Yasuko Uetake (,

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Yasuko Muromura; 26 November 1934 – 16 March 2024) was an

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

artist and Ainu cultural activist from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Born in

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 76,385, with 43,494 households and a population density of . The ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, she was a prominent figure in the preservation and promotion of the

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 ...

Noboribetsu is a Cities of Japan, 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, ...

. She was active in the Noboribetsu Branch of the Hokkaido Utari Association, the Club for Talking about Mashiho Chiri, and the Women's Society for Learning and Inheriting the Ainu Culture. A self-taught but accomplished Ainu embroidery artist, she created various works in traditional Ainu clothing, trained younger artists in embroidery seminars, and taught other Ainu cultural traditions, including dancing.

Early life

Yasuko Uetake was born as Yasuko Muromura in Motomuroran (currently part of Sakimoricho),

, on 26 November 1934. Her mother died when she was one and a half years old, and she was raised by her father, grandmother, and

siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

. During her school years, she suffered verbal abuse due to her Ainu heritage, but she resisted discrimination with determination. After graduating from Muroran Bunka Fashion College, she married in 1960 and moved to Horobetsu (currently part of

Cultural activism

In the late 1970s, Yasuko began her activism as an Ainu, triggered by the Noboribetsu Branch of the Hokkaido Utari Association's criticism toward the mayor of Noboribetsu, who had built a tomb for himself by destroying Ainu graves. From 1985, she served for six years as an Ainu living consultant at the Noboribetsu Branch of the Hokkaido Utari Association. She became head of the branch in April 1996, continuing her work until she retired from the post in 2005. She founded the Club for Talking about Mashiho Chiri, a study group with other members of the Noboribetsu Branch in 1988, and became head of the club in 1997. There were twelve

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...

schools in Hokkaido, and she set up the 13th one. In 1998, she founded the Women's Society for Learning and Inheriting the Ainu Culture. She was welcomed and well received by local people when Ainu exhibitions were held in the United States.

As an artist and educator

Her work as a consultant in the Hokkaido Utari Association inspired Yasuko to learn Ainu embroidery. Due to a stagnation of the branch's activities, no

folk costume Folk costume, traditional dress, traditional attire or folk attire, is clothing of an ethnic group, nation or region, and expresses cultural, religious or national identity. An ethnic group's clothing may also be called ethnic clothing or ethnic ...

for traditional ceremonies were available, which made her to study distinct textile

patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

in Ainu clothing and to sew garments for the preservation of the Ainu culture. She started an Ainu embroidery class for local citizens in 1990, founded Pirikanoka, a society for learning Ainu embroidery named after the Ainu word meaning a " beautiful form" in 1993, and held annual exhibitions for embroidery works. In 1997, she started a project to create faithful reproductions of traditional Ainu clothes from the late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

to the mid- Showa period in collaboration with 20 women in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

and

Iwamizawa is a city in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sorachi Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 75,949 and the density of 158 persons per km2. The total area is . On March 27, 2006 ...

. In 2008, souvenir albums were created for the world leaders visiting Toyako in

for the

34th G8 summit The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo (1979, 1986, 1993) and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 summit has evolved beyond being a gat ...

, which were embroidered with traditional Ainu patterns designed by Yasuko and highly appreciated. In addition to embroidery, she taught traditional Ainu dancing to children in

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

around Noboribetsu. In the 2020s, she continued holding exhibitions and teaching as an Ainu embroidery artist. She died on 16 March 2024.

Awards

* 1994 – Award of Excellence, Hokkaido Ainu Craftwork Contest,Education Award,

Hokkaidō Prefectural Board of Education The is a board of education that mainly oversees public schools in Hokkaido, Japan. The board directly oversees high schools and provides educational services in Hokkaido. High schools Okhotsk Subprefecture Abashiri, Hokkaido, Abashiri * Aba ...

* 1997 – Promotion Award, Hokkaido Ainu Craftwork Contest, Ainu Cultural Promotion Award * 1998 – Jury Award, Hokkaido Ainu Craftwork Contest * 2002 – Social Volunteer Award, The Soloptimist Japan Foundation * 2009 – Regional Award, Pola Award for Traditional Japanese Culture, Hokkaido Cultural Property Protection Distinguished Service Award * 2010 – Official Recognition for Cultural and Educational Contributions by Noboribetsu * 2018 – Ainu Cultural Award * 2019 – Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award

Works

References

{{authority control 1934 births 2024 deaths 21st-century Japanese women artists 20th-century Japanese women artists 21st-century Japanese women educators 20th-century Japanese women educators Artists from Hokkaido People from Muroran Ainu activists Ainu artists Japanese Ainu people Embroiderers Language activists Cultural activists Activists from Hokkaido