The first record of Ainu oral literature written down by an Ainu, the thirteen beautiful yukar chants of Ainu Shin’yōshū capture the imagination and stand as a milestone in the translation of oral literature and ancient Kamuy religious concepts. The yukar were collected from the author’s aunt and grandmother at a time when traditional storytellers were actively being assimilated by the Japanese. The Ainu have long maintained their distinctive North Asian culture, while many other North Asian groups assimilated into neighboring Turkic, Mongolic, and Uralic cultures, due in part to their protected island location and long relationship with the Japanese to the south.

CHIRI YUKIE was born in 1903 and spent her childhood in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido. Her father Takakichi and mother Nami were Ainu from Chiri and Kanenari. At the age of 7 she moved to Asahikawa, where she lived until the age of 19 with her mother Nami’s elder sister Matsu Kannari and her grandmother Monasinouk.