Talk:Ken Kaneki/@comment-24494906-20150312033755

So, I wanted to know what this "Song of the Old Ainu" from chapter 139 is really about and translated the whole poem (though I've doubts about some of my translations, so I won't post it here and will try to get rid of these problems in collaboration with a friend).

The "old Ainu" is actually not some random Ainu, but a figure from the legends of the Ainu. The old Ainu is "Kamuy Otop-ush gur", the "man with the hair of the Gods" (I think he's called that because his hair is curly-handsome or something, I didn't look too much into the legends). He is the elder brother of Poiyaunpe, the hero of the Legends of Kotan Utunnai. Obviously, the poem takes place long after that legend happened; the Ainu mentions his wife, his younger brother and his child, and apparently his beard has turned pure white.

As for the remainder of the poem, this is tentative but the main thing I got from it is that the Ainu begins to concentrate a lot on trimming Japanese yew (onko), and I've no idea why. He's even praying to the Ainu gods for it.