From the playground of the gods : the life and art of Bikky Sunazawa

1. From the playground of the gods : the life and art of Bikky Sunazawa

2. Table of Contents

From the playground of the gods : the life and art of Bikky Sunazawa

Dubreuil, Chisato O

Arctic Studies Center (National Museum of Natural History)

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From the Playground of the GodsThe Life 8c Art of Bikky Sunozawa

NB

1059.S97D842004

1

From the Playground of the GodsThe Life and Art of Bikky Sunazawa

by Chisato O. Dubreuil

Tins book is dedicated to the memoryMoTOKO Ikeda-Spiegel

Contents

Author's Note ix

Foreword xi

Introduction xix

Sidebar 1: Who Are the Ainu? xix

Chapter i: Bikkys Early Life and Influences (1931-1953) 1

Sidebar 2: The Ainu Homeland 1

Sidebar 3: Ainu Wood Carving 3

Chapter 2: The Night Train to Tokyo: Bikkys Art Evolves (1953-1964) . 15

Sidebar 4: Origins of Ainu Tourist Art 15

Sidebar 5: Ainu Fabric Art 23

Chapter 3: The Back of the Mask:

Art and Activism in Sapporo (1964-1978) 31

Sidebar 6: Ainu Art and The Japanese Art Establishment 31

Sidebar 7: The Bear in Ainu Tourist Art 37

Chapter 4: Totem Poles and Tall Trees:

Bikky Returns to His Roots (1978-1983) 49

Chapter 5: Transforming Visions:

Bikky and the Northwest Coast of Canada (1983) 61

Sidebar 8: Bikky s Tools 61

Chapter 6: The Northern King: Final Years (1984-1989) 77

Chapter 7: Bikky's Legacy 109

Bibliography 119

Figure List 128

^APR 2 5 2005

Author's Note

On November 29, 1987, two Japanese amateur astronomers fromHokkaido, K. Endate and K. Watanabe, members of the InternationalAstronomical Union, discovered a small planet.' After the required rigorousindependent examination, they registered it with the Minor Planet Center at theSmithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on September 1, 1993, and receivedregistry number 5372. They also named the planet. When named after a person,it is customary to use only the family name. The discoverers broke with traditionand gave the planet the honor of carrying only the given name of an extremelygifted contemporary Ainu artist. That artist was Bikky.

1. Marsdcn, 1993

ix

Foreword

William W. Fitzhugh

Arctic Studies CenterSmithsonian Institution

In 1988 the National Museum of Natural History opened a special exhibi-tion featuring the traditional cultures of the North Pacific region from VancouverIsland to Amur River and Sakhalin. Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberiaand Alaska^ explored similarities and differences in history, culture, and art ofnative groups living around the northern rim of the Pacific and adjacent Beringand Chukchi Seas. Of these northern cultures, the Ainu, whose name means"people" or "humans" in their language, could not be represented for political andorganizational reasons. The Ainu formerly inhabited the Kurile Islands, southernSakhalin, and part of northern Honshu; today the northern Japanese island ofHokkaido remains the only homeland of the Ainu people, most of whom live insmall villages scattered in different areas of Hokkaido. Because Crossroads was con-ducted under a bilateral arrangement with the Soviet Union, which did not wantits political history involving the seizure of the Kuriles and southern Sakhalin andexpulsion of Ainu peoples aired broadly to the public. Crossroads proceeded with aconspicuous gap in our roster of North Pacific peoples.

In 1990, while Crossroads was still touring, I began preparing an exhibi-tion about the Ainu to rectify this slight."' Europeans have had a long history ofinterest in the Ainu, beginning with Dutch and Jesuit contacts in the Dejima(Nagaskai) trade entrepot in the seventeenth century and continuing with theearly nineteenth-century work of Europe's premier (and first) Japanologist, Philippvon Siebold, whose multi-volume opus, Nippon, brought knowledge of Japan tothe western world for the first time. After Commodore Matthew Perry lorced the

xi

Japanese to lift their exclusionary ban on foreign travel within their archipelago in1854, Europeans and Americans began to visit Hokkaido, both as tourists and forofficial reasons. They discovered a culture in drastic decline and were convincedthat the Ainu would not survive more than a few decades. This view was also heldby the Japanese, whose official policies were directed to hasten assimilation. Theviews of these visitors reflected their awareness, and sometimes their direct expe-rience, of hidian cultures of the American West, which were also thought to beon the verge of extinction. Among the early visitors to the Ainu was the intrepidEnglishwoman, Isabella Bird, who wrote a book about her 1878 experiences.Others came during the 1870s as representatives of the United States government,which had pledged technical assistance to the new Meiji government for the devel-opment of Hokkaido's natural resources.

Reports by these travelers and officials of the Ainu's striking dress, elaborateceremonial life, and unusual physical appearance sparked the interest of Americanscholars and museum directors. The long flowing beards, hirsute bodies, largestature, deep-set eyes, and facial features (which most foreigners thought resembledCaucasoids more than Mongoloids), and the striking lip tattoos worn by women,made Ainu appear very different from other Asian populations. Although it isunclear where the idea originated, by 1868 Albert Bickmore, President of theAmerican Museum of Natural History, was in the habit of commenting on thebearded "Aryan appearance " of the Ainu, and in the decades before 1900 thisidea became the major focus of public interest in the Ainu, in tandem with theearlier romantic European notion of the Ainu as a representative of the "noblesavage," more so even than the American Indian. For the next four decades, mostof the large natural history museums in Eastern North America, including theSmithsonian Institution, sent collectors to Hokkaido to gather Ainu objects, studyits culture and population, and make photographic records of this "peculiar"people. The "Ainu enigma" became a popular scholarly puzzle that tantalized nine-teenth century explorers, museum collectors, and anthropologists researching theorigin and spread of human "races."

Unfortunately, this overly-romantic and simplistic view of the Ainuhas persisted into the modern era. Visitors to the National Museum of NaturalHistory in the early 1990s who were interviewed about their knowledge of theAinu mostly misidentified Ainu as American Indians or Eskimos, or thought theywere extinct. Most who recognize the word "Ainu" know it only as a four-letter

answer to the popular crossword puzzle clue, "a northern native people of Japan."The causes of ignorance are many: a lack of English-language literature, absenceof museum presentations and exhibitions, paucity of Ainu scholars outside Japan,and infrequent European and American visitation to Hokkaido.

It was therefore clear that the exhibition, eventually titled Ainu: Spirit of aNorthern People, needed to broaden understanding among Westerners about Ainuhistory, culture, and contemporary life. Over the following two years, I and a teamof Japanese, European, and American scholars and museum curators inspected thenineteenth and early twentieth century collections in Washington, Philadelphia,New York, and Brooklyn, and held seminars and workshops with Ainu experts.Befitting my own background as an archaeologist, I was intrigued by the advancesarchaeological research had made in researching the Ainu's cultural origins. In thisfield, some of the earliest scientific shellmound excavations conducted in the 1870sby Heinrich von Siebold in Omori, Edward Morse in Tokyo Bay, and RomynHitchcock in the Kuriles and Hokkaido provided a foundation for modern archae-ological studies by Japanese archaeologists suggesting ties between living Ainupeople and the prehistoric Jomon culture of Japan. With recent DNA evidence,today there is nearly complete agreement that Ainu origins lie with the Jomonculture which occupied much of the Japanese archipelago throughout theHolocene and persisted in an evolved form in Hokkaido until ca. A.D. 500. OnHonshu, Jomon culture was replaced by the forerunners of the modern Japanesestate about 2,000 years ago, while in Hokkaido it was replaced by Okhotsk andSatsumon cultures which retained more elements of the Jomon tradition. Mostarchaeologists see Satsumon as the most likely immediate ancestor of modern Ainuculture in northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido, while Satsumon-influencedOkhotsk culture, a northern culture, is believed to be the source of Sakhalin andKurile Ainu.

However, the team quickly began to see the exhibition needed to be morethan an anthropological study ol an ancient people to be represented by old Ainucollections and archival materials; rather we thought it was important to presentthe traditional collections within the broader context of Ainu history, archaeology,traditional ethnology, and art. Fortunately, Chisato Dubreuil, a woman of Ainuancestry who had recently completed a master's degree in native art history atthe University of Washington in Seattle, was available and joined the project.Chisato had a deep interest in Ainu culture and knew many Ainu cultural leaders

and artists in Japan. Throtigh Chisato's efforts, the exhibition grew to embracethe story of the Ainu as a modern people. The hving tradition of Ainu art andculture enlivened our collection study and gave a broader purpose to what hadpreviously been an esoteric enterprise. Suddenly the meaning of the objects andarchival materials was transformed from "specimen" into "treasure," from namelessphotographic images into someone's grandmother or grandfather, and the showtook on a living dimension. The "unknown" North American collections beganto reconnect with their Hokkaido past. We became something more than curatorsinquiring into a remote culture and began to see how these materials couldcontribute to the Ainu cultural rebirth underway in Japan after a long and painfulperiod of history.

In 1868, a political upheaval in Japan had brought to power a progressivegovernment known as the Meiji Restoration. Modernization was a major goalof the new administration, and one of its first acts was to give Ezo, Japan's large,undeveloped northern island, a new name: Hokkaido. Japanese citizens wereencouraged to emigrate to exploit Hokkaido's natural resources. The resultingnorthern "land-rush" flooded the island with new-comers and brought a new wayof life to a huge territory that until then, except for the Matsumae enclave and fewJapanese fishing stations, had been the sole province of the native Ainu people.Meiji policies brought a harsh new reality to Ainu life that had already sufferedthree himdred years of military defeat, territorial loss, political and economicsubjugation, and social discrimination at the hands of Russians and Japanese. TheMeiji government and most Japanese immigrants saw Ainu adherence to theirtraditional life as an obstacle to progress, and policies were instituted to forcerapid Japanese colonization and "civilize" the Ainu. Within a few years most Ainulands, resources, and native rights had been taken away, and in 1899 these actionswere codified in a native "protection" act whose actual intent was to terminateAinu culture and force assimilation into Japanese society. It imposed harsh andrestrictive conditions on Ainu existence and cultural expression, and the Ainu wereforced to attend segregated schools and were refused access to traditional gameand fish. Their religious ceremonies were banned and they could not participate asregular members of Japanese society.

The results were variable. Although the Ainu population on Hokkaido didnot become extinct, as expected, neither did it grow dramatically; today it standsat 25,000, only 10,000 higher than in 1886. During these years many of those

born to Ainu abandoned their impoverished villages and moved to the rapidlygrowing cities where they attended high schools and universities, took jobs, andmelted into the larger Japanese population. Once outside the Ainu residentialcommtmities, couples, including mixed Japanese and Ainu twosomes, oftendisguised their Ainu backgrounds so that their children could escape the stigma ofsocial discrimination against Ainu that was prevalent among Hokkaido Japaneseand elsewhere in Japan.

