicles the disappearing world - and courageous rebirth - of the Ainu, the native and little-understood inhabitants of Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. Their culture and economy have been absorbed and destroyed in recent centuries by advancing Japanese. Intimately tied to his own culture, yet familiar with the ways of outsiders, Kayano paints a picture of the Ainus' ecologically-sensitive lifestyle, which revolves around bear-hunting, fishing and farming, and around the twin resources of water and wood.

Kayano Shigeru is the founder and director of the Kayano Shigeru Ainu Memorial Museum. He is a Diet member, the first Ainu to be elected. Kyoko Selden teaches Japanese at Cornell University. Lili Selden is a graduate student in Japanese literature at the University of Michigan.