Ainu History: 18 September, We Remember Chiri Yukie
"In a twinkling the natural landscape as it had been since the ancient past has vanished; what has become of the folk who joyfully made their living in its fields and mountains? The few of us fellow kinspeople who remain simply stare wide-eyed, astonished by the state of the world as it continues to advance.”
Chiri Yukie was born in Nupur-pet, Ainu Moshiri during a period of intensifying Shamo colonization. At age six she was sent to Chikabumi to live with her unarpe, Imekanu and huchi, Monashinouku, both of whom were highly educated in the art of epic Ainu storytelling, yukara. They lived in a bilingual household, speaking both Ainu Itak and Nihongo. Yukie excelled as a student, particularly in language arts, despite racial harassment and bullying in school.
Yukie worked in cultural preservation alongside her unarpe, Imekanu and huchi, Monashinouku, writing down as much yukara as they were able in their lifetimes. Together they compiled 85 volumes of yukara in the Horobetsu dialect of Itak and translated them into Nihongo. 52 of those volumes went to Chiri Mashiho, Ainu linguist, anthropologist, and Yukie’s brother. 33 volumes went to Kyōsuke Kindaichi, a Japanese linguist, 13 of which were contributed by Yukie.
She traveled to Tokyo to work more closely with Kindaichi on his work, completing her first and only anthology, Ainu Shinyōshū, before her sudden death from heart failure on the 18th of September, 1922. She was 19.
Chiri Yukie is the first published Ainu author, and the power of her pawetok, shiretok, ramatok, her eloquence, beauty, and courage still empower Ainu generations today.
Iyayraykere, Chiri Yukie. Rest in Power.
