Born in 1953 in Mitaka City, Tokyo Metropolis. At the age of 19, she married the woodcarver Takano Shigehiro and moved from Tokyo to Nibutani. In 1980, she founded Takano Mingei. Fascinated by the exquisite handcrafts of Ainu women, she initially learned from Kaizawa Reiko after moving, but since then, she has independently deepened her studies through observing museum materials and unraveling repair works requested of her.

She produces traditional clothing such as attus(※1), cikarkarpe, kaparamip, ruunpe, and cidiri, as well as tekunpe (hand guards), hos (leg wraps), emusat (knife suspender cords), tar (carrying ropes), saranip (net-like shoulder bags), and citarpe (rush leaf mats). Among them, emusat—considered the most difficult women's handcraft—starts with peeling tree bark and making threads before weaving. She is deeply devoted to Ainu traditional crafts and patterns, emphasizing techniques and production methods. In 2004, she authored a research book on the patterns of emus-at, continuing her exploration of Ainu traditional culture.

In 2021, she designed the wrapping for “Setapukusa-go", the sightseeing bus Alongside her own creations, she also teaches successors as a vocational training instructor to preserve Ainu culture. A member of the Nibutani Craft Association.

Note:
※1 Attus is a traditional Ainu textile, plain-woven from fibers extracted from the inner bark of trees such as the Japanese elm (Ulmus laciniata, also known as lobed elm), as well as the garments made from it. Nibutani Attus, woven using traditional techniques handed down in the Nibutani region of Biratori, is a designated Traditional Craft Product of Japan. Nibutani Attus is a special brand that can only be called as such when created only by specially recognized weavers.

Contact Information

Takano Miingei (Takano Folk Crafts)
78-13 Nibutani, Biratori-cho, Saru-gun, Hokkaido 055-0101, Japan
TEL (International): +81-1457-2-3397
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/takanomingei/