Kaizawa Miwako

Emusat Knitter and Embroiderer (2014- )

Born in 1948 in Kumamoto Prefecture. She spent her university years in Tokyo and while studying at Musashino Art University, she visited Nibutani during a trip to Hokkaido. She returned to Nibutani, met Kaizawa Koichi, and married him in 1970. Afterwards, she learned Ainu crafts and patterns, especially learning emusat (sword suspender cords) from Kayano Reiko and citarpe (rush leaf mats) from Kaizawa Tome. She continued raising children and working on the farm, and from 2004 to 2010 worked in the Utari Affairs Office of the Biratori Town Hall, all the while continuing her research and production of Ainu crafts.

Her main works include kimono such as cikarkarpe and kaparamip, and knitted items such as saranip (a shoulder bag made by weaving tree bark threads) and emusat. She prioritizes “not deviating from the embroidery style of the Saru River,” and has learned traditional embroidered patterns from predecessors’ works but recently also incorporates patterns she draws independently alongside classical ones.

Besides crafts, she also teaches food culture to young people and those from outside the region. She says that the traditional Ainu culture passed down in Nibutani was naturally acquired after moving there and simply inherited as a normal part of life; she is happy if she can pass it on to others. She feels fortunate to live in Nibutani where the mountains provide wild plants and blessings of nature that one can use in daily life.

Career Highlights
Hokkaido Ainu Handicraft Competition (organized by the Utari Association of Hokkaido (※1))
1995 — First Prize (Governor of Hokkaido Award), Traditional Crafts Division

Hokkaido Ainu Traditional Craft Exhibition (organized by the Ainu Association of Hokkaido)
1995 — Excellence Award (Superintendent of the Hokkaido Board of Education Award)
2009 — First Prize (Governor of Hokkaido Award)
2020 — Excellence Award (Kaderu Award) in the Traditional Crafts Division for the Cikarkarpe

Ainu Craftwork Contest (organized by the Foundation for Ainu Culture)
2018 — Excellence Award in the General Works Related to the Ainu Division for the Saranip [backpack-style bag]
2022 — Excellence Award in the Traditional Works of Weaving, Knitting, and Embroidery Division for the Emusat [sword-hanging strap]

※1 Utari Association of Hokkaido was renamed and then reorganized as the Ainu Association of Hokkaido in 2014.
※2 The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture became and be reorganized into the Foundation for Ainu Culture in 2018.