The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) is a research center for ethnology and cultural anthropology.

Messages from the Ainu: Craft and Spirit

Messages from the Ainu: Craft and Spirit

Exhibition Introduction
Heritage
bear carving by Kawakami Satoru Heritage
We have been surrounded by Ainu culture since we were small children and are therefore comfortable with it. Ainu culture becomes a part of our lives before we even realize it. The culture our ancestors have preserved is so precious, and we are here to pass down those heritages.

......Our crafts are sometimes influenced by our grandparents or our parents, and other times we are swayed by the works of our predecessors. This zone introduces how these traditions are passed on from generation to generation.
bear carving / Kawakami Satoru
 
Contemporary Forms
kapar amip coat (cotton) by Uetake Yasuko Contemporary Forms
There are absolute forms or recreated forms, and all of them are created in our own style. If we are able to express them, we can also express ourselves.

......There are many forms that we would like people to see. Among these, this zone will present crafts that have greatly influenced our own work, the process of expressing the various "forms" we create and crafts made by craftspeople we are very proud of.
kapar amip coat (cotton) / Uetake Yasuko
 
Explorations
'Spirit of Ainu' tapestry by Kawamura Noriko Explorations
Forms of Ainu culture are infinity and our minds are also limitless. To explore the beautiful shapes preserved by our ancestors means our lives.

......We create the forms of Ainu culture, to infinity with new ideas and inventions. We sometimes use abstract forms to express the artists' concepts.
'Spirit of Ainu' tapestry / Kawamura Noriko