Ainu Creed and Cult was the first detailed account of the Ainu to be written by either a westerner or a Japanese. In this book, Munro's object in writing it was not only to give an account of his careful observations of the people and their customs, but also to demonstrate to the world at large that the Ainu had an independent culture that deserved respect and preservation.

Originally written in 1905, this volume examines the coins of Japan, especially appealing because of a subtle and impersonal charm which pervades their inscriptions and the sentiments which they set forth. They are written in characters which are a manifest surviva of the picture writing of early man. He wrote, that is to say, scored or scratched, various outline sketches of his doings and the more intimate facts of his surroundings, on bone, clay or other material.