Imekanu
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.
Imekanu was born on November 10, 1875. She learned yukar from her mother, Monashinouku, in her childhood. As an adult, she converted to Christianity and became a missionary. In 1926, she retired from being a missionary and started to write down the yukar she remembered from her childhood, with her niece, Yukie Chiri. She died on April 6, 1961.
