Miyuki itankituy Muraki

Ms. Muraki itankituy (pronounced: ee-Tan-ki-tuy) was born in 1959 in Shiraoi Town as a proud Ainu woman. Since 1985, she has been working for the (former) Ainu Museum and later became the director of the museum (2012~) and a board member (2013~).  

The former Ainu Museum, fondly known as Porotokotan in Ainu language, was a private museum established in 1984 and was operated by the local Ainu community in Shiraoi. Reflecting on her experiences, she said: "I was nurtured in this museum where the Ainu people themselves built a foundation for the transmission of Ainu culture." In here she was involved in the revival of Ainu cultural practices, such as the performance of Ainu dances and songs, research on Ainu religious rituals, and the preservation of Ainu culinary traditions.  

She also undertook research and studies on Ainu materials in the museums, both nationally and abroad, collaborating with institutions like the Russian Museum of Ethnography and the National Ethnological Museum of Berlin. 

In 2018, she assumed the role of full-time board member of the newly established Foundation for Ainu Culture. In this capacity, she has been involved in the preparations for the opening of the UPOPOY National Ainu Museum & Park. In July 2020, with the opening of Upopoy, she was appointed of Deputy Executive Director of UPOPOY Headquarters, and from June 2023, she became the first Indigenous and female executive director. 

Her curated exhibitions include "TEKEKARPE: Textile art and other Ainu handicrafts from German collections" (1999, Ainu Museum), "IKARKAR: The World of Ainu Embroidery Works" (2016, Tomakomai City Museum), and many others.  

Her major publications include: “Ainu Nature Series 4: Ainu and Plants <Medicine edition>” edited by the Ainu Museum (2004); and ‘Sonko de Sonko: Essay on Ainu Culture’ in “The Japan Railways Hokkaido Magazine” with Prof. Yuko Honda.