A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
The reed-warbler story begins in the household of Shinish-oran-guru, a tall deity with a home above the clouds and a garden tended by a servant, his wife and their family. The servant’s youngest son refuses to work. He is expelled from the heavenly kingdom and changed into a bird on earth. The passage does not identify him as the deity’s own son; his parents belong to the gardening household.
As popoki-chiri, the bird remembers his earlier condition and weeps for his parents and elder brothers. Batchelor renders its cry as an appeal to that absent family. Different cries are interpreted as favourable signs or as warnings that crops will fail. The ending supplies no pardon, return to heaven or recovery of his former body.
Batchelor says the story was recited to discourage idleness in children. Its moral framing and interpretation of bird calls are retained as reported narrative context. The giant employer’s mocking title, E-nishikere guru, belongs to that employer, not to the transformed son. No personal name for the son before transformation is supplied, and the English identification as reed warbler is not a complete zoological determination.
Origins & earliest records
Ainu traditions as reported in John Batchelor’s1901 English account; individual tellers generally unnamed in these passages.
Records & interpretation
Complete chapters XXXVIII430–438 and XXXIX439–452, endings and attached note read; selected original437–438,444–446 and450–451 visually checked.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Ainu and their Folk-Lore
XXXIX, Bird Cultus (d), pp.445–446; London: Religious Tract Society,1901. Complete narrative and surrounding chapter read.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
The Ainu and their Folk-Lore
London: Religious Tract Society,1901. XXXIX, Bird Cultus (d), pp.445–446
Complete caches batchelor1901-ch38.txt/ch39.txt; original printed437–438,444–446,450–451 at download n468–469,475–477,481–482. Source title/preface independently read. No native-language collation, biological species claim or present-day universal practice inferred.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English ethnographic and narrative accountThe Ainu and their Folk-Lore — XXXIX, Bird Cultus (d), pp.445–446Research access: 2026-10-06
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.