Those who remained "Ainu" expressed their ethnicity in different ways.Some maintained Ainu traditions as subsistence or small-scale farmers, hunters,trappers, and fishermen who continued to practice Ainu religion and customs,secretly holding periodic bear ceremonies, burying their dead in the Ainu way,and engaging in traditional carving and weaving for home consumption. But asHokkaido began to fill with Japanese immigrants and cities began to grow in thelate 1800s, economics forced the Ainu to develop new sources ol income. Somefound a life harvesting timber; others began to replicate decorative wood plattersor other material culture items for collectors and the growing numbers of touristsattracted to Japan's new "wild north," whose attractions also included the Ainuthemselves. As tourist centers in Asahikawa, Akan, Shiraoi, and elsewhere began todevelop, a new craft industry took root, providing seasonal income for Ainu whocarved, sewed garments, and demonstrated Ainu rituals and dances for the public,first in their villages for those visitors interested in truly rustic adventures, and laterin prepared sites that advertised Ainu attractions and catered especially to tourists.By the end of the twentieth century the "tourist" Ainu had become an establishedprofession and the sales of Ainu crafts had become an important economic activityfor some Ainu families. On the one hand tourism codified a new definition ofAinu culture as a conscious form ot living history and culture, though re-enactingit for the public in artificial settings disturbed many Ainu who preferred to main-tain their culture in a more private manner.

Art in particular allowed twentieth century Ainu to express their beliefsand ethnicity in a way that produced income and internal cohesion for Ainupeople, much as it had in earlier periods. As Ainu carvers began to transfer theirskills from personal objects to mass produced tourist art—especially their signa-ture bear carvings—new economic and artistic opportunities were created that ledeventually to the transformation ot Ainu art from its traditional personal and reli-gious forms to commercial and fine arts functions.

XV

Chisato Dubreuil brought this story to Hte beautifully within the Ainu:Spirit of a Northern People exhibition and catalogue through biographical profilesof Ainu artists who pioneered the "break-out" of Ainu art from its traditionalencumbrances, and from its commercial shackles as commercial tourist art, intothe international world of fine arts. No one exemplified this transformation morecompletely than Bikky Sunazawa. Bikky Sunazawas art was unknown in NorthAmerica and relatively little-known outside Hokkaido when the Smithsonianopened the exhibition in the spring of 1999. Bikky, a nickname meaning "frog"in Ainu, suited the earthy, iconoclastic character who rose to prominence in the1970-80s as a charismatic young artist interested in advancing the political andctdtural aspirations of Ainu people. Initially through direct political action andlater through his art, Bikky translated the historical legacy of Ainu culture intoa powerful message of modern Ainu identity unlike any previous Ainu artist.Although qualifying as a prominent artist by any standard, Bikky never achievedthe recognition he deserved in his own country. In part this may result from hispremature death and the geographic and cultural insularity of his Hokkaido home-land and Ainu ethnicity, but likely continuing attitudes of regional and ethnicdiscrimination also contributed.

I was therefore very pleased when Chisato, after leaving the Smithsonian,wrote an English language book devoted to Bikky s life and art, and even morepleased that we are able to publish it through the generous support of the MotokoIkeda-Spiegel Memorial Foundation. Her current work is the most comprehensivetreatment of the artist who became the pivot-point in the development of modernAinu fine art. Chisato Dubreuil has spent much of the past eleven years gatheringinformation on Bikky from his family and friends, from newspaper and magazinearticles, from catalogs of his art shows, and from her own interviews of art critics,museum curators, artists, art collectors, and from Bikky's own writings. A complexcharacter who richly deserves the "larger than life" epithet, Bikky was sensitive,dramatic, extremely innovative in several areas of art, loyal to his friends but hardon family relationships. Beginning with the spectacular composite designs derivedfrom traditional Ainu textile arts passed down from his mother, each of his worksproved equally innovative and inspirational, each successive style breaking newground and revealing new and more profound insights into "what it means to beAinu." Like the Haida carver. Bill Reid, whose work and life inspired Bikky at a

crucial point in his development, Bikky translated his native beliefs, sensibilities,and ethnic traditions into artistic expressions that embody a strong Ainu vision.

His premature death in 1989, occurring at a time when he was stillexploring his talents, was especially tragic in that he did not live to see the passagein 1997 of the Ainu Shinpo, an Act of the Japanese Diet that finally began theprocess of addressing repressive governmental policies ol the past. Despite tremen-dous obstacles, Ainu people and culture survived the twentieth century, and thanksto the Ainu Shinpo, they now have for the first time the foundation for positivesupport for Ainu culture and language. Today Ainu culture is beginning to berecognized for its historical tenacity, the beauty of its art and literature, and for theimportant message its religion and philosophy—spiritual balance between humansand nature—brings to the wider world at a critical moment in human history.This recognition goes hand in hand with the recognition of Bikky Sunazawa asone of the most creative and important contemporary native artists within today'scircumpolar peoples.

End Notes

1. Fitzhugh and Crowell (1988).

2. The bulk of the following text is an abridged version of the author's introduction to Ainu: Spirit of aNorthern People, edited by William W. Fitzhugh and Chisato Dubreuil (1999). Those interested in kirtherinformation and appropriate textual citations of this intormation should see that vokmie.

Introduction

Bikky looked like a bear, drmik like a fish,and worked like a beaver.'

As the opening day for the Contemporary Artists' Series '89 inthe Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery outside of Tokyo neared, Ainu art-ist Bikky Sunazawa dropped a bombshell. From his hospital bed inHokkaido, far to the north, he insisted that he would personally installhis work and that he was going to attend the exhibition's opening. Inthe last stages of terminal cancer, the 57-year-old Bikky, with typicalsingle-mindedness, refused to listen to anyone who tried sidebar ito talk him out of going. Driven by a creative passionthroughout his life, the determined artist convinced hisfamily and friends to help make his dream a reality. EvenBikky's doctor, moved by his determination and attractedby his charisma, took time off from her other patients totravel with him to Tokyo and take care of him.

The Kanagawa Gallery is the most importantJapanese gallery emphasizing modern sculpture, and itslarge open spaces suited Bikky's large-scale wood sculp-tures. He had looked forward to the day when he couldexhibit his work there. But more than that, exhibiting inthe gallery, an important venue lor Japanese contempo-rary art, also meant acceptance by the Japanese art world.A complicated man, Bikky fought throughout his tur-bulent life against discrimination by the Japanese against

Fig. A 1.3

Ainu hunter inniountain clorlie

Who Arethe Ainu?

The Ainu arelapan's indig-enous people, ^who lived infishing, hunting,and gathering tribalgroups for centuriesalong the north PacificRim.' They are one ofthe most enigmatic

ethnic groups in the world, and the Ainulanguage is completely unrelated to anyother language group, includingjapanese. The Ainu were traditionallyfound mainly on Japan's northern islandof Hokkaido, southern Sakhalin, through-out the Kurile islands, on southernKamchatka, and the Lower Amur Riverregion.^ While the number of full bloodAinu is small, now down to less than adozen, there are at least seventy thousanmixed race Ainu throughout japan, with

Who are the Ainu? continued

more than twenty-five thousand of thatnumber in Hokl<aido.

Ainu origins have puzzled anthropolo-gists, archaeologists, linguists, and otherscholars since the mid-1800s. The Ainulook distinctively different from Japaneseand other Asian people. Since the mid-1880s scholars have developed theoriesthat the Ainu:

• are an isolated Caucasoid people,^

• originated from the Australoids or thePolynesians,"'

• should be considered Mongoloidbecause of serological and geneticsimilarities,^

• originated in the Amur River basin onthe east Asian mainland.^

• or may be descended from the |omon,the earliest indigenous people of |apan.'

Russia

71

Sea ot Okhotsk /kamchalkap

Ainu (?K

Sakhalin Amu / Kunle Amu

Hokkaido Amu 'J'

Tohoku Ainu

the Ainu people and expectations that Ainu artists werecapable of creating only traditional or tourist art. Bikkydid much to break through these barriers.

With the help of his assistants, Bikky had spentthe months before the exhibition feverishly completingworks, often in great pain. Works such as the Kaze(Wind) series give a sense of his struggles: for example,on one work, many deep, rough, and sharp incisionsgouge the upper portion ol the piece, carved against thegrain oi the wood. His use oi a chopping and slashingcarving technique created a visceral texture that alsosuggests the work of nature, art formed naturally with-out the use of human hands.

Other large-scale works in the exhibitionsuggested treatments and themes Bikky internal-ized during a 1983 stay with Canada's NorthwestCoast Native artists. There he experienced oldtotem poles in their natural setting, some crackedand split, some rotting and returning to nature,"terrifically magical, demonstrating the Nativeartist's observation of the struggle of nature," hetold an interviewer on his return to Japan.' Hewas physically moved by the old totem poles,especially those that had tumbled down and weredecomposing. For Bikky this was the natural

UQdem Amu teaitoryHI Amu ternlortes betore 1945[fe'l Probable lormer Amu lernlones

Fig. A1.2: Map ot Hokkaido and Ainu Luids.

Who are the Ainu? continued

The Ainu had no written language andbecause the language is an isolate, thereare few clues as to their origin. However,recent DNA analysis show the Ainu arevery likely the direct descendants of the)omon (the ancient Japanese), makingtheir artistic traditions one of the mostcontinuous in the history of art.^

The Ainu's traditional way of life changeddrastically in the mid-nineteenth century.After the Meiji Restoration and consolida-tion of a central government in 1868,Hokkaido was officially annexed by |apan,and the |apanese government forced

i 'diiliiHii's nil /'dxt' xxii

order of things, natures reclaiming of man's work. It wasa revelation: this realization of nature's primal role waswhat had been missing from his art. After this eye-opening experience of Canadian Native art, Bikky daredto create outdoor monumental sculptures in wood. Hebelieved that the natural phenomena would completehis work after leaving his hand, and he was able to bringhis beloved wood full circle. His work would be inte-grated as part of nature, which became a crucial themeof some of his later work.

It also stunned Bikky to learn that Native artistscould be "successful and respected"—not just souvenir artists with little artisticskill, as many Japanese believed about the Ainu.' While Bikky had been struggling

to create a place for himself as an Ainu in theJapanese art world, the Canadian experienceallowed him to break through the self con-sciousness of being called an 'Ainu" artist. Hebegan accepting a wider definition of whatan artist was, whether he was an Ainu artistor simply a modern sculptor. Because he hadmet well-respected Canadian Native artists,especially Haida artist Bill Reid (1920-1998),he started to believe that being an Ainu artistwas not a liability.

The Kanagawa exhibit also includedBikky's last work, created during a frantictwo-day hospital furlough granted by hisdoctors. They had granted him this privilegeafter learning that he was so intent on fin-ishing his work that he was going to directhis assistants, who planned to set up shopin an empty lot in the hospital compotmd,I y with walkie-talkies while looking through his

" _ __y window. Nitnekamuy (Evil God; Fig. A. 1) is

, , , ., „ named lor one of the trickster gods of the

A.l: NiuickiDiuiy (hvil (,od), 1988. &

Who are the Ainu? continued

the Ainu to assimilate into the |apanesepopulation.^ The government forbade thecustom of burning a deceased person'shouse, the tattooing of women's faces,arms, and hands, and the wearing of ear-rings by men.'o The usage of poisons forhunting arrows and setting traps was alsoprohibited and some traditional ceremo-nies forbidden.

