is an

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

activist, artist, and poet.

Early life

Ukaji was born on March 13, 1933 in

Urakawa, Hokkaido is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 12,800 and a population density, density of 18 persons per km2. The total area is 694.24 km2. ...

. She and her siblings grew up without much money, and would skip school and get part-time jobs to help support the family. When she was 20 years old, she moved to

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

to attend junior high school, even though she was much older than her classmates. She moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

when she was 23, hoping that there would be less discrimination against Ainu there than in Hokkaido. She worked as a waitress, and furthered her education by listening to the college students who came by and reading what they were reading. She later got married and had a son,

Takashi Ukaji is a Japanese actor. Early life Born in Tokyo, but raised in Hiroshima Prefecture, Ukaji was the leader of one of Japan's largest bosozoku groups before becoming an actor. His mother is Shizue Ukaji, a prominent Ainu poet and artist. Career ...

Career

Ukaji became an active part of the

indigenous rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...

movement for Ainu people during the 1970s. She petitioned Mayor

Ryokichi Minobe was a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1967 to 1979. He is one of the best known socialist figures in modern Japanese history. Early life Minobe was born in Tokyo. His father, Tatsukichi Minobe, was a noted constitutional ...

for the 1975 survey of the socio-economic conditions of Ainu in Tokyo. The survey found that there were around 600 Ainu households in Tokyo, and many worked blue-collar jobs. A position for an Ainu counselor was made at

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

's Metropolitan Economic Security Office, so that Ainu people could get help finding jobs. Ukaji filled this position for a few months, but stopped because of the intense workload. During the 1990s Ukaji began studying embroidery. In 1996, she went back to Hokkaido to study traditional Ainu designs and incorporate them in her work. Her work is typically of Ainu legends, which she sews on to

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

fabric like a

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

. She calls her style "kofu-e" or "old cloth pictures". She also published children's books based on her tapestries. In 2004 Ukaji was awarded the Ainu Culture Promotion Award. In 2006, Ukaji helped to produce a film called "Tokyo Ainu" about Ainu people living in Tokyo and the prejudice that they experience when they share their ethnic backgrounds. Ukaji won the

Eiji Yoshikawa was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as ''The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', m ...

Cultural Award in 2011.

Selected bibliography

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References

1933 births Ainu activists {{DEFAULTSORT:Ukaji, Shizue People from Hokkaido Living people Japanese women writers Japanese textile artists Japanese Ainu people