Traditional Handcrafts and Art Works that Speak to the Timeless: The Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum

LOCATION of the MUSEUM
The Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum 平取町立二風谷アイヌ文化博物館 is located in Biratori Town, Hokkaidō of Japan.
Biratori is located in the Saru River basin, which is rich in nature and has a pleasant environment with little snowfall in winter. Humans already lived here in the Palaeolithic period, and there are many cultural heritage sites from prehistoric times to the Middle and Modern Periods, such as the Kankan 2 site and Nibutani site. Legend has it that Yoshitsune Minamoto, one of the most popular Samurai in Japan, fled from the mainland of Japan, built a residence here, and was worshipped as a deity by the Ainu people.
Agriculture is flourishing in Biratori and is famous for brand products such as Wagyu beef and tomato.

HISTORY of the MUSEUM
This is a museum of history and folklore, which opened in 1992, with a focus on the national important tangible folklore cultural property ‘Collection of daily utensils from Nibutani and surrounding areas in Hokkaidō’ (also known as the ‘Kayano Collection’). In 1972, the Hokkaidō Utari Association (now the Hokkaido Ainu Association) established the Nibutani Ainu Folk Museum to utilise the Kayano collection, but it closed five years later in 1952. Then the museum was established in the early years of the Heisei era, when there was growing momentum for preserving and transmitting cultural heritage related to the Ainu.
The museum’s displays are divided into four sections – ‘People’s Lives’, ‘Romance of the deities’, ‘Blessings of the Earth’ and ‘Transmission of Forms’ – and display materials related to Ainu culture, including the Kayano Collection. The museum is also characterised by its large collection and holdings not only physical materials but also archival and video materials.

OUTLINE of the MUSEUM
The museum is operated as the core facility of a group of restored Chise (Ainu dwellings), which are part of the nationally designated Important Cultural Landscape ‘Cultural Landscape of the Saru River Basin with Ainu Traditions and Modern Settlement’. Inside the Chise, craftsmen demonstrate the production of Nibutani Ita and Nibutani Atushi, traditional crafts designated by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. These works can be purchased at the adjacent Biratori Town Ainu Cultural Information Centre.
Traditional Ainu festivals are held on the site each season, making it an important place for the inheritance of Ainu culture.

FACILITY INFORMATION
Name: Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum [Biratori Chōritsu Nibutani Ainu Bunka Hakubutsukan 平取町立二風谷アイヌ文化博物館]
Address: 55 Nibutani, Biratori, Saru, Hokkaidō, 055-0101 Japan
URL: http://www.town.biratori.hokkaido.jp/biratori/nibutani/
Access: about 300m from the Shiryōkan Mae [資料館前] Bus Stop (Donan Bus)
※Please check the latest information before your visit.

REFERENCES
Tsuji, Hirohito. ‘平取町立二風谷アイヌ文化博物館 [Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum],’ In Encyclopedia of Open Air Museums in Japan, edited by the Laboratory of Museology in Kokugakuin University, 6. Tōkyō: The Laboratory of Museology in Kokugakuin University, 2019.