In 1872 land taken from the Ainu was dis-tributed to ethnic |apanese settlers, whowere encouraged to establish farms. In1875-76 a |apanese style family registrywas set up for the Ainu, and the |apanesetried to force them to change theirnames to "proper" Japanese names.nAlthough the Ainu were now adopted as"equal citizens of |apan," the proclaimedequality was an illusion. To guaranteethat there was a difference between thetwo peoples, the government distin-guished between Japanese citizens andthe adopted Ainu citizens in the familyregistry with the word kyudojin (formernative) inserted before their names.i-' The

Ainu people, a familiar god in the region where he wasborn. Bikky chose the name perhaps believing thatNitnekamuy was casting an evil spell on him, perhapsconfronting his own mortality.

The flight from Sapporo to Tokyo was rough;Bikky s gurney was lashed across the top of nine rowsof seats to keep him from tailing while rain and strongwinds kept the plane circling Haneda airport, seekingan opportunity to land. Many airplanes turned awayto seek calmer skies, but the plane's captain knew howserious Bikky's situation was and promised to try hisbest. He circled through the rough air over Haneda fornearly an hour, trying to land. Although everyone wastearhil, the pilot finally forced the airplane down andmade a safe landing.

The long trip to Tokyo exhausted Bikky, buthe made a short speech for the opening, well-attended

Fig. A.2: Kanagawa Gallery opening.

XXJl

Who are the Ainu? continued

because of the artists popularity and the drama of his ill-ness. His voice was weak, almost lost in the large gallery.The audience strained to hear him. "A sculpture has tobe exhibited here if it is to be respected, it must comethrough this space." It reflected not only his respect andhonor for this gallery, but also his strong motivation lorcompleting this exhibition and attending the opening,even at the risk of his life. The audience was moved totears, and a woman gave him a bouquet. Always popularwith women, Bikky continued, "I see that there are a lotof my women fans here for my work." He still had hissense of humor, and it broke the tension of the opening.

The Kanagawa Gallery had asked him to writesomething for the exhibition catalogue, and he wrotewith ink and brush a single word kiki, which he hadcoined, meaning "spirit of wood." The word was notonly appropriate for the subject of the exhibition, it alsoexpressed Ainu religious beliefs and Bikky s own deeplyheld feelings, acknowledging the spirits who endowed his works in the same waythat his ancestors had for generations.

Bikky's return to Hokkaido was uneventful. For the next two days hetalked to his children, other relatives, and friends, and painted with his fingers. Hedied jtist four days after the exhibitionopening, on January 25, 1989.

As the dramatic events of thelast days of Bikky's life unfolded, thedynamic public side of Bikky's person-ality was in the spotlight. Bikky was acomplex man, on one hand he seemedlike a Hollywood caricature of the drivenartist, a cigarette in the corner oi hismouth while he attacked the wood witha large axe, wood chips flying throughthe air and punching holes in the ciga-rette smoke. His large sculptures such as

Ainu were also forced to give up theirculture as hunters and gatherers and weregiven un-tillable land to farm. Because thelapanese believed the Ainu were not intel-lectual equals, they established segregatedelementary schools with a lapanese cur-riculum, and Ainu children were forbiddento speak their own language.

At the time of Bikky Sunazawa's birthin 1931, the Ainu had begun to bemore conscious of their identity andheritage and began to demand an endto the discriminatory treatment by thelapanese government. The Hokkaido AinuOrganization was founded to improve theindependent educational development ofthe Ainu, free from lapanese involvement,and a magazine, Ezo-no-hikari (Light ofHokkaido ) was first issued in November1930, giving the Ainu an organized voicefor the first time.'^

It was into this time of great socialupheaval that Bikky was born in the Ainucommunity of Chikabumi on March 6, 1931.

C^^nt!^uu's on jhi^c wiv

or.

Fig. A.3: AV/v cilligraphy.

XXlll

Who are the Ainu? continuedSidebar Notes

1. The Ainu refer to themselves as"the People" or "the Humans."

2. Ohnuki-Tierney (1974:2).

3. Bickmore (1868), Siebold (1881),Kodama (1970b).

4. Vivien de St Martin (1872).

5. Donitz (1874), Omoto and Harada(1969).

6. Ohnuki-Tierney (1974:2), Black (1988:25), Kodama (1 970b:73-4).

7. Koganei (1927), Turner (1989).

8. The jomon, thought by many scholarsto be the earliest culture in this part ofAsia, date back more than ten thou-sand years. They are best known fortheir distinctive pottery. The designson some ceramic and ivory humanoidand animal figures are very similar tohistorical designs of the Ainu, and theceramic animal spirit figures of thejomon such as bear, killer whale, andowl are also the main gods of the Ainupantheon. Recent DNA research hasshown that the Ainu are the directdescendants of the jomon. The DNAevidence, design similarities and anapparent similarity in spiritual beliefsover the last ten thousand yearslead me to believe that this artisticevolution is among the oldest on-going artistic traditions in the world(Dubreuil 2003, 2002; Yamaura andUshiro 1999:39^6).

found in the Kaze (Wind) series symbolize that aspectof his character. The overall treatment of these sculp-tures evoke the quality of a primal spirit, expressingthe dynamism needed to stand against the most severetest nature can offer. In contrast, Bikky could be assensitive and playful as a child. For example, the giantTongue of God speaks volumes of the private spiritualman. On the other hand his small scale sculptures suchas found in Gozen 3-ji no Gangii (Toys at 3:00 A.M.)reflect the whimsical, mischievous side of his personal-ity. Everything about his work on the Toys at 3:00 A.M.series is completely different than his large scale works;they have a very smooth polished surface with meticu-lous mechanical detail. You can almost picture the littleboy in him creating a favorite toy to give to the littlegirl next door. If you can picture these, you have a viewof the extreme contrasts and the complexities that drovethis multi-talented artist.

Bikky s greatest contribution to modern art washis ability to create a vision of nature that transcendsthe mere natural forms found on earth. More thansimply manipulating wood and form, his belief in kiki,the spirit of the tree, allowed him not only to listen tothe trees, but to give them another life. He constantlytried to see the supernatural order of things beyond thehere and now. In so doing, he went beyond the concept of naturalism and reacheddeeply into the Ainu soul. He once stated, "I don t consciously use Ainu themes,but the foundation for my work and my way of expressing myself is different fromthe Japanese. This can't help but affect my work."

Since Bikkys death in 1989, his reputation has grown not only inHokkaido, the traditional home of the Ainu, but also in the mainstream of theJapanese art world. In 1990 a leading art critic, Ichiro Hariu, examined and dis-cussed Bikkys work on the prestigious NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)TV program Nichiyo Bijutsu-kan (Sunday Gallery), which is dedicated to discus-sions of fine art. Hariu stated Bikky's work was deep and complex, but the more

XXIV

Who are the Ainu? continued

we know about the man, the more we appreciate hisartistic vision. Art critic Tadayasu Sakai and contem-porary sculptor Shigeo Toya examined Bikky's work onthe same program in 2001. They were overwhelmed byBikky's ability to convey a sense that nature is more thanthe trees in the forest, more than what we see arotmd us.

Bikky's work has been included in numerouscontemporary art exhibitions, and three large-scale ret-rospective exhibitions have been held: Sunazaiva Bikky-ten (The Exhibition of Bikky Sunazawa) was held inHokkaido Asahikawa Museum of Art in 1990; Tentacle:Sunazawa Bikky-ten (Tentacle—The Exhibition ofBikky Sunazawa) was held in the Hokkaido Museumof Modern Art in 1994; and Kiki: Sunazaiva Bikky-ten(Kiki: An Exhibition of Bikky's Art) was held in theMuseum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo, in 2001. Atthe international level, Bikky's work was also exhibitedas a major component of the large-scale Ainu exhibition, Ainu: Spirit of a NorthernPeople at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington,D.C. from 1999 to 2000.

Furthermore, important academic publications such as Showa no BunkaIsan (Cultural Property of the Showa Period) and Showa no Bijutsu (Art of theShowa Period), both published in 1990, included Bikky's work. Two Japanese-language books about Bikky's work have been published: Sunazawa Bikky—Kazeni kiku (Bikky Sunazawa—Listening to the Wind) by Yasushi Asakawa in 1996and Kaze no Oh—Sunazaiva Bikky no Sekai (King of Wind—The World of BikkySunazawa) by Tomoo Shibahashi in 2001. With this much interest, the value olhis work has risen dramatically, and collectors are finding a great deal more workthan anyone suspected. While everyone knew Bikl<;y was prolific, we are all sur-prised at each new find. Bill Reid was right, Bikky worked like a beaver, and hislegacy grows. It's time that the man and his work are more widely known through-out the rest of the world.

9. Shinya (1977:1 74-9); Asaji, Miyatake,and Nakama (1993:42-3).

10. Shinya (1977:183-5); Asaji, Miyatake,and Nakama (1993:43). The tattoosof the Ainu women were applied onthe lips, back of the hands, wrists,and forearms, legs, and between theeyebrows. Tattooing was done inseveral sessions or phases starting atan early age and finished by the ageof marriage. The tattoo was started onthe middle part of the upper lip andwas gradually enlarged to surroundthe mouth, finally ending with a tall-like extension laterally and upwards;however, the tattoo design differeddepending on local regions (Kodama1970b:l 16-37).

11. Asaji, Miyatake, and Nakama (1993:43).

12. Sjoberg (1986:51)

13. Asaji, Miyake, and Nakama (1993:82-3).

XXV

Chapter Synopses

Chapter 1 looks at the infltiences on Bikkys youth from his parents' pohti-cal activism in their traditional Ainu commtmity in Hokkaido at the time of hisbirth in 1931 through his relocation to Tokyo in 1953. We also see his fledglingattempts to express the creativity that would completely engage Bikky throughouthis life. Chapter 2 covers Bikky's exposure to Tokyo's intoxicating avant-garde artworld of the 1950s and early 1960s. There he launched his first abstract sculptureseries, Animals, and respected art critics began to notice his work. During theperiod covered in Chapter 3 (1964-1978) Bikky returned to Hokkaido and begantwo new themes, Tentacle (a maze), and Ki-men (Wooden Masks). In the 1970s,the movement for Ainu civil rights embroiled Bikky, drawing him away from hiswork. Chapter 4 (1978-1983) follows Bikky's move from the urban environmentof Sapporo to Otoineppu, a remote northern area of Hokkaido with an idealworking environment. Equipped with a large studio space and with an abundantlyrich forest that served as raw material for his work, Bikky began carving largesculptures and creating "totem poles" to fill various local commissions.

