Spark Olaguez asked Rin Chupeco:

How did you come across the Ainu tribe? I loved The Suffering and the ending so thank you. Took me five hours to finish and I still want more.

Rin Chupeco Thank you, I'm glad you like the book! :)

I've actually known about the Ainu tribe long before I started work on the series, as I've been interested in Japan since I was a teen myself (Our Land was a Forest is a great book on Ainu!). If I may be candid, Japan, for all its good points, does not have an outstanding track record when it comes to treating people outside their race well. Gaijin are considered second class citizens still in some places (there's a ranking, with brown and black-skinned folk low on that chart). Until recently, even Caucasians were treated as second-class citizens, although now there seems to be a demand for Caucasians on TV shows and the like. (Atsugiri Jason is a good example of a popular American comedian in Japan.) Again, that's not exactly an improvement at times. While people do treat them well nowadays, there are still others who view them in the way they view circus performers - for their entertainment value, which isn't always the same as treating them equally.

Ainu - who tend to look like a mix of Russian / Caucasian and Japanese - are treated better now than before, though! There are laws in place that protect them, as they're indigenous and have been here even long before what we consider the modern Japanese race. If you're interested in more information, the Japanese NHK channel (if you have it) sometimes feature their culture and lifestyle. This also has some good overall information about Ainu:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/sce...

Hope that helps!

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