Ainu Craft School Passes On Culture to Students

Kushiro, Hokkaido, March 24 (Jiji Press)--Students in the inaugural class of an Ainu craft school in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, are set to graduate soon, after completing their training to acquire skills of the indigenous ethnic group.

At Akan Ainu Craft Center Harikiki, which opened in May 2024 on the banks of Lake Akan in the city of Kushiro, local craftspeople work to foster their successors, teaching traditional techniques, such as on wood carving and embroidering, to students, including young people, who come from Hokkaido and other parts of the country.

Harikiki means "hardworking" in the Ainu language. A total of eight people--four in the inaugural class, who joined the school in 2024, and four in the second class, who enrolled in 2025--are now studying five days a week.

Graduating at the end of this month are the four people in the inaugural class--two from Hokkaido, one from the central prefecture of Gifu and one from Mie Prefecture, also central Japan.

Students at the facility spend two years learning how to make the mukkuri mouth harp and the makiri small knife as well as embroidery skills. They also study the Ainu language and history, with the aim of passing on the culture.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]