Living Ainu Traditions: Tahachi Urakawa Age 80 2021

  • 「マキリと」Makiri

    「マキリと」Makiri

  • 「イクパスイを」Ikupasuy

    「イクパスイを」Ikupasuy

  • 「ある日のこと」Fragments of a Life

    「ある日のこと」Fragments of a Life

  • 「西幌別共同作業所」Nishihorobetsu Workshop

    「西幌別共同作業所」Nishihorobetsu Workshop

  • 「薪ストーブのある部屋」Room with a Woodburning Stove

    「薪ストーブのある部屋」Room with a Woodburning Stove

  • 「令和3年6月 肖像画」Tahachi Urakawa Portrait 2021

    「令和3年6月 肖像画」Tahachi Urakawa Portrait 2021

  • 「アンタイトル1」Untitled 1

    「アンタイトル1」Untitled 1

  • 「蕗の下に」Under the Butterbur

    「蕗の下に」Under the Butterbur

  • 「抱えて」Holding On

    「抱えて」Holding On

  • 「春の森で」Spring in the Forest

    「春の森で」Spring in the Forest

  • 「削る」Shaving

    「削る」Shaving

  • 「世界」Tahachi’s World

    「世界」Tahachi’s World

  • 「触れて」Sensing the Wood

    「触れて」Sensing the Wood

  • 「マキリのある光景」A Scene with Makiri

    「マキリのある光景」A Scene with Makiri

  • 「マキリたち」Tahichi’s Makiri

    「マキリたち」Tahichi’s Makiri

  • 「その先へ」Beyond

    「その先へ」Beyond

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Tahachi Urakawa Age 80

Yoshie Nishikawa

I have lived in italy since 1996. Five or six years ago, I was attending a party organized by the consulate-general of Japan in Milan when an Italian woman asked me where I was from.
I told her that I’m from Hokkaido, to which she said that I must know a lot about Ainu culture. I couldn’t find the words to respond. That was when I began to take a more active interest in Ainu culture.
As time went by, I had the chance to consider what I wanted to learn about and what I wanted to experience.
It just so happened that I had the opportunity to visit Tahachi Urakawa in Urakawa in the spring of 2021.
Tahachi Urakawa, who will soon be 80 years old.
Living in Urakawa, he is a fisherman, a hunter, a master at gathering wild plants, a chef, and a craftsman. He is a rare example of a modern person who epitomizes self-stufficency.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people all over the world were forced to restrict their movements for fear of spreading the disease. It was a vicious cycle of chaos giving rise to chaos. In the face of all this, his daily life remained almost unchanged. His world is based on the laws of nature, which are all he needs for a satisfying existence.
Exploring his philosophy, by which the human scale is the be-all and end-all, was my inspiration for this exhibition.