Kayano Shigeru was a Japanese politician and a leading figure in the Ainu ethnic movement in Japan.
12 Facts About Kayano Shigeru
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Kayano Shigeru was one of the last speakers of the Ainu language.
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Kayano Shigeru was raised in poverty by his alcoholic father and devout Buddhist mother, and gained his first appreciation of Ainu culture from his grandmother, Tekatte, who would share traditional stories in Ainu with him.
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Kayano Shigeru's activism helped bring about the founding of the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum in 1972.
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Kayano Shigeru was an acknowledged living master of the Ainu oral tradition, an expert in its folk arts and language.
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Kayano Shigeru led the effort to found 15 Ainu language schools.
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Kayano Shigeru was the first Ainu politician to sit in the Diet of Japan.
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Kayano Shigeru served five terms in the assembly before taking over a vacated seat in the upper house for the SDP.
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Kayano Shigeru's effort led to the enactment of a law to promote Ainu culture in 1997.
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Kayano Shigeru was known for leading the protest movement against the Nibutani Dam.
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Kayano Shigeru died of pneumonia at a hospital in Sapporo, Hokkaido on May 6,2006, just over a month short of his 80th birthday.
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Kayano Shigeru has written about 100 books about the Ainu language and culture, including 28 yukar collections.