Introduction to Shichiro MURAYAMA's Work
 
 

ORIG: 98/04/
REV1: 98/05/07 Mr.Murayama was dead!


Shichiro MURAYAMA (1908-1995)
One day in January 1995, I received a postcard and a mail from Mr. Murayama. They were in reply to my layman question. It was regarding a word, "kisasim", that means "louse", in Oho-Sumi dialect as recorded in Oho-Sumi Fudoki. We also talked over telephone, a few days later. All these were when he was 87 years old.

 Despite of his age, he sounded like keeping researches into Austronesian and Ainu languages. Apparently, he was working on a next book. His mail included a couple of pages under proof-reading. The pages show 17 Okinawa area dialects for "louse egg", all different, yet similar. The book does not appear to have published yet. His favorite(?) publisher, San-ichi Shobo, told me that there is not even a plan to publish one.

 I wrote him again a few days ago (April 20, 1998) with another layman question. I sincerely hope he is still good and sound.
 
 

As a layman, perhaps, I should not take this task of even attempting to introduce his works. However, since his studies are with lots of insight and originality, and since, to me, there appears least, if any, recognition. I consider that his works deserve much much more attention and recognition, so, here, I dared to take a pen, well, keyboard.


In the next section, essences from his "Study of Ainu Language" (1993).

And in the third section, "Origin of Ainu Language" (1992) will be introduced.

Both books are written in Japanese and discuss comparability of Ainu with Austronesian languages.


"Study of Ainu Language"
"Origin of Ainu Language"
Page 11: Recent Anthropological Findings; Jomon and Ainu relationship
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