Chapter 5 covers Bikky's serendipitous meeting with the Canadian scholarDouglas Sanders, who invited Bikky to Canada to meet Haida artist Bill Reid. InCanada, fascinated with totem poles, Bikky visited various totem pole sites, andhis encounter with these powerful works was transforming. Working in the studioof the highly respected and successful Bill Reid made him re-evaluate his culturalidentity in a more positive light. In Chapter 6 (1984—1989) we see an energizedBikky fresh from his visit with Northwest Coast Native carvers working with anew sense of freedom. He created many large pieces, including outdoor sculptures.In spite of the terrible pain of terminal cancer, full knowledge of which was with-held from him, Bikky didn't stop devoting himself intensely to the pursuit of hiscreations. Chapter 7 examines Bikky's career and how the triumphs of this charis-matic and gifted Native artist helped change Ainu tourist art and established hislegacy as a role model for the future.

Sidebars throughout the volume provide information on Ainu culture, avital and complex component of Bikky s life and art.

Research Methodology

Being Ainu in Japan can be challenging, something I have experiencedfirst-hand. As a teenager, I had no interest in my Ainu heritage. Like most kidsI wanted to fit in, but it was hard to maintain a positive self-image when you'retold you look different too many times. Much of that changed, however, when mysister gave me a wooden ring with intricate Ainu designs carved into it. I never sawanything like it. It was as if I suddenly woke up to find incredibly beautiful Ainucreativity all around me.

A decade later I met, fell in love with, and married an American Indianof Mohawk and Huron descent. On our honeymoon, we went to the small cul-tural center of the Chikabumi Ainu. There, in front of the museum, was a "totempole." I was vaguely familiar with the totem poles ot Alaska and Canada, but thiswas very different; this totem pole had traditional Ainu design elements that Icould relate to. Next to the pole was a small sign that identified the artist as BikkySunazawa. While I had heard of Bikky, I really did not know much about him, butthat day my life took a dramatic turn as I began to discover a vibrant new Ainuart, and the story of the artist who created that art.

In my quest for information about this incredible man and his art, Itraveled from the deepest snows of the northernmost areas of Hokkaido, Japan,to the humid, statuesque palm tree landscapes of Kyushu in southern Japan. Iinterviewed many members of the Sunazawa family, including Bikkys youngerbrother, Bikkys three wives, two of his four children, and many friends and drink-ing buddies from his teen years and throughout his life, both Japanese and Ainu.I also interviewed professional acquaintances, employers, art critics, Ainu scholars,poets who wrote poems about Bikky, Japanese and Ainu museum curators anddirectors, Ainu carvers, government officials, the photographer who chronicled thelast six years of Bikkys life, publishers, newspaper reporters, Ainti elders and Ainucultural leaders. I viewed and photographed as many of Bikky s works as possible,those in private collections and in current exhibitions. I bought many older booksfor background material, copied and translated all of Bikkys public statements andstories about Bikky from newspapers, books, and his television appearances. Thisinvolved many visits to the Hokkaido prelectural library, university and regionallibraries, and small village libraries. I went to two of his last working studios inJapan and to Haida artist Bill Reid's former studio in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. I

interviewed every contact Bikky had during his working visit to Canada, includingBill Reid, and have photographed several of Bikky s paintings purchased at hisVancouver exhibition, as well as the two sculptures by Bikky that were left inCanada. It has been an exciting journey, and it is not over yet.

Acknowledgments

This book. From the Playground of the Gods: The Life and Art of BikkySiuiazaioa would not have been completed without the help and support fromthe Motoko Ikeda-Spiegel Memorial Foundation. I am also sincerely grateful toMotoko's husband. Si Spiegel, for his support to complete this book in the mem-ory of his beloved wife. Motoko's friendship, her wisdom, and her passion for theAinu gave me strength as I worked to give an accurate description of Ainu art andculture for the Smithsonian Institution 1999 exhibition, Ainu: Spirit of a NorthernPeople. The opportunity given me by William W. Fitzhugh, Director of the ArcticStudies Center, National Museum of Natural History, enable me to bring Bikky'swork from Japan, which anchored the contemporary section of the exhibition.

This book also would not have been completed without the help andsupport hom the people I met and talked with during my research beginning in1993. While it's impossible to list everyone who was involved with my research, Ithank them for their contribution. However, special recognition must be recordedfor my many informants. First, and foremost, my thanks go to Bikky's familymembers: his three wives, Mineko Kano, Jtmko Takagi, and Ryoko Sunazawa; hisyounger brother, Kazuo Sunazawa; and two of Bikky's four children, Oki Kanoand Chinita Sunazawa. I also thank Bikky's many friends, especially KatsumiYazaki and Makoto Kawakami, who generously shared with me their personalstories of Bikky, and who patiently continue to answer my endless questions.

I also appreciate the support from the Chief Curator, Shigeo Okuoka,former Curator, Yasushi Asakawa and former Associate Curator, Toshiya Echizenof the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo. I am also indebted toKazuyoshi Ohtsuka, Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, forsharing his research information on both the Ainu in general and his relationshipwith Bikky.

Several people have given or sent me information and photographs thathave proved invaluable. For that assistance I thank the following people: Mitsuko

xxviii

Arita, Gosuke Yoshida, Irumi Sasakura, Reiko Saito, Shinobu Ishijima, KazuhikoSugiyama, Miwako Tozuka, Taijin Tendo, Gozo Yoshimasu, Kaoru Tomihara,Tsutomu Yamakawa and Shigeru Kayano, Cultural Leader for the Nibutani bandof Ainu. I especially thank Motomichi Kono who sent me a great deal of materialand photographs covering the historical background of Bikky's parents and theChikabumi band of Ainu of Asahikawa, and curators Toshie Fujishima and KonagiMatsuo from the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery for the generous loan of photo-graphs and their valuable insights.

- I am also very grateful for the generosity of these people who shared theirtime, talents, and memories with me through the often lengthy interviews duringthe field research. They include art critics Yoshie Yoshida, Ichiro Hariu, and ArtCritic and Chief Curator of Yokohama Museum of Art, Atsushi Takeda; poetsKazuko Shiraishi and Ryoken Torii; Bikky s later assistant, Mitchio Takagi; ownerof Aoki Gallery, Sotoji Aoki; Bikky's friend and collector, Hideyuki Hayashi;from the Ainu Tourist Art and Folkcraft Company, the Kitanihon Mingei-sha,president Takeji Takahashi, Hiroko and Tatsuji Takeishi; photographer HiroakiKai; publisher and chief editor of the Kyoudoshi Asahikaiva (Local Magazine ofAsahikawa), Sanko Watanabe; faculty member Kenji Sanekata, from the LawDepartment, University of Hokkaido; Itsuko and Makoto Ishihara, Bikky s friendsand owners of the bookstore, Sapporo-do, who also supplied me with rare, diffi-cult to locate books on Ainu culture; Toyojiro Shitaku, Morio Senke, Nuburi Tokoand Shizuka Taira. Special thanks also goes to Akira Toko, former Chairman ofAkan Association of Ainu Cultural Preservation; Bikky's lifelong friends, TakekiFujito, Masako Kinoshita, Asahikawa Ainu Cultural Leader, Kenichi Kawamura,Tome Kawamura, Noriko Kawamura, and Mitsuru Sugimura (1928-2001); andthe village officials in Otoineppu, Fiideaki Usami, Masayuki Chitenji, YoshiakiNakanishi, Eiichi Miyakawa, Koji Hishita, and Shigeru Nakano.

My gratitude also goes to the people in Vancouver, Canada, who helpedmy research and shared with me their rare collections of Bikky's work. Theyinclude Takeo and Sumiko Yamashiro, Minorii and Mitsue Yamamoto, KumiShanahan, Shogo Shimizu, and Marjorie Powell. I especially thank Setsuko andPierre Pieoche who arranged the opporttmity for me to photograph Bikky's worksin Vancouver and who invited my husband and me to stay in their cozy homeduring the research. My very special thanks goes to Bill Reid (1920-1998) andMartine Reid who not only accepted my interview requests, but loaned me Bikky's

xxix

scroll sketch of Tokyo no Hi (Night Lights of Tokyo, 1988). I shall always cherishthe memory of: wearing Martine Reid's beautiful vest with Northwest Coast indig-enous formline designs and dancing to a drum beat provided by Bill Reid in hisliving room. I also give particular thanks to Douglas Sanders, Professor of Law,University of British Columbia, who shared with me his research materials on theAinu political situation in Japan, and the wonderful story of meeting Bikky, thetrip to the Gitksan area of northern British Columbia with Bikky, and the subse-quent trip to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) for the potlatch with Bikkyand his wife Ryoko, and Bill and Martine Reid.

My sincere thanks goes to my supervisory committee at University ofWashington in Seattle, Professors Robin Wright, Paul Berry, and Martha Kingsbury,for their advice and encouragement throughout my early research period.

I thank Perpetua Press, especially Kathy Talley-Jones, for their insightfuladvise, comments, and patience to edit the story of the complex artist BikkySunazawa. I sincerely appreciate Elisabeth Ward's work on behalf of the ArcticStudies Center, Smithsonian Institution, to complete the administrative pro-cess after William Fitzhugh agreed to publish the book, and write the foreword.Thanks to The Castle Press in Pasadena, who brought grace to the finished productthrough their design and printing skills; and to Betty Adair for her creative collaber-ation. And certainly, the enthusiastic support of the University of Hawai'i Press,especially Patricia Crosby, Executive Editor, for their marketing and distributingefforts of this publication.

Finally, I cannot express the depth of my thanks to my husband, David,for his support, encouragement, and his great sense of humor throughout the longprocess of research and writing. He patiently checked my English grammar andwriting. His photography, questions, editorial comments, and advice throughoutevery step of the way has truly made my research possible. One of the memories Ihold most dear is David, who doesn t understand much Japanese, trying bravely tostay awake during an interview that lasted several hours. By the sound of the inter-view tapes, he wasnt entirely successful.

End Notes

1. Haida artist Bill Reid, interview December 19, 1993.

2. Bankalhi Sbinpo, November 18, 1983

3. Ibid.

Chapter i

Bikky's Early Life and Influences (1931-1953)

My mother asked me to embroider one of the garmentsshe was making. I was very young and, even thoughI felt reluctant, I was attracted to the designs of garment.I'm grateful that she taught me to embroider because theAinu designs are now second nature to me —they're in my blood.'

The Ainu Homeland

"Tl)is northern country doesn't give upwinter easily, wheji winter loses the fight,spring appears to be in combat againstthe snoio and cold. The warm brilliantrays of the sun seem to sing a song inpraise of victory. "'

Hisao Sunazawa—nicknamed "Bikky" ("frog" in the Ainu language)—wasborn on March 6, 1931, in Chikabumi, a traditional Ainu community located nearAsahikawa City m central Hokkaido. Like other children Sidebar 2in Chikabumi, Bikky enjoyed playing in the forest withhis brothers, visiting his grandparents, and learning howto carve wood from his father. He was very lively, andhis grandparents gave him the nickname that would stickwith him for the rest of his life for jump-ing around too much. Unlike other boysin traditional Ainu communities, youngBikky learned how to create embroiderydesigns from his mother, a gender relatedskill rarely passed along by women totheir sons. And because of his parents'commitment to winning fair treatmentof the Ainu by the Japanese, Bikky wasexposed to political activism from hisyoungest years.

