Taeko Kimura

Raised in Urakawa Town, Hokkaido, she grew up learning traditional songs, dances, and handcrafts from her Ainu grandmother and mother.  

After graduating from high school, she moved from Sapporo to Hyogo and then to the United States. Eventually, at her mother’s recommendation, she returned to Hokkaido and became a first-term participant in the Ainu Cultural Heritage Training Program in Shiraoi District.  

She specializes in creating indigo-dyed shirts featuring Ainu patterns and Saranip bags made from the bark of the Manchurian elm tree (Ohyo).