She and her siblings grew up without much money, and would skip school and get part-time jobs to help support the family.
When she was 20 years old, she moved to Sapporo to attend junior high school, even though she was much older than her classmates.
Ukaji became an active part of the indigenous rights movement for Ainu people during the 1970s.
She petitioned Mayor Ryokichi Minobe for the 1975 survey of the socio-economic conditions of Ainu in Tokyo.
In 1996, she went back to Hokkaido to study traditional Ainu designs and incorporate them in her work.