Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 15
April 1, 2008 (Tue) - June 29, 2008 (Sun)
This exhibition introduces the daily lives of the Ainu people by focusing on their tools for weaving, hunting and fishing in addition to their daily clothes and wooden vessels.
The Ainu people inhabited the harsh and forbidding northern territory of Hokkaid? Island and surrounding islands. They revered nature as gods and by making their livelihoods through hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming were able to co-exist with nature.
They wove their own fabrics; producing uniquely styled garments that were decorated with a rich variety of embroidery. Using arrows and spears with poison-tipped points (poison was made by each household according to its own formula), they hunted brown bears, Hokkaido Sika deer, hares, foxes, raccoon dogs, White-tailed eagles and Steller's sea eagles. Eagle feathers were considered precious goods for trade.
The Ainu people inhabited the harsh and forbidding northern territory of Hokkaid? Island and surrounding islands. They revered nature as gods and by making their livelihoods through hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming were able to co-exist with nature.
They wove their own fabrics; producing uniquely styled garments that were decorated with a rich variety of embroidery. Using arrows and spears with poison-tipped points (poison was made by each household according to its own formula), they hunted brown bears, Hokkaido Sika deer, hares, foxes, raccoon dogs, White-tailed eagles and Steller's sea eagles. Eagle feathers were considered precious goods for trade.
Major works in this exhibition
