I have long studied comparative Altai language in an attempt to find any relationship with Japanese or Korean language. I have reached a conclusion that the problem of "origin of Japanese language" without studying Austronesian substratum would not lead us to anywhere. A Russian linguist, Poliwanov, had reached the same conclusion (sometime before).

As I studied Austronesian languages, I found a probability that Ainu language belong to Austronesian.

Through those studies, I have come to consider that the Jomon language is close to Ainu language to which Northern Aisatic languages, such as Tungusic and Manchurian languages, migrated to (eventually) construct the Japanese language. This view seems to be close to that of Mr. K. Hanihara, an anthlopologist, who published "Origin of Japanese".

(K. Hanihara): Ainu and Okinawa people resemble (each other and) Jomon and South Asiatic people. They look different from Northern Asiatic people.

Present Japanese (many of them) resemble to Northern Asiatic and different from Jomon people... The Japan Archpelago was once occupied by Jomon people. Northern people migrated first to the North Kyushu, causing mixture to residents of central Japan. While, Hokkaido or Okinawa area was not influenced by the immigrants (and their decendents). So, Ainu and Okinawa people are decendents of Jomon people with natural evolution.

If Ainu people and language came Southward (to Hokkaido) from North, we should find people or language close to Ainu somewhere in the North. Languages used in Kamchatska peninsula, Kamchadar and Chukchi,are totally different from Ainu's, in grammar or in basic vocabulary. Ainu language is different from Yakut of Turkish group or Evenki or Lamut language of Tungusic group. Rather, Ainu vocabulary shows many similarities to Austronesian vocabularies.

#	Ainu	Japanese	English
1	atu	otaku	to vomit
2	nisu	usu	usually wooden bowl in which nuts are ground
3	nisat	sinonome	morning, dawn
4	inaw	awa	wood carving for worship/ bubble
5	inotu	inoti	dead soul/ life
6	neto	noto	calm sea (sea being calm)
7	ikkew	kosi	backbone/ waist
8	po	opo	son (small)/ large
9	rasi	kirazi	louse/ louse egg
10	muro	muro	hole, cave
11	sat	asa	dry/ shallow
12	sus	susuku	to wade/ to wash
13	nonno	pana	flower
14	re	na	name

At this moment, I'll pick one from the 36, the most interesting one to me. That is a word meaning "louse". First, he presents various form (dialects and derivative words) as follows, referring to works of M.CHIRI and S. HATTORI.

Ainu	English	Used in
ki	louse (usually on head)	Hokkaido
urki, uriki	louse on clothes (ur=clothes)	Hokkaido
ponki	small louse	Hokkaido
rasi	louse	Sakhalin
rasi	louse on clothes	Sakhalin
pon rasi	small louse	Sakhalin
sapa rasi	head louse	Sakhalin

Next, he presents *kutu as the theoretically reconstructed Proto AustroNesian (PAN) for "louse, head louse". The reconstruction, done by Dempwolff, is founded by 8 AustroNesian (AN) languages as follows.

kuto	Tagalog	head louse
hutu	Toba/Bataq	head louse
kutu	Java	worms
kutu	Malay	louse
guti	Ngaju/Dayaq	louse
kutu	Fizi	louse
kutu	Tonga	head louse
'utu	Samoa	head louse

He further presents findings from Codrington's "Melanesian Languages". Namely, he show that 24 Melanesian languages have "louse" as, kutu, gutu, gut, git, wutu, wut, wu, u'u or u.

All above is the foundation and support for the reconstructed word *kutu for louse. (It is customary to put an asterisk, "*", before a word where the word is not in existence but theoretically reconstructed.)

From the reconstructed word, Murayama deducts; *kutu > *kit > ki, for Ainu.

The study into the word, "louse", should not finish without referring to "louse egg". After similar reconstruction procedures, "*lit'a" or "*lint'a" has been reconstructed by Dempwolff. For simplicity, just listing various actual forms; lisa, liha, lia, lita, lissa, lieh, lusa, lisaha & disa, are used in various areas in the south Pacific.

Ainu in Sakhalin island said "louse" as "rasi". Murayama suspects that the word may have initially meant "louse egg". Anyway, the word "rasi" comes like *li'ta > *lisa > *risa > rasi, Murayama says.

Very interesting to note is that Japanese has it, too. According to Murayama, Ishikawa prefecture has a dialect for "louse egg", as kirazi or kisazi; in Fukusima and Ibaragi prefectures, kirazu or kiraza. Kisazi is used in Sado Island and Wakayama pref. as well. A form kizasi exists in Saitama and kisazi in Tanegasima Island south of Kyushu.

Murayama appears to propose that those Japanese dialect word forms are compound of ki (louse) + rasi (louse egg).

As I have come to this section, I remembered a brief record in Oho-Sumi Fudoki.

In Oho-Sumi country, during summer and autumn, there are many lice (louse babies) which sometimes kill people. The word "louse" (or lice) is remarked as "kisasim".

Additionally, in Wamyou Ruiju Sho (Wamyo Sho) compiled ca. AD 930's, there is a word "kisasa" recorded to mean "baby louse (louse egg?)".

For another word "pishi" in Oho-Sumi Fudoki, refer to Page 2.

This was noted in my mail to Mr. Murayama, late 1994 or early 1995, as mentioned previuosly. He came back saying that the last sound "m" of "kisasim" had been bothering him.

In his reply, he kindly included a few pages that are under proof reading for his next publishing. They described his study of "louse egg" words in Okinawa dialects. Some 17 dialects that are used in surrounding islands are analyzed.

Again, just to list the dialect words for "louse egg": dz'tasi, gesa, gi, gisasi, gissa, giza, kasi, ke, kye, kasi, ngassang, 'tsa, zzassa.