was an Ainu transcriber and translator of

Yukar () are Ainu sagas that form a long rich tradition of oral literature. In older periods, the epics were performed by both men and women; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when Ainu culture was in decline, women were generally the most sk ...

(Ainu epic tales).

Life

Yukie Chiri was born into an Ainu family in

Noboribetsu, Hokkaidō is a city in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park, it is southwest of Sapporo, west of Tomakomai and northeast of Hakodate. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 49,523 and a popula ...

during the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

. At the time, the colonial government of Hokkaido rapidly increased immigration of ethnic Japanese people to Hokkaidō, forcibly relocating many Ainu communities and depriving them of their traditional means of livelihood. The Meiji government adopted extensive policies designed to discourage or ban Ainu cultural practices while encouraging or forcing their assimilation into Japanese society. By the turn of the century, some Ainu writers came to argue that assimilation was the only viable method of survival for Ainu communities. Chiri was sent to her aunt

Imekanu , also known by her Japanese name , was an Ainu people, Ainu missionary and epic poetry, epic poet. Along with her niece, Yukie Chiri, she wrote down and preserved numerous Ainu yukar she learned from her mother. Life and work Imekanu belonge ...

in Chikabumi, on the outskirts of

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

, when she was six years old, presumably to lessen the financial burden on her parents. Imekanu lived with her aged mother, Monashinouku, a seasoned teller of Ainu tales who spoke very little Japanese. Chiri thus grew to be completely bilingual in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and Ainu, and had a familiarity with Ainu oral literature that was becoming less and less common by that time. Although she had to endure bullying in school, she excelled in her studies, particularly in language arts. However, due to anti-Ainu prejudice, she suffered from an ethnic

inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is a consistent feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought about by ...

that afflicted many of her generation. Chiri's personal conception of cultural assimilation was complex. In one letter written during her teens, she remarked, "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."

Work

Chiri was in her mid-teens when she first met Japanese linguist and Ainu language scholar

Kyōsuke Kindaichi was a Japanese linguist, chiefly known for his dictations of yukar, or sagas of the Ainu people, as well as his study of the Matagi dialect. He is the author of the dictionary '' Meikai Kokugo Jiten''. Biography Kindaichi was born in Morioka, ...

during the nation's Taishō period. He was traveling around Hokkaidō in search of Ainu transmitters of oral literature, and had come to seek out Imekanu and Monashinouku. Upon meeting Chiri, who was still living with Imekanu, Kindaichi immediately recognized her potential and spoke to her about his work. When Kindaichi explained the value he saw in preserving Ainu folklore and traditions to Chiri, she decided to dedicate the rest of her life to studying, recording, and translating yukar. Kindaichi eventually returned to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, but sent Chiri blank notebooks so she could record whatever came to mind about

Ainu culture Ainu culture refers to the traditions of the Ainu people, dating back to around the 13th century (late Kamakura period) to the present. Today, most Ainu people live a life superficially similar to that of Yamato people, mainstream Japanese peopl ...

and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

. She chose to record the tales her grandmother chanted, using

romaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logogram, logographic characters borrowe ...

to express the Ainu sounds, and then translated the transcribed yukar into Japanese. Eventually, Kindaichi persuaded her to join him in Tokyo to assist him in his work collecting and translating yukar. However, only months after arriving in Tokyo and on the same night she completed her first yukar anthology, she suddenly died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at the age of 19.

Legacy

Chiri's anthology was published the following year under the title ''Ainu Shinyōshū'' (A Collection of the Ainu Epics of the gods). Although her patron Kindaichi and series editor

Kunio Yanagita was a Japanese author, scholar, and Folklore studies, folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual e ...

must have taken the late Chiri's manuscript to press, they did not put their names anywhere on it; the preface and content are written entirely by her. Her book contains both Japanese translations and, invaluably, the original Ainu, in Roman script. It received great popular acclaim in the period press, creating a newfound respect for Ainu culture among Japanese readers, and remains the most important source for yukar today. Her younger brother, Chiri Mashiho, later pursued his education under Kindaichi's sponsorship and became a respected scholar of Ainu studies. Both Chiri and her younger brother were secretly sponsored by

Keizo Shibusawa Viscount was a Japanese businessman, central banker, philanthropist and folklorist. He was the 16th governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Early life Shibusawa was born in Tokyo. He was the grandson of Shibusawa Eiichi.Tamaki, Norio. (1995). ...

, heir of

Shibusawa Eiichi was a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism", having introduced Western capitalism to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. He introduced many economic reforms including use of double-entry accounting, ...

, through anonymous donations. Imekanu also continued the work of transcribing and translating yukar.

References

External links

Project U-e-peker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiri, Yukie Japanese Ainu people People from Hokkaido 1903 births 1922 deaths 20th-century Japanese translators Japanese women writers