Ainu are the native people of Hokkaido, and the Nibutani area has the highest percentage of Ainu to Japanese in the country. I spent the day with Mr. Kenji Sekine, who is dedicated to promoting and preserving Ainu culture through the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum, where he works. My knowledgeable guide taught me much about Ainu life as he showed me around, but it seemed like everyone in Nibutani is connected to the Ainu somehow. The “mama” of my minshuku where I stayed pulled out her kimono during breakfast to show us her sewing… and I later saw more of her work in the museum!
Her kimono sell for a lot of money… but she encouraged me to try them on!
I was fascinated by her stories and sewing, but I tore myself away and headed to the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum to met Mr. Sekine for the tour.
The Ainu Cultural Museum and some pretty fall colors
We started outside, where there are several replicas of traditional style buildings.
And a canoe!
Inside these buildings you can see traditional craft artists at work during certain times of the day. I watched Mr. Shigehiro Takano skillfully carve decoration on a pipe, and he even gave me an impromptu performance on the Ainu musical instrument called the “tonkori”!
Mr. Takano carves decoration into a pipe
Inside the museum are exhibits of Ainu tools, crafts, and everyday items. There are lots of hands-on things to do, as well as videos of dances and stories to watch. There is even a section to learn some Ainu phrases. Mr. Sekine is a fluent Ainu speaker, so he helped me learn how to count to ten!
Exploring the museum’s many exhibits
Mr. Sekine explaining about the canoes and how they’re built.
The Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum isn’t the only Ainu museum in the area. You can also visit the nearby Kayano Shigeru Nibutani Ainu Memorial Museum, which showcases the items Mr. Kayano Shigeru collected during his lifelong effort to preserve Ainu culture and language for future generations. A combination ticket to both museums is available for a discount.
Some kimono displayed at the Kayano Shigeru Museum
There is one final museum in Nibutani which I also visited, called the Historical Museum of the Saru River. It explores the history of the river and its surroundings as well as local flora and fauna. It gave a comprehensive guide to the prehistory of the area, and together with the Ainu museums told a complete story of the area.
Entrance is free to this museum
After lunch, I tried my hand at some crafts at the Nibutani Craft Center. With a reservation in advance and a little yen, you can try some different Ainu crafts taught by experienced teachers. First I sewed a coaster in an Ainu-inspired design:
The finished article is the sample… mine didn’t look that good!
I’m not that great at sewing, but it was fun!
The craft area has a lot of goods for sale, which I enjoyed looking at. Everything is hand made by local people, and it is all really beautiful!
These are headbands. My poor coaster can’t compare!
Next up was wood carving at a local workshop. I’m even worse at wood carving than I am at sewing…
I tried hard, but I guess for my first time it wasn’t so bad!
My teachers for both crafts were Mr. and Mrs. Kaizawa. They are Mr. Sekine’s brother and sister!
My teachers and their proud student!
I learned so much about the Ainu today, and was touched by how much the community cares and works to preserve their culture. A huge thank you to Mr. Sekine and his family for showing me around and answering all my questions! Or as you say in Ainu, “iyairaykere”!
As a bonus, the weather was finally beautiful! These purple flowers are blooming everywhere right now!
Next up is Aomori. See you there!
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