Fig. A.2.1: Scenic siiot ot Hoi<i<aido.

i'.oui'unics on />i;,vi'

1

The Ainu Homeland continued

For millennia the Ainu people huntedthe forests of Hokkaido and fished itsrivers, gathering acorns and beech nuts,berries and wild lily roots. They lived asmany indigenous people of the North do.Salmon returning to the rivers in the fallprovided food and material for boots andclothing. They ranged widely over themountains hunting deer and bear. Fursand layers of heavy clothing protectedthem against the harsh winters-heavysnows that come with the winter windsfrom Siberia.

Before the japanese cleared Ainu landsfor farming, much of Hokkaido—thenorthernmost of japan's many islands—was covered with forests: pine in thenorth; larch, beech, and oak in the south.The Ainu used wood from the forests tobuild their houses and boats and evenprocessed elm bark for clothing, calledattush.

It was this natural environment thatstimulated Bikky's artwork: as he notedtoward the end of his life, "nature is oneof my themes. Art is in nature and natureis an art. It is one of my artistic attitudes.Knowing nature means to be honest withyourself."2

Sidebar Notes

1. Hanu ct al. (1989:97)

2. Yamakavva (1988:191)

A year after Bikky was born, his father Koa-Kanno, his mother Peramonkoro, and three otherAinu activists brought the infant along on the longand exhausting trip to Tokyo to complain to Japanesegovernment officials about a land dispute with theHokkaido Prefectural Office." The dispute went backto 1891 when uncultivated land near Bikky s birthplacewas supposed to be released to the Ainu as "indigenousallowance land," but only a small fraction of it was—and that land was threatened by a local developer.

As were many who challenged the Japanesegovernment at the time, the Ainu activists were calledcommunists. Government agents followed them,and the police broke into their hotel. Years later,Peramonkoro recalled, "we went to petition the vari-ous government agencies such as the Ministry of theFinance and Ministry of the Interior every day, buteverywhere we went, we had our pictures taken asundesirable Ainu. It was not a pleasant experience."'Although their campaign was a hardship for the

Fig. 1.1: photo of delegation in Tok)'o.

Sunazawa's, it was successful: two yearslater, in 1934, the government returnedtheir land."* Koa-kanno and PeramonkoroSunazawa fought for and won Ainu rightsat a time when few indigenous peopleworldwide had yet to win many battlesagainst discrimination.

Bikky's Parents

Both Koa-kanno and PeramonkoroSunazawa were committed leaders andwere respected throughout Ainu country.Although they were rooted in the tradi-tional Ainu way of life, they were alsopragmatic about the realities their childrenwould face in a changing world. Theyencouraged Bikky and his brothers todiscover their strengths in the traditionalculture while also demonstrating what itwould take to live in a world dominated by the Japanese.

Bikky's father, Koa-kanno Sunazawa, was bornin 1893 in Shin-Totsugawa in Sorachi district in south-western Hokkaido, and moved to Asahikawa in 1914.His official Japanese name was Ichitaro, but he preferredhis Ainu name Koa-kanno, which means "two arrowsaren't necessary," celebrating his prowess as a hunter withbow and arrow.' He was also a respectedwoodcarver and grew rice to support hisfamily. Even though the farmland returnedto the Ainu was often poor, Koa-kannocontinued his fight for fairness, activelyorganizing Ainu farmer and labor move-ments, for which he was highly esteemed.Despite his strong links to his traditional

Figure 1.2: Koa-kanno Sunazawa with bear carving.

Sidebar 3

Ainu Wood Carving

In traditionai Ainu households, mencarved virtually every utilitarian object,from parts of the house Itself to servingvessels and implements, out of wood.

Much of this carving is plain and empha-sizes the wood's natural beauty. Like manyother carving cultures, such as those ofCanada's Northwest Coast, many every-

Fig. 1.3.1: Ikupasuy.

( Aniliintcs jm^c 5

3

culture, Koa-kanno, in another example ofhis independence, converted to Christianityand served as a Salvation Army officer beforeWorld War II. He and his wife Peramonkoroheld Sunday school training at home for theirneighbors and children.''

During World War II Bikky's elderhalf-brother Yoshio (Peramonkoro's son bya previous marriage) was drafted into theJapanese army, even though Koa-kanno didnot approve ot Ainu involvement in Japaneseimperial policies. When he was drinking hewould sing anti-war songs and shout that hewas "against the war and against the emperorsystem. All human beings are the same. Idon't want my son to die for the emperor."''Criticizing the emperors policies was a seriouscrime punishable by death, and fearingfanatical Japanese neighbors, Peramonkorocovered Koa-kanno's head with bedclothesso he couldn't be heard. Nonetheless, Koa-kanno's independent views in the face of such strong disapproval had an indelibleimpression on Bikky.

Like her husband, Peramonkoro, meaning, "child playing with a spatula,"was known for her leadership. Born in Chikabumi in 1897, she was one of the fewAinu women to graduate from high school at that time, finishing the AsahikawaSheika Woman's High School in 1915. Not only was Peramonkoro Sunazawawell educated, but she proved to be entrepreneurial and resourceful in makingends meet.

She taught Japanese dress-making, knitting, and embroidery to the Ainuwomen in the community, which gave them skills needed to bring some incometo their families, she was respected as a master of traditional Ainu embroidery. Atraditionalist, she felt an obligation to hand down her skill and knowledge to thenext generation. She did not hesitate, however, to cross gender barriers to teach herson Bikky how to embroider traditional garments when she noticed his interest in

gure 1.3: Peramonkoro Sunazawa

art, especially his interest in Ainu designs. Bikky recalled:"My mother asked me to embroider one of the garmentsshe was making. I was very young and, even though Ifelt reluctant, I was attracted to the designs of garment.I'm grateful that she taught me to embroider because theAinu designs are now second nature to me—theyVe inmy blood.

Not only did Peramonkoro strive to perpetuateAinu culture, she was also the backbone of the YoungAinu Women's Association. In this role she helped carefor older Ainu women and younger women who neededhelp. Many Ainu women in the community respectedher as an advanced and independent woman while at thesame time she was known and admired for her knowl-edge ofyukar, the oral epics of the Ainu. Again, hismother influenced her son as the yukar played an impor-tant part in Bikky's art in later years.

As a tribute to their individual leadership,Ainu scholar Genjiro Aral recognized Koa-Kanno andPeramonkoro separately by including them in his book,Ainu Jinbutsu-den (The Legendary Ainu) in 1992.

Bikky's Childhood (1931-1942)

With the exception of his early trip to Tokyo,Bikky spent the remainder of his childhood in his birth-place, the Chikabumi kotan (traditional Ainu commu-nity). Even here, however, Bikky's youth was a mixtureof two cultures, a dramatic change from the traditionalAinu way of life to assimilation into the Japanese society.His grandparents lived in a traditional Ainu house nextto his parents' Japanese-style house and spoke to him inthe Ainu language, especially when scolding him. At thesame time, his parents spoke to him mostly in Japanese.Bikky went back and forth between the two homes.

Ainu Wood Carving continued

day objects are beautifully decorated withintricate patterns similar to those foundon women's garments. Wooden carvingswere either functional within the house-hold or had a spiritual use; there are fewexamples of toys or artworks created onlyfor purposes of self-expression.

The most important object carved forspiritual purposes is the ikupasuy orprayer-stick (Fig. 1.3.1). Normally thirtyto forty centimeters (eleven to fifteeninches) long and three to four centimeters(a little more than an inch) wide, it is usu-ally made from yew or willow wood. It iscarved in a somewhat flattened shape andusually rounded edges and tapered at oneend. Even though the carving area is lim-ited, the Ainu have had an aggressive andcreative relationship with the space andused an interesting juxtaposition of low-and high-relief designs that range fromvery complex to quite simple.

Traditionally, living organisms such aspeople or animals were never used in anyAinu design for fear of angering the evilspirits, wen kamuy, but the ikupasuy is anexception. They are carved with creativeexamples of the owner's personal spirittotems in artistic renderings ranging fromexact realism to the most abstract forms.Totem examples include bears, killerwhales, seals, otters, birds, fish, snakes,and flowers. While human-made itemsalso appear, especially boats, there are noknown depictions of humans.

The ikupasuy is generally referred to as"a mustache-lifter," or "libation wand"in anthropological literature. It's an

Fig. 1.3.2: Inaw.

Continues oil /'w^c 6

5

Ainu Wood Carving continued

understandable mistake because as partof any ritual in which sake is consumed,it appears that the men hold their mous-tache up from the sake with the ikupasuywhen drinking. Actually, they are dippedin the sake to sprinkle it on an inaw orother important object to help send theirprayers (Fig. 1.3.2). The tapered end ofthe ikupasuy is carved with a parunpe(tongue). Its purpose is to communicatewith the gods in the pivotal role of media-tor between humans and the gods, andit identifies the worshiper to the gods, forexample, as a hunter or fisher or gratefulsupplicant. An itokpa (patrilineal ancestorsign) is also carved on the ikupasuy.

Although the ikupasuy has received muchattention, the inaw is also an importantAinu ceremonial carving. Beautiful inits simplicity, the inaw is usually a finelyshaved tree limb tufted at one end invarious lengths from less than one footto more than six feet. It acts as the mostimportant messenger to the gods and isnever reused after a specific ceremony.iThe Ainu carve the maw from differenttypes of trees depending on its purpose.They use willow and dogwood, whichhave a fine grain and light color, for"good gods" who brought prosperity andwelfare. When they offer the inaw to "badgods" such as the gods of disease, theychose trees with wood that smelled bador that had thorns.

preferring to stay with his grandparents. He loved thetraditional way of the Ainu.

Bikky's cousin Yoshiaki described an eventthat shows the mix of cultures even in their traditional

community:

/// the early spring one year, my mother and I wentto visit Bikky and his mother while Uncle Koa-kanno(Bikky's father) was away hunting. I enjoyed play-ing with Bikky i>ery much and after playing we wouldget sweets to eat. When ive got there we found manymothers, children, and older women with traditionaltattooing. Salvation Army ojfcers were also there asthey often came to Bikkys house. Everyone was listen-ing seriously to the Salvation Army people ivhile theytold Christian stories. We went outside where there werepine trees and other types of trees, but most importantlythere was an Ainu altar (nusa) that displayed manybear skulls that Uncle Koa-kanno hunted. This type ofaltar was found at every Aitiu hunter's house includingmy own. Both Bikky and I were very proud of what ourfathers had done.

A few days later Bikky rushed into my house andsaid "Yo [his cousin's nickname], my dad has just caughta bear. Come and eat the meat in my house." I immediately visited theirhouse with my mother. Bikky's house was already crowded with manyguests. Many men already finished the kamuy-nomi, Ainu prayers, andthey enjoyed talking about hunting!^ Uncle Koa-kanno was in a good moodas he rubbed his long beard gently and contentedly. Women began singingAinu songs. The hot bear meat soup was passed around the guests. This wasa very old Ainu custom. When a villager hunted a bear, his family invitedall the village people to share their good-fortune dinner.^^^

Both Christianity and the traditional Ainu beliefs were present in Bikky'sworld. His parents held Sunday school and invited the Salvation Army officers to

6

their home, and they performed a mixture of Christianand traditional Ainu prayers on every occasion.Nonetheless, Koa-kanno was well known as the authorof especially revered and sacred kamuy-nomi, prayer-likesongs or poems that send messages of appreciation to thegods. Despite his exposure to Christianity, Bikky neverespoused this system of beliefs and throughout his lifemaintained traditional Ainu beliefs.

