Harukor: An Ainu Woman's Tale
by: Katsuichi Honda; Kyoko Selden Translator; David L. Howell Foreword

Softcover. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 315 pages, b&w illustrations. In this engaging tale, Honda Katsuichi reconstructs the life of an Ainu woman living on the northern island of Japan over five hundred years ago. Harukor's story, created from surviving oral accounts of Ainu life and culture as well as extensive scholarly research, is set in the centuries before the mainland Japanese nearly destroyed the way of life depicted here. In the first person, the fictional Harukor tells us of her childhood, her adolescence, and her motherhood, drawing on tales and songs performed by her grandmother and other bards. She describes festivals, weddings, childbirth and midwifery, traditional healing methods, battles, and funerals in detail. Her story is followed by the adventures of her oldest son, Pasekur, which end by foreshadowing an early Ainu rebellion against Japanese encroachment.