As Japanese cotton became more affordable, garments known as chikarkarpe, meaning "our embroidered thing," were developed by substituting cotton for attush (elm-bark cloth); Ainu often used old Japanese kimonos or yukata for the base fabric. The use…

Portrait of Ainu sculptor, Bikky Sunazawa.

Designed by Bikky Sunazawa. The blue symbolizes the sky and ocean, the white symbolizing snow, and the red symbolizing an arrow on fire, the eternal flame of the Ainu soul.

A tray with traditional Ainu patterns.

Tuki and iku-pasuy are both essential items in Ainu festivals and rituals.

Traditional Ainu woodcarving of "korpokur" husband and wife. Korpokur are mythical Ainu creatures that resemble fairies, or small human beings.

Omusha is the Ainu word for "greetings". However, it became loosely related to the Japanese word "onsha" meaning "favor and gratitude" which turned the Ainu ceremony of welcoming guests into a place where the Japanese reinforced their rule over the…

Ainu-e