Bikkys father encouraged him to find his ownway, but discouraged him from his constant drawing orcarving, even if it was traditional. He usually scoldedhim, saying, "dont do carvings, do your school workand study hard."" In contrast, Peramonkoro was under-standing of his creative skills, and she bought Bikkycrayons and paper even though the family was extremelypoor, so impoverished that she sold azuki beans, usedto make sweets, door to door in the Japanese neighbor-hoods to make the money needed to buy art supplies forBikky

Bikky's Youth (1943-1953)

Until he was six years old, Bikky had little con-tact with Japanese children. When the segregated schoolsystem ended in 1937 and an "equal" educational systemwas created for the Ainu children, Bikky started elemen-tary school with Japanese children. This was a painfulperiod for Bikky and other Ainu children, because theywere constantly ridiculed by their Japanese classmates.Nonetheless, Bikky graduated from the ChikabumiElementary School in Asahikawa City in 1943 at the ageof twelve and from junior high two years later.

World War II ended with Japan's defeat in1945, making life, which had never been easy for theSunazawa's, even more difficult still. Koa-kanno and

Ainu Wood Carving continued

During ceremonies, nnen set several inawin front of their altar and would dip theikupasuy in sacred sake and then sprinkleit over the inaw while praying. Inaw werealso placed around the interior of thehouse. The /now for the god of fire wasplaced in the fire pit and many inaw wereplaced throughout the home. The eastside of the chise, or house, had a windowthat was called a "god window," whereanother type of inaw was also placed.Depending on the area, this windowwould point toward the mountains orwherever the important gods could befound. Inaw were all made as offeringsto different gods, and stayed where theywere placed until they fell into decayexcept for the inaw for the fire god,which was burned after use.^ Both theikupasuy and the inaw are very much inuse today—not only in public and privateceremonies, but for use in the modernhome.3

The Ainu men also carve other spiritualartifacts. A man's ceremonial headdresssometimes included totem animals suchas bears, killer whales, or owls. Theseceremonial headdresses are worn bymale participants for the iyomante (bearspirit sending ceremony). Also used inthe Iyomante ceremony are special bluntarrows carved to shoot the bear. Thearrow is called heper-ay (flower arrow). Itresembles a partially open flower, and theAinu believe that shooting these arrows,which normally bounce off the bear,excite the bear gods play just before theyactually kill the bear. The arrow is carvedwith the ancestral itokpa to let the godsknow who sent the bear god's spirit backto gods' land. Many scholars have madethe mistake of thinking the bear is a sac-rifice to a god, when in reality the bearis god.

Sidebar Notes

1. Fu)imura (1982:76-7).

2. Takakura (1970:634-5).

3. Dubreuil (1999b, 2003).

7

Bikky, who was then fifteen, attempted to farm the land given the Ainu sevenkilometers hom Asahikawa City. They were not successful, however, and it becamealmost impossible to make a living. To earn a small income, Koa-kanno sold sou-venir woodcarvings in the Lake Akan tourist resort.'"

Bikky, with the encouragement of his father, decided to become adairy farmer and left Chikabumi at the age of sixteen to attend the PrefecturalAgriculture Training School in Tokachi, in southern Hokkaido, in 1947. At theschool he continued to experience the racism from Japanese students and teach-ers to which he had been subjected in elementary and junior high school, but henonetheless completed his year there and returned to Chikabumi in 1948 withhis new knowledge. He and his father joined forces with ten Ainu householdsand tried to cultivate the land in Ubun, a suburb of Asahikawa City, and estab-lish a new Ainu kotan, Ainu settlement. A cousin working alongside Bikky on theundertaking recalled:

It was a bard life with only a bonfire for beat and an oil lamp forligbt. We lived in a bamboo shed. Our meals were mainly cookedbutterbur stalks and corn mixed with a little rice. We worked hardchopping wood, gathering bamboo leaves, and digging up tree roots.^^

Even though the work was grueling, Bikky sketched the farm animals:

Afer I finished supper in the shed, I began making sketches ofthe cattle and horses I had worked with during the day. In the begin-ning I just wanted to draw a horse as it wasand capture its sturdiness and strength. But themore I drew, the more I wanted to capture theessence of the horse—and eventually the animalsI drew turned into abstract forms.

Unfortunately, none of Bikky's abstractanimal sketches are known to survive, but an extantabstract pen drawing [Figure 1.4], one of his earliestknown works, shows organic tubular material withtufts at each end floating in space that may reflect thekind of abstract form with which he experimented.Horses were among his earliest woodcarving subjects,and at least one of these carvings remains, a simple

Figure 1.4: Teenage abstract drawing.

Figure 1.5: Teenage horse carving.

Standing horse [Figure 1.5]. Bikky carved its body with a chisel to emphasize itscontours. The facial features are minimally done: the eyes are just carved-out holes,and the ears are two simple projections. The use of bold chisel or scalper strokessuggests a moment of repose for the serene and solitary horse.

Bikky's isolation in Ubun gave him time to think about the racial prejudicehe had confronted since his childhood. "When I worked the farm, racial prejudicewas so severe, I began to hate the Japanese. I was much more comfortable withcattle and horses than people.""^" Struggling to fight racial prejudice, he realizedeven at the age of seventeen that the core of his problem was his own feelings ofinferiority. He knew that while he could do little at that time to change the dis-crimination against the Ainu, he could change himself:

It came to me that the Ainu should not be ashamed of who they areor hide the fact that they are Ainu. I didn't want to hide my Ainu iden-tity, hut I didn't want to hide behind it either. I thought I should grapplesquarely with it. It was then that I made up my mind to use tny child-hood Ainu nickname 'Bikky instead of my legal Japanese name, Hisao.^^

9

Thus "Bikky" became his artistic signature. In another break from beingconsidered Japanese and an additional declaration for cultural independence, hespelled the name with Roman characters, extremely unusual at that time.'*^ Heused the name for the rest of his life.

In spite of their hard work, it was difficult to make a living as farmers, soBikky joined his father and began to produce souvenir woodcarvings to sell in theLake Akan resort area. In another example of Peramonkoro's entrepreneurial spirit,during the summer tourist seasons, she owned and operated a "gift shop." At firstsimply bamboo mats spread on the ground, eventually it grew into a real gift shopthat is still owned by the Sunazawa family. Bikky contributed much of his seasonalwork from 1948 to 1953 to the family business.

Revolutionizing Ainu Tourist Art (1952-1953)

In the late 1940s, major tourist resorts opened in Hokkaido, includingthe newly established Ainu Kotan at Lake Akan; and they began to attract touristsfrom the other parts ol Japan, increasing the demand lor Ainu souvenirs such ascarved bears. Bikky's lather, already a well-known bear carver, asked Bikky to goto his cousins house to learn the techniques of bear carving. Bear carving boredBikky, however, and he was asked to leave after a month's study because he didn'twant to carve bears as the other people did—one of his bears had horns, for exam-ple. He wanted to be different, and he was.

Bikky's first contribution to Ainu art came at age twenty-one when hecreated wooden jewelry with intricate designs, variations on the traditional pat-terns he had learned h-om his mother. [Figure 1.6] He pushed the designs further,

developing what came tobe known as the Bikkymon'yo (Bikky patterns),which he carved intopendants and earrings,cigarette cases, smallboxes, pipes, jewelryboxes, candle holders,and many other small

Figure 1.6: Rings with Bikky nwii'yo.

10

items. The objects carved with the Bikky monyo sold well, and many Ainu artistsbegan copying them. To protect their designs, Bikky and his friends created ajewelry association, but unfortunately never submitted the necessary paperwork tocopyright their work. While he didn t know it at the time, he had revolutionizedAinu tourist art, giving it new vitality. Today, "Bikky patterns" are found on manyitems wherever Ainu tourist art is sold.

Leaving Home (1952-1953)

In 1952 Bikkys private and artistic life changed dramatically. Althoughproud of his success as a craftsman, he also created abstract paintings. MinekoYamada, an art student from Kamakura traveling around Hokkaido on holiday,visited Bikkys mother's gih shop in Akan with a friend. As art students they appre-ciated Bikkys abstract paintings and began a conversation with him. By the end ofMineko's week-long stay in Hokkaido, Bikky had fallen in love with her and askedher to marry him—but she refused and returned home to Kamakura. A week laterBikky followed her, taking only his clothes, his carving knives, and some bearsand jewelry he had carved. He spent the next week at Mineko's parents' house inKamakura but had to return home when he ran out of money.

If the year 1952 was a year of intoxicating adventure, 1953 was a year ofdevastating loss. Bikky s beloved lather Koa-kanno died unexpectedly of a strokein August. Koa-kanno had urged him repeatedly to go his own way, and Bikkydecided to leave his hometown for Tokyo to pursue painting.' ' More important,he wanted to be near Mineko, the first of his many loves. In the fall of 1953, hegathered his carving tools and paint brushes and jumped on the night train toTokyo.

End Notes

1. Ogawa Sanae (1989:7-9).

2. The three other Ainu activists were Genjiro Arai, a self-taught scholar; his wife, Michi Arai; and KaniegoroOgawa (Arai 1992:151^5; Asaji, Miyatake, and Nakama 1993:78-9; Hokkai Tunes. June 11, 1932).

3. Arai (1992:80).

4. Asaji, Miyatake, and Nakama (1993:79).

5. An Ainu could have several names at different times during his or her lifetime. For example, a personcould develop special skills such as being a great himter or a storyteller, etc., which could cause them totake on a new name (S. Kodama 1970a:472-3).

11

John Batchelor (1854-1944) came into contact with the Ainu as an Anglican Church of England lay mis-sionary in 1877. In 1879 he joined the Church Missionary Society of London and continued his workamong the Ainu of Hokkaido following his retirement from the Society in 1924. He wrote more thanforty articles and books on Ainu culture, including the first Ainu dictionary, hi 1888 Dr. Batchelor foundedthe Airin Gakko (Loving Neighbors School), the first of several schools for the Ainu, but was forced toclose all the schools in 1905 and 1906 because ol the Japanese Ainu assimilation policy. Matsu Kannari(1875-1961), one ol his converts, became a missionary and eventually settled in Chikabumi to preach thegospel (Nthoti KirisutO'kyo Rekishi Daijiten 1988:350). Because of her extraordinary ability to recite j)/?^^,«r(she would contribute to the making of twenty volumes of the Ainu's epic oral poems), she became closefriends with Bikky's mother, Peramonkoro, who was also highly respected for ]\er: yukar recitations. Thisled to the conversion of Bikky's mother and father to Christianity (interview with Kazuo Sunazawa, May13. 1995).

Hariu et al. (1989:102), Yiimakawa (1988:205).Ogawa (1989:13).

