This collection includes rare records of the first European encounters with the Ainu: in the main, travelogues and descriptions of the people, their culture and distinctiveness. Many earlier works were published in limited quantity and in obscure places, and they are often hard to trace for a researcher today. Republication of early Western works will help scholars researching the Ainu, and will also be of interest to scholars of anthropology, religion, material culture, oral traditions, and linguistics.