Google Doodle honors Junko Tabei, first woman to climb Mount Everest
Who was Junko Tabei?
Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer.
The native Ishibashi Junko from Fukushima came from a large family of seven siblings and started climbing at the tender age of ten – despite her family’s concern to be a “frail” child.
During her studies she experienced sexism as she continued her climbing career. She said male mountaineers refused to climb with her and accused her of only being interested in climbing to find a “husband”.
After graduation Tabei founded the Ladies Climbing Club (LCC) – the first of its kind in Japan.
The slogan was, “Let’s go overseas on our own.”
She spent the next ten years conquering Mount Fuji and the Matterhorn. Her incredible achievements earned her recognition in her native Japan.
Junko Tabei was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Why is Google Doodle celebrating its 80th birthday?
Tabei is known for her incredible expedition to the summit of Mount Everest.
In 1975, she gathered the LCC around to find funding for her most daring expedition – Everest.
Tabei said, “In the 1970s, it was still widely believed in Japan that men work outside and women stay home.
“Even women who had work were asked to serve only tea. It was therefore unthinkable for them to be promoted at their workplace. “
Tabei led a daring all-female expedition to the summit of Everest
The women were repeatedly rejected by potential sponsors who considered it inappropriate to let their children home with their husbands and embark on such a dangerous expedition.
The group managed to get some last minute money from Japan’s largest newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, and also from Nippon television, but each member also made a huge personal contribution – equivalent to Japan’s average annual salary.The mountaineers also prepared their own equipment, as the female climbers had no cost.
While training for the mammoth expedition, the women also sewed their own sleeping bags, recycled old car parts in mountaineering gear, and collected food donations.Tabei gained worldwide fame for her mountaineering
At 6,300 meters, the group suffered a devastating blow when an avalanche buried them and their equipment – with Tabei thrown unconscious under the snow for six minutes.
However, the group persisted and Tabei was the first woman to reach the top of the world – worldwide recognition for the tremendous achievement.
In the following years, she was also the first woman to join the Seven Summits, and later in her life concentrated on promoting the role of women in Japanese society.Tabei died in 2016. Tabei is commemorated today on her 80th birthday
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second “O” of Google to signal that they are no longer in office at the Burning Man Festival. This was the birth of the art of Google Doodle.
The company decided to decorate the logo to mark cultural moments, and it quickly became clear that users really enjoyed changing the Google homepage.
Now there is a complete team of draftsmen, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who will help you to do what you see on these days.
Google launched in 2019 with an animated doodle of New Year celebrations.
And on February 5, 2019, the Chinese New Year was celebrated with a hand animation that turned into a pig.