VILLAGE Report vol.1 Hokkaido | Nibutani Ita and Nibutani Attus, the first step in the north

VILLAGE Report, a journey through each of Japan's 47 prefectures, begins its first step in Hokkaido.

Do you know what was first designated as a national Traditional Craft Product in Hokkaido? The answer is Nibutani ita and Nibutani attus, passed down in Nibutani in Biratori Town, Hidaka region. According to the Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, they were designated on March 8, 2013, following an application from the local Nibutani Folk Craft Association. This was the first designation for Hokkaido crafts.

Two Handcrafts Nurtured by the Saru River

Both have been passed down since ancient times in the Saru River basin.

• Nibutani Ita trays --A shallow, flat wooden tray. Ainu patterns such as the spiral-shaped moreunoka and the ramramnoka, known as scale carving, are carved into it.
• Nibutani attus --A woven fabric made by turning the inner bark of trees such as elm into thread and weaving it on a loom. It is described as water-resistant, breathable, and unusually durable for a natural fiber.

Hands that carve wood, and hands that weave tree bark. In the basin of a single river, two techniques with completely different characters have remained side by side.

What Designation Means

Designation as a Traditional Craft Product is not an honorary title. It is also a confirmation that conditions such as securing raw materials, passing on techniques, and maintaining a production-area system are being met. In fact, Hokkaido has announced that it is advancing cooperation with prefectural forests to secure elm, the raw material for attus. This is because the makers alone cannot protect the resources of the forest.

For a craft to remain means that its techniques remain, and at the same time that the forests and rivers supporting those techniques remain. Nibutani's two designations quietly teach us this.

Next time, we visit Aomori Prefecture and Tsugaru lacquerware. For highlights of Hokkaido itself, please see the Hokkaido edition of the 47 Prefectures Guide.

References: Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Hokkaido; Biratori Municipal Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum

—The Value Village Editorial Team

Photo: Calistemon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)