In conjunction with the exhibition Ainu Stories: Contemporary Lives by the Saru River, this booth display features wooden carvings of bears and salmon by Ainu craftspeople from Hokkaido.
Bears and salmon immediately come to the minds of many Japanese people when they think of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands. The brown bear, a symbol of the island’s rich natural environment, is Japan’s largest land mammal and found only in Hokkaido.
Salmon, an important food source, were considered sacred by the Ainu, an indigenous people from northern Japan. During the Edo period (1603-1868), salmon from Hokkaido became an important trade commodity and it is still one of the most popular fish eaten in Japan today.
The image of a wooden bear with a salmon in its mouth is widely recognized in Japan as a representation of Hokkaido. Wooden bears like these first appeared in two places in Hokkaido: Yakumo and Asahikawa. The carving of wooden bears in Yakumo began as a side business for farmers who had migrated from Honshu, Japan’s largest island, during the farming off-season.
The carving of wooden bears by the Ainu community in Asahikawa, on the other hand, is believed to have been started by Ainu woodcarver Matsui Umetarō, in 1926. Since the Hokkaido tourism boom in the 1960s, carved wooden bears with salmon have consistently been typical souvenirs from the region.
With thanks to Yakumo Town Wood Carving Bear Museum and ARAMAKI for loaning the exhibits.