Kamny-no}ni are prayer like songs or poems that send words or messages ol appreciation to the gods forhelp, tor example, tor a successtul hunt.

Mamiya (1989:5).

Intetview with Kazuo Sunazawa April 8, 1994.

Lake Akan is in mountainous eastern Hokkaido and is a well-known tourist area. It has been and contin-ues to be important to the Ainu. An Ainu kotiin (Ainu settlement) was established as both an Ainu com-mercial enterprise and cultural center.

Mamiya (1989:6).

Yamakawa (1988:183).

A specialized chisel with a circtdar cutting edge.Kitamura (1963:94).

Yamakawa (1988: 180-2). In tact, Bikky became somewhat obstinate about the name. In Japan, the hon-orific "san," is always put at the end of the name. Bikky did not like being referred as "Bikky-san" [HokkaiTimes, October 29, 1981) and would correct anyone who used the honorific. Even his children called himBikky, even though it is extremely rare for a child to call his or her father anything but "lather." While hisearly work was signed "Bikki," using both the Japanese katakaiia or Romanized written languages, all laterknown works use the English spelling "Bikky.' Neither his family nor his triends remember exactly whenhe changed his spelling from "Bikki" to "Bikky."

Kazuo Sunazawa, Bikky's brother, said that while Bikky wanted his name to be an Ainu name as a state-ment against the dominant Japanese culture, he also thought the Ainu name with the English spelling waskakkoii ("cool" or "sexy") (interview May 14, 1995). Bikky gave three ot his four children Ainu names:his eldest son Chikaru, his daughter Chinita, and his second son Auta. The youngest son was named afterBikky's father, Ichitaro, but it was done using different kanji characters.

Although Bikky studied the paintings exhibited in the galleries and museums in and around Tokyo, henever studied painting or other artistic expressions in the formal sense. It was extremely rare for a seri-ous artist not to have formal artistic training if he or she wanted to be recognized and accepted in themainstream Japanese art field. While Bikky admitted to having an inferiority complex about his ethnicbackground, he never harbored similar teelings about his lack ot a fotmal art education. Bikky had greatconfidence in his artistic talents and believed that if you had talent, it was up to you to perfect it: no onecould "formally " teach vou talent.

13

Chapter 2

The Night Train to Tokyo: Biki<y's Art Evolves

(1953-1964)

/ learned more from the free-spirited conversations withartists than from anything else.... We all had the commonopinion that a work cant be called art if it doesn't haveeroticism in it.^

Until Bikky visited Mineko Yamada in Kamakura in 1952, he had seldomleft the Ainu homeland. The island of fiokkaido had emerged from World WarII relatively unscathed, and Bikky had not seen the devastation that the war hadbrought to most of the southern half of Honshu. As thenight train from the north neared Tokyo, he was excitedto be traveling to the capital but shocked to see thebombed-out areas, and how much had been rebuilt inthe seven years since the end of the war.

The years immediately following the war had beengrim for all Japanese, but the economic revival orchestratedby the government after the war had nonetheless beenphenomenal. By the mid-1950s the Japanese econ-omy was so strong that the nation had become acompetitor in many world markets. Losing the warhad humiliated the Japanese, but it also gave them achance to start over and explore freedoms they hadnever known before.

This was particuktrly true in Japans variousand distinct art worlds. During the 1950s many Fig. 2.4. i: HiitoHc photo of curio shop.

Sidebar 4

Origins of Ainu Tourist Art

Ainu men have traditionally been masterwood carvers, and many of their beauti-fully worked bowls, knife scabbards, andtobacco boxes were created as tradeitems and then later as objects sold totourists. The Ainu had been active tradersnot only with the japanese but also withneighboring peoples from China, Korea,Russia, and other Native groups and later

I jhixe 16

15

Origins of Ainu Tourist Artcontinued

new art organizations were formed: the Modern ArtAssociation was formed in 1950 and the KanagawaPrefectural Museum of Modern Art, located in the cityof Kamakura, just outside of Tokyo, opened as Japan'sfirst museum of modern art in 1951. In the followingyear the National Museum of Modern Art (now calledthe Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art) wasestablished.' The opening of these large governmentalmuseums stimulated other museums to be establishedat both the local governmental and private levels.Exhibitions of independent artists, such as Andepandan-ten, were held in major cities including Kyoto, Tokyo,and Sapporo.^ These independent exhibitions, spon-sored by the Yomiuri Newspaper Company, allowedthe work of contemporary artists to be seen withoutgoing through the political selection process that manyJapanese art organizations funded by the governmentrequired.'

Before the war, Japanese sculptors pursuedWestern traditions of figurative sculpture and werestrongly influenced by the French Romantics, especiallyAuguste Rodin (1840-1917). Very little nonrepre-sentational sculpture appears to have been created orexhibited. In the mid-1950s, however, the work ofseveral contemporary Italian sculptors was exhibited inTokyo, greatly affecting Japanese sculptors searchingfor new artistic directions. The sculptures of EmilinoGreco (1913-1995) and Pericle Fazzini (1913-1987)were exhibited in the Third Japan International ArtExhibition in Tokyo in 1955 and large-scale exhibi-tions of the works of Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916)and Marino Marini (1901—1966) were held in Tokyo in 1961.'' Sculptures werealso beginning to be placed in outdoor environments. When Isamu Noguchi, anAmerican sculptor of Japanese ancestry, visited Japan in 1950, he noted a relation-ship between sculpture and architecture'' Although the Japanese didn't grasp this at

with Dutch merchants. In exchange fortheir wooden objects, fish, and furs, theyreceived rice, sake, tobacco, cloth, andmetal goods.

In the seventeenth century, unscrupulousJapanese traders began to underpay theAinu for their furs and demanded moneyfor their goods; the Ainu also had to paytaxes to the Japanese government. Toraise more cash, the Ainu began produc-ing more of their traditional intricatelycarved work and began selling householdutensils such as spatulas, ladles, andweaving tools to the Japanese. They alsobegan to create other wooden carvingssuch as towel hangers and brush holders,items that were not traditionally used bythe Ainu.

As the work of Ainu artists was becomingpopular throughout Japan, carvers beganto get more commissions to design andcarve specific works. Contests were heldfor the most beautifully carved woodenobjects,' and soon, the names of someof the most skilled and established Ainucarvers were recognized and recorded innineteenth- and early twentieth-centuryJapanese historical materials.^ SomeJapanese may have understood andappreciated the guality of the carvers'works and the artistry of the designs, butmost simply considered them to be exoticcurios.

With the Meiji Restoration in 1868,the Ainu were forced to assimilate intoJapanese society, and Ainu customs, reli-gion, and language were forbidden. TheJapanese government demanded that theAinu learn agricultural practices using theland-allotment program as an induce-ment. Because the Ainu were not trainedas farmers and the land was not suitablefor agriculture, most were not successful.As a result, many tried to support them-selves by selling their carvings.

16

first, by the late 1950s sculpture's environmental fianc-tions were beginning to be explored, and group outdoorsculpture exhibitions were held in front of the KanagawaMuseum. Japanese sculptors also began to participateactively in international sculpture symposiums/

A New World

As a poor and isolated youth, Bikky had notbeen exposed to any art other than Ainu art—not evenJapanese art. Although his parents were extraordinary,their world was limited primarily to things Ainu. Bikkywas a product of that environment, a farm boy with agreat deal of raw artistic talent. "Bikky wasn't familiarwith fine art at all. He didn't even know of Picasso orMatisse at that time," Mineko remembered.''*

Mineko, on the other hand, had been educatedin some of the finest schools in Japan, including theMusashino Art College, and knew many avant-gardeartists in the greater Tokyo area. She introduced Bikkyto this group of young, edgy intellectuals. '' Art historianAlexandra Munroe described the climate of the vanguardmovement of the Japanese artists of the 1960s as "agrotesque and absurd imagination of the primal forcesof sex, madness, and death, a preoccupation with aber-rant forms of human nature.""' This perspective can beseen in the work of one of Bikky's close friends, HijikataTatsumi (1928—1986). Hijikata would become famousas the originator of Ankoku Butoh or "Dance of UtterDarkness." He was known for his intense and passionateperformances, expressions of the primal nature of human sexuality.

Another good friend was Tatsuhiko Shibuzawa (1928-1987)." Shibuzawacame from a prominent family that had fallen on hard times after the death of hisfather, a banker, although they continued to maintain a literary salon.'" Shibuzawahad recently graduated from Tokyo University with a major in French literature

Origins of Ainu Tourist Art

continued

One of the earliest known references by aforeign tourist from the West buying theartwork of both Ainu men and womenwas made by English traveler Isabella Birdon August 23, 1878:

I was anxious to help them bybuying some of their handiwork . . .a tobacco box and pipe-sheath, andknives with carved handles and scab-bards, and for three of these I offered2 1/2 dollars . . . they [said] they [theitems] were not worth more than 1dollar 10 cents, and they would sellthem for that; and I could not getthem to take more. ... I [also] boughta bow and three poisoned arrows, tworeed-mats, with a diamond pattern onthem in reeds stained red, some kniveswith sheaths, and a bark cloth dress. Itried to buy the sake-sticks [ikupasuy]with which they make libations to theirgods, but they said it was "not theircustom" to part with the sake-stick ofany living man.^

She goes on to say that the men "forindoor recreation' carve tobacco-boxes,knife-sheaths, sake-sticks, and [weaving]shuttles, and the women weave a nearlyindestructible cloth [made from elm bark]... for barter, and the lower class ofJapanese are constantly to be seen wear-ing the product of Ainu industry."4

During the 1880s the Japanese beganto develop Hokkaido commercially andas a tourist destination, connecting theisland to the main Japanese islands with anetwork of ferries and railways. Japanesemerchants opened curio shops, sellingtraditional Ainu household utensils suchas platters, bowls, and spoons; and later,the popular carved bear figures. Theearliest known shop was the Yamada

CoiitiiiUL's uii pas^c 18

17

Origins of Ainu Tourist Artcontinued

when he met Bikky. While Shibuzawa worked as a part-time proofreader tor the Iwanami Pubhshing Companyto help support his family, he began translating theworks of the Marquis de Sade, and he later becamean authority on Sade's works. There is no doubt thatBikky s ideas about sexuality influenced his later work,very likely inspired and influenced by Shibuzawa,Hijikata, and other friends and acquaintances.

