Born in 1958 in Nibutani, Biratori Town, Hokkaido. Raised in an environment surrounded by craftspeople including his father, the late Kaizawa Tsutomu, a traditional artisan, and his younger brother, the late Kaizawa Koji, a woodcarver. One of his great-grandfathers was Kaizawa Utorentoku, 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 (※1) in his thirties.

While producing traditional tools such as ita and makiri, traditional 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 Town.

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 "Setapukusa-go" sightseeing bus operated in Sapporo that same year.

Owner of "Kita-no-Kobo Tsutomu"(Northern Atelier Tsutomu) and a member of the Nibutani Craft Association. He is also one of the certified producers of the traditional craft Nibutani Ita.

※1　Ita are a kind of flat carved wooden platter that is a part of inherited Ainu culture. Nibutani Ita, the style particular to the Saru River basin where Nibutani, Biratori stands, is an officially designated Traditional Craft Product.

Contact Information

Kita no Kobo Tsutomu (Northern Atelier Tsutomu)
74-12 Nibutani, Biratori-cho, Saru-gun, Hokkaido 055-0101, Japan
TEL (International): +81-1457-2-3660