Campaigner and Politician
Shigeru Kayano was one of the lead campaigners for the recognition of the Ainu people as an ethnic group and the promotion of Ainu culture.
Missionary
Imekanu, also known by her Japanese name Kannari Matsu, was an Ainu missionary and epic poet. Along with her niece, Yukie Chiri, she wrote down and preserved numerous Ainu yukar (poems) she learned from her mother.