It was at Hijikatas dance performances thatBikky met Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), an importantwriter of fiction, drama, and essays whose sensationaldeath by harakiri, a ritualistic suicide by disembowel-ment, captured the world's attention on November 25,1970. Bikky probably did not know Mishima well, butwas very likely familiar with his work.' ^

Hijikatas Ankokn Butoh, Shibuzawas transla-tions of and writings on the works of Marquis de Sade,and Mishimas explicitly sexual writings sum up thelandscape of the time. In a letter Bikky sent his closefriend, film maker Katsumi Yazaki, in 1981 he noted:"I learned more "good" from the free-spiritedconversations with the various artists (from various

fields) in Shibuzawas house than from anything else

We all had the common opinion that a work can't becalled art if it doesn't have eroticism in it."'^

The 1950s and the beginning of the 1960swere an exciting and stimulating time for Bikky as anartist and a person. Mineko said, "Bikky absorbed theintellectual world as a sponge absorbs water."'"' Bikky's exposure to his girlfriend'sintellectual friends allowed him to grow to the point that he could confront theinsecurities he had about being Ainu:

/ moved to Kaniakura at the age of 21 or 22. When I met peopleaspiring to become artists, I noticed one thing, that their ethnic iden-tity had nothing to do with their work and how they were judged byothers. My being judged as an artist has nothing to do with whether

Collectible Curio Shop, which opened in1900, Asahikawa.5 Another shop openedaround 1903 and gave public demon-strations of carving and sewing by Ainumen and women in front of the shop.*Because of the demand, some Ainu fromthe Chikabumi kotan, where Bikky wasborn, began selling their work directly tothe public, which allowed them to keeptheir profit.

In 1 91 7, in an effort to control profits forthe Japanese, Asahikawa City enacted apolicy that forced the Ainu to sell theirproducts to the city, which then con-trolled the distribution and sale of theirwork. The city secured raw materialsthrough the local forest office and soldthem at cost to the Ainu. The city alsoinvited an instructor, Kensei Saito (1894-1966), from the Tokyo Art School toteach the Ainu to use chisels and Japanesemethods of woodcarving'—even thoughthe Ainu had been extremely proficientand creative artists for hundreds of years.

Around this time the Ainu began creat-ing various figures now known as "Ainudolls," nipopo^ for the tourist trades, eventhough creating human figures otherthan for spiritual reasons went againsttraditional Ainu beliefs. Ainu tourist artexperienced very little change betweenthe 1930s and 1952, when Bikky, thentwenty-one years old, became disenchant-ed with carving bears and other estab-lished Ainu tourist art items. Breaking withtradition, he introduced jewelry with Ainudesigns to the Akan tourist kotan, whichin time, changed the focus of Ainu tour-ist art throughout Hokkaido.'' He created

18

I'm an Ainu or a Japanese. The only importantthing is what you're thinking and what you aretrying to do}^'

Other than jewehy and small tourist art worksthere is little record of any art that Bikky may have pro-duced during his first two years in Kamakura. Its quitepossible that he was so overwhelmed by his new environ-ment that he had little time left to create art. And, ofcourse, it's possible that any artwork that he may havedone has been lost. Then, on February 21, 1955, his firstprofessional accomplishments were recorded, howevertersely. He submitted a painting, no title recorded, tothe fifth Modern Art Association Exhibition (MAAE).'^Whether this first submission was actually a paint-ing or a drawing is in question due to comments hemade thirty-three years later that his first submissionswere drawings because he "couldn't afford to buy oil

" 1 8

pamts.

Around this time, Bikky and Mineko, who werenow living together, established a studio to producetourist items with Bikky's designs {Bikky mo)iyo).^'^While Bikky was starting to exhibit his drawings andpaintings, there wasn't much money coming in, so heturned to his woodcarvings to make a living. Bikky andMineko lived in Kamakura from autumn to spring toproduce tourist items and then moved to Akan to sellthem during the summer tourist season in the familygift shop.'"

Bikky Focuses on Sculpture

In the late 1950s Bikky began to concentratehis artistic talent on carving sculptures from wood,often using wood he found in scrap heaps. Thereappear to be two main reasons why Bikky shilted his

Origins of Ainu Tourist Art

continued

Fig. 2.4.2: Bilvky Muii'yo.

what was to become known as his signa-ture design Bikky mon'yo (Bikky patterns).Although he didn't realize his impact onAinu tourist art at that time, he openedthe door for Ainu artists to broaden theirscope. His style of jewelry has been con-stantly popular since then, and while mostartists in the Ainu tourist industry copiedhis designs, no one has surpassed theuniqueness of his style. Today the omni-present Bikky patterns are found whereverAinu tourist art is sold.'O

Sidebar Notes

1. Sjoberg (1993:54).

2. R. Saito (1994:147)

3. Bird (1881:64-5).

4. ibid. (66-67).

5. Ishijima (1980a:2).

6. ibid. (3).

7. K. Saito (1979:4).

8. Ishijima (1980b:3).

9. This is not to imply that tlie bearand other Ainu tourist art itemswere replaced by Ainu jewelry. Ibelieve that all early Ainu tourist artwill have a place as collectors' items.

10. Dubreuil (1999b, 2003)

19

interest from painting to sculpture."' He suggested the first reason when he point-ed out his physical relationship to his art:

Two-diynensional work like painting or drawing didn't challengeme enough physically. Not only am I, as an Ainu man, fundamentallya carver of wood, but I also need to work hard and get involvedphysically with my work. "

Bikky also began to be influenced by the work of other artists. TheBridgestone Art Museum in Tokyo held a one-man show in 1954 of the workof Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967),'^ a French artist of Russian descent. Much of

Zadkine's work in this exhibi-tion was Cubist in tone such asWoman with Fan (1918; Fig. 2.1).Photographs of some of Bikky'sfirst sctdptures, now lost, show thatthey are reminiscent of Zadkine'swork, although with more volumeand a rough or primitive quality.Zadkine's artistic approach to woodwas similar to Bikky s. Zadkine'sbiographer noted: "As an inspira-tion, wood has yet another value toZadkine. It can be split. The splitform, the cleft, works on his imagi-nation. A man who is choppingalso attacks; he opens up, he takesaway, he forces his way through.He is striving to penetrate to theheart of the matter, to discover thehuman being in nature. Thiskind of intense physical interactionwith his materials became the coreof Bikky's later artistic activity.

Fig. 2.1: Zadkines Woiiudi with Fan).

20

Another artist who possiblyinfluenced Bikky was pioneeringJapanese abstract sculptor ShigeruUeki (1913-1984), who foundedthe Modern Art Association withhis friends in 1950 and joined inthe founding of the Japan AbstractArt Club in 1953.'' Ueki workedintensively with wood throughouthis career. He searched for simplifiedand organic forms to deal with thenature of wood, creating a series ofabstract torso forms as he pursued thetranscendental biomorphic form ofsculpture (Fig. 2.2). While no refer-ences about Ueki by Bikky have beenfound, Ueki was from Hokkaido andthere is no doubt that Bikky knew ofUeki's work. The world of Japaneseabstract art was too small at the timethat the practitioners would not haveknown of each other.

Bikky's next known sculpture,entitled No-fn (A Farmer), was sub-mitted to the seventh MAAE in1957. Perhaps he was facing the pastand through his art exploring thedream of working with his father tilling the soil. This was one of the first workshe signed as "Bikki," using the Japanese phonetic spelling, which also indicatesthis is an early work. In 1958 Bikky received the annual new talent award in thesculpture division of the eighth MAAE, his first award in a major sculpture com-petition. He also submitted a large-scale work, Dobiitsu 6 Hokaku sareta Dobntsu(Animal 6: Captured Animal; Fig. 2.3), to the Shiidan Gendai Chokoku-ten (theAvant-garde Sculptors' Group Contemporary Exhibition) in 1960. This sculptors'group was founded by such leading artists as Taro Okamoto (1911-1996) and was

Fie. 2.2: Uck

21

independent of established academies and traditions in Japan.Bikky and thirty-seven other free-thinking artists were featured in the first exhibition at the SeibuDepartment Store in Tokyo.This was a significant event to be a part of at thattime, and it received a great deal of attention from both the press and the public.

Animal 6: Captured Animal is one of Bikky s earliest sculptures to havesurvived and is in the collections of the Hokkaido Museum of Art. Its biomorphicform reminds the viewer of a flayed animal, more specifically of the skinned bearin the iyomaute, the Ainu spirit-sending ceremony, which Bikky often witnessedduring his youth. Another clue that this work is strongly linked to Bikkys Ainuheritage is that he has incised it with an itokpa, the Ainu patrilineal ancestral sign;this may be the first large sculpture directly related to Bikky's cultural background.

Fig. 2.3: Diihiirui 6 Hokakii uircta Doluitsii (Anim.il 6: Captured Animal), 1960.

Around 1957 Bikky leh the Tokyo area and moved to Asahikawa City,near his birthplace of Chikabumi. Although Bikky and Mineko had only justmarried and soon had a son in April 1957, their relationship was in serioustrouble, and a divorce soon followed. Women found Bikkys charisma irresistable,and Bikky had a most difficult time controlling that primal urge, which createdrelationship problems throughout most of his life. Wanting to start a new life inHokkaido, he married Junko Takagi in 1961.

Bikky enjoyed associating with his old Ainu friends; for example, two ofhis friends, his younger brother, and he appeared on TV for fun. They organized

22

a band for an amateur singing program on a Sapporo TV station and sang a songwith Ainu words to the melody of "You Are My Stmshine.''"''^ However, not every-thing was fun and games: he devoted a great deal of time to designing an Ainucraft center in Chikabumi. The purpose for this center was to provide a place forAinu people of the district to produce Ainu art and to learn the wider aspects ofcarving, supervised by accomplished wood carvers, so that they might producequality work. He had strong beliefs about Ainu art in contemporary times:

I don't like bear carvings because they are not the real Ainu workof Hokkaido. The essence of Ainu art shoidd be an expression of thelife of living things or an expression of a certain pathos which isreceived froin living things while dealing with the medium of wood.The Ainu carver should then revive these elements to the modern

times.

This statement not only sets the tone of his early series theme, Animal, butwas the basis of his spirituality. The craft center became a reality and was becom-ing successful, until the building was destroyed to make room for a new street.The center was not rebuilt.

The "Animal" Series (1961-1964)

While in Asahikawa Bikky began work on thefirst of his 'Animal" sculptural series. Already a themethat he had been exploring, these biomorphic formssuggest the mystery of life, growth, and metamorpho-sis, and explore Bikky's connection to Ainuspirituality and animism, as well as closeconnection to Zakine and Ueki's styles.

Bikky made a brief statement aboutthe "Animal" theme in later life: "Whenexpressing what is universal in animals,you discover the essence of what it meansto be human."^" Bikky wanted to expressthe mystery of life by going back to theultimate origin of all living things. He

Sidebar 5

Ainu Fabric Art

For millennia Ainu women designed andsewed textiles that had to withstandHokkaido's harsh climate. They madethese sturdy garments using naturalmaterials such as animal fur, fish skin, birdfeathers and bark and grass; and laterprocessed cotton cloth and silk acquiredin trade with the Japanese and Chinese.

Fig. 2.5.1:1800.

'dinting of Woman Teaching Patterns to Girls,

Contiiiiics on jnv^c 24

23

Ainu Fabric Art continued

Ainu women designed and createdgarments that were beautiful as well asfunctional, often embroidered and appli-qued with traditional abstract patterns.'

Sewing was a very important role for Ainuwomen as a means not only of beinghighly appreciated as a wife and motherbut also as a fabric artist. Sewing needleswere perhaps an Ainu woman's mostimportant possession, and she kept themin a small, ornately decorated wooden orbone tube worn around the neck.

Ainu women spent a great deal of timesewing and creating their own originaldesigns. While they were sewