Wooden Carved Coaster
木彫りのコースター
£90.00 per item
A hand-carved wooden coaster featuring distinctive Ainu heritage patterns, produced by artisans in Nibutani, Hokkaido.
This wooden coaster is produced at the Biratori Ainu Crafts and Heritage Center, also known as Urespa (the Ainu word for ‘each other’). The centre opened in Nibutani, Hokkaido, in April 2019 to promote Ainu heritage crafts to visitors from both Japan and overseas.
The wooden coaster is a smaller version of Nibutani-ita, a handcrafted wooden tray originating in the Saru River region in southern Hokkaido. The surface is adorned with distinctive Ainu patterns such as moreunoka (spiral patterns), ramuramunoka (fish-scale patterns) and sik-noka (eye-shaped patterns). Using production techniques that have been passed down through the generations, the patterns are carved into walnut, a popular material along with katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) for Nibutani-ita, and finished with beeswax.
Individual pieces vary in colour and size as each piece is handmade.
Size: Length 11cm x Width 11cm x Depth 2cm
Kansai
The Kansai region includes the second-most populated metropolitan area in Japan with its largest city Osaka. Kyoto and Nara, two of Japan’s former capital cities, are home to important temples and shrines and strongholds of intangible cultural heritage, such as the Kyoto textile weaving skills of Nishijin.
