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Purse with Ainu motif
This purse has been embroidered using a method called chinjiri (where embroidery is made directly on to dyed fabric), a skill which the Ainu of Eastern Hokkaido are especially renowned for. With bright tones born from Katsuya’s innate sense of colour, it is easy to carry, and features an exquisite Ainu design, a unique liveliness emanating from its contours.
Tote bag embroidered with Ainu motif
This tote bag features the charm and vitality of Katsuya’s motifs, while using simple colour combinations to create a chic impression suited to various scenes of everyday life.
Sometsuke Arita Porcelain Plates with Ainu Patterns
These plates flaunt a design based on traditional Ainu patterns enhanced by Erika’s personal sensibilities realized together with Arita potteries. They are imbued with the wish that whoever takes them their hands will love them.
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Penup Bell Strap
The Ainu believe that the strong odor of the root of penup (Cynanchum caudatum) can repel evil spirits, and have long used it as an amulet. This traditional charm is combined with a bell, and includes an easy-to-wear strap.
Emush-at Bracelet
This elegant bracelet adapts the weaving methods of the Ainu traditional sword-carrying sash, emush-at, to suit modern fashions. This product is sold under BEAMS “fennica” brand.
Indigo Scarf with Ainu Patterns
This scarf features Ainu patterns inspired by the image of Lake Akan resting quietly amongst the mist. The fermentation of indigo changes every day depending on the environment. This one-of-a-kind scarf is the result of pairing the dynamic, lively indigo dye with the human hand.
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Arita Porcelain Plate with Ainu Patterns
A plate made in collaboration with Arita potteries, inspired by the relationship between them and Akanko Ainu Kotan. An ameyu (brown) and celadon version are available with patterns true to Ainu wood carving traditions.
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Chitarape Basket Bag
Chitarape are ritual rush mats woven from bulrush, a perennial that grows in wetlands. This traditional weaving method has been adapted to produce these special bags. This product is sold under BEAMS “fennica” brand.
Bulrush Coaster
These small coasters are produced using the traditional weaving methods and materials of chitarape rush mats, adding a touch of Ainu culture to your daily life.
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Bear’s Paw Silver Ring
Bold yet delicate, the painstaking details of these rings are heavily inspired by Ainu culture and respected ancestors. These remarkable rings have even been selected by fishers in hopes of plentiful catches.
Marimo Bell
The creator first was inspired to make this charm for his daughter when she entered elementary school. Now, each bell is carefully and wholeheartedly crafted with the wish that it will benefit its wearer.
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Traditional embroidered patterns
This work features traditional Ainu patterns. Taira modeled this work on traditional Ainu patterns, including those left behind by her grandmother, and applied her artistic sensibility in selecting threads of the colors seen here.
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Makiri
These Ainu traditional makiri knives have been produced with the wish to create engravings that are “both beautiful and bold”. Light gleams from the scale pattern carvings, testament to the precise artisanship.
Owl
To the Ainu, owls are kamuy kor kotan — guardian deities of settlements. Featuring large eyes and soft, rounded overall forms, each owl’s expression reflects the artist’s own personality.
Arita Porcelain Plate with Ainu Patterns
Traditional Ainu wood carving patterns are presented on this Arita porcelain plate through a collaborative effort with Arita potteries. Two different versions were made - ameyu (brown) and celadon - with patterns carved freehand yielding a clean design.
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Butter Knife
While freely experimenting with interesting engravings to express the striking beauty of Ainu culture, the artist conceived the idea of decorating butter knives with Ainu spiral patterns known as moreu.
Carved Wooden Bear ‘Stand’
The artist combines tradition with humor, presenting the traditional Ainu craft of carved wooden bears in a novel ‘standing’ style. This product is sold under BEAMS “fennica” brand.
Kuksa
A kuksa is a type of wooden drinking cup handed down from the indigenous Sami people of the Lapland region in Finland. This kuksa was crafted with wood from the katsura tree, which was traditionally used by the Ainu to make dugout canoes, and is further adorned with Ainu engravings. It is also paired with a kuksa strap hand-knitted using yarn made from the bark of Manchurian elm trees.
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Nima
Nima is the Ainu word for a style of hollowed bowl which has been traditionally used as a dish by the Ainu people. Featuring modern arrangements, these nima are designed to be as sweets plates, trays, and the like.
Ita (Pictured Right)
Ita are trays made from the wood of the katsura tree (Japanese judas tree). Even when the beautiful design of the ita is given a modern arrangement, they are created from the same wood that the ancestors used. The quality of each ita is proven by its reliability during longlasting daily use.
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Traditional embroidered patterns
Traditional Ainu embroidery runs boldly across this work, reflecting the artist’s belief that Ainu patterns are powerful.
Attus
Attus is traditional Ainu fabric woven with thread made from the inner bark fibers of the Manchurian elm and other trees.
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Cinjir Traditional Garment
The striking red embroidery symbolizes pine buds, which can only be seen for a brief period in June. The creator, an Ainu Association of Hokkaido distinguished master of crafts, has replicated Ainu traditional cinjir garments following the beliefs of her predecessors, who have acknowledged the merit of her efforts.
Ainu Pattern Coasters
Ainu artisanship is characterized by the respectful use of natural materials, which are in themselves kamuy (deities), to create crafts imbued with the artisans’ wishes to protect people dear to them. These coasters bring the philosophy of Ainu traditional crafts into our daily lives.
Karop
A karop is a pouch for fire-starting stones traditionally made by knitting the stems of bulrush, a plant that grows by the water. These stylish karop have been redesigned into modern shoulder bags. Each was individually handmade without any wasted materials under the guidance of six Akanko Ainu Kotan dancers.
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Carved chain strap
A traditional carved chain strap, adorned with faces and beach roses.
Emanating a sense of warmth, this item brings the natural characteristics of the wood to life.
Wa (Harmony) ・Sculpture
An original design by Hikawa. Carved from a single piece of wood, this kinetic sculpture features multiple parts which link together, like a puzzle. Once-static wood gives rise to playful movement, its tactile design imploring the viewer not only to look, but to pick up and feel the object in their hand.
Arita Porcelain Plate with Ainu Patterns
This Arita porcelain plate has Ainu patterns carved into it in a way that truly stands out. An ameyu (brown) and celadon version were both made with the hope of further introducing Ainu culture to the world.
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Kotan kor Kamuy (Owl)
Fascinated by Ainu culture’s view of the owl as a kamuy (deity) of nature, the artist has realistically modeled the owl as Kotan kor Kamuy — guardian deity of the village.
Horkew Kamuy (Wolf)
In Ainu culture, the wolf is called Horkew Kamuy — deity of hunting. The engraving of these works expresses the artist’s strong affinity for his predecessors who have held active careers in Akanko Ainu Kotan.