Kaizawa Toru（）
Woodcarver (1976-)
Born in 1958 in Nibutani, Biratori, Hokkaido. Raised in an environment surrounded by craftspeople including his father, the late Tsutomu Kaizawa, a traditional artisan, and his younger brother, the late Koji Kaizawa, a woodcarver. One of his great-grandfathers was Utorentoku Kaizawa, one of the two renowned master craftsmen of the Meiji era.
He began learning woodcarving at an early age and started selling his works at his father's folk craft shop after graduating from high school. Initially focused on carving three-dimensional animals, he began producing ita, traditional wooden trays carved with Ainu patterns, in his thirties.
While producing traditional tools such as ita and makiri, traditional small knives carved with Ainu patterns, he also creates original woodcarvings that make full use of traditional techniques.
Since 2001, he has been developing the “Jufu” series—woodcarvings with fabric-like texture and flow, combining artistic expression and ornamental beauty. He later released the “IDENTITY” series, which portrays the Ainu living in the modern era, and “UKOUK / Canon,” a work using the hands of multigenerational Ainu women singing upopo in a round, expressing the hope that Ainu traditions continue into the future.
His work “IWOR-UN-PASE-KAMUY,” an owl sculpture, is exhibited at minapa (a cultural space in Sapporo), and “ape-huci-kamuy” is on permanent display at the National Ainu Museum in Shiraoi.
Internationally, his works are also part of the permanent collections at the British Museum, National Museum of Scotland, and the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford, earning acclaim both in Japan and abroad.
He actively contributes to the continuation and development of traditional culture in his hometown of Nibutani. In addition to mentoring young craftspeople, he participated in the “Nibutani Ainu Craft” collaborative product development project in 2020, and designed the wrapping for the "seta-pukusa" sightseeing bus operated in Sapporo that same year.
Owner of "Kita-no-Kobo Tsutomu" and a member of the Nibutani Folk Craft Association. He is also one of the certified producers of the traditional craft Nibutani Ita.
Career Highlights
2005
Certified as an Excellent Craftsman, recommended by the Hokkaido Utari Association (now the Hokkaido Ainu Association)
2008
Recognized as a Traditional Craftsperson by the Foundation for Ainu Culture (now the Ainu Cultural Foundation)
Hokkaido Ainu Traditional Craft Exhibition
(Organized by the Hokkaido Ainu Association)
1979 First exhibition and first award
1989, 2002, 2005 Received the Governor of Hokkaido Award (Grand Prize in Traditional Craft Category)
Ainu Craftworks Contest
(Organized by the Ainu Cultural Foundation)
2004 Award of Excellence (General Works Category): Captured Frogs & Mice
2006 Selected Entry (General Works Category): Wooden-Fabric Ita
2007 Award of Excellence (Traditional Woodcraft Category): Menoko Makiri
Numerous other awards
2020
Received the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan)
※ The Hokkaido Utari Association changed its name to the Hokkaido Ainu Association in 2009, and became a Public Interest Incorporated Association in 2014.
※ The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture became the Ainu Cultural Foundation in 2013, and was reorganized into the Ainu National Foundation in 2018.
Kitano Kobo Tsutomu (Northern Atelier Tsutomu)
74-12 Nibutani, Biratori-cho, Saru-gun, Hokkaido 055-0101, Japan
TEL (Domestic): 01457-2-3660
TEL (International): +81-1457-2-3660