Shigeru Kayano

Shigeru Kayano was born on June 15, 1926. His family name at birth was Kaizawa, but he was adopted out by name to his aunt's family. He 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. He was the first Ainu politician to get into parliament. He played a major part in the recognition of the Ainu people as an ethnic group in 1991. He was also successful in the promotion of the Ainu people's culture and language in 1997. He died of pneumonia on May 6, 2006.