Itaya Crafts

The itaya craft of Kakunodate is an art of tearing young itaya maples' barks and weaving them into various shapes. The technique is said to be originally a side job in the villages established around 1790, which developed into the craft; but no detailed records or memories are left. This shows that the art was purely a simple handcraft of the farming villages. With only simple folk stories about its origin, it is truly a typical example of folk craftwork.

The craft is divided into two processes--obtaining the fine belts of bark from the tree, and weaving the belts--but almost all of the work is done by hand. Typical products of the craft is the winnow, along with kakkobe (fishing baskets), small tsuzura baskets, and toys such as itaya foxes or itaya horses.