Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. Today, I would like to talk about the World Heritage of Japan: 知床 Shiretoko Peninsula.
Shiretoko was the place where the Ainu, the aboriginal Japanese, lived and engaged in fishing salmon and herring. The name, Shiretoko, was derived from an Ainu word, “siretok,” which means the end of the land. in Shiretoko, fish feed on plankton carried by the drift ice, which then attracts brown bears and Steller’s sea eagles. Thus Shiretoko has a unique ecosystem where the sea and forests are connected.



Now, I would like to talk briefly about the culture of hte Ainu. Ainu men engaged in hunting and fishing while the women did the gathering. The Ainu language, which has no traditional written form, is now in danger of extinction. As for Ainu religion, it is based on animism—worshipping natural phenomena, animals and plants, which are called “kamui.”



June 6th News, from NILS Japanese langauge school.