Yukie Chiri’s 120th Birthday – Today Google Doodle is celebrating the 120th birthday of Ainu translator, Yukie Chiri and was illustrated by guest artist Yumi Koizumi. The Ainu is an Indigenous group of people that live in the northern regions of Japan.
During the early 1900s, The Ainu were forced to relocate and assimilate into Japanese culture. Chiri made an anthology of Ainu epic tales, called yukar, for ensuring their stories and culture were properly preserved.
In 1903, Chiri was born in Noboribetsu City, Hokkaido during a time when the Ainu people were being forced to adopt traditional Japanese values.