{"product_id":"our-land-was-a-forest-an-ainu-memoir-9780813318806","title":"Our Land Was A Forest: An Ainu Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book is a beautiful and moving personal account of the Ainu  the native inhabitants of Hokkaid  Japans northern island  whose land  economy  and culture have been absorbed and destroyed in recent centuries by advancing Japanese. Based on the authors own experiences and on stories passed down from generation to generation  the book chronicles the disappearing worldand courageous rebirthof this little-understood people. Kayano describes with disarming simplicity and frankness the personal conflicts he faced as a result of the tensions between a traditional and a modern society and his lifelong efforts to fortify a living Ainu culture. A master storyteller  he paints a vivid picture of the ecologically sensitive Ainu lifestyle  which revolved around bear hunting  fishing  farming  and woodcutting. Unlike the few existing ethnographies of the Ainu  this account is the first written by an insider intimately tied to his own culture yet familiar with the ways of outsiders. Speaking with a rare directness to the Ainu and universal human experience  this book will interest all readers concerned with the fate of indigenous peoples.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45960462827573,"sku":"ByrdShop_0813318807","price":75.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780813318806.jpg?v=1788287946","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/our-land-was-a-forest-an-ainu-memoir-9780813318806","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}