During the Taisho period, Zenichiro OYABE, who after having studied in the United States became a priest and migrated to Hokkaido, and while he was working for the issues concerning the Ainu, he heard about Okikirmuy, that the Ainu people believed was Yoshitsune, and then, he went over to the continent to travel to Manchuria and the Mongolian plateau to find out the truth of the Yoshitsune north refuge legend.
大正に入り、アメリカ合衆国に学び牧師となっていた小谷部全一郎は、北海道に移住してアイヌ問題に取り組んでいたが、アイヌの人々が信仰するオキクルミが義経であるという話を聞き、義経北行伝説の真相を明かすために大陸に渡って満州・モンゴル高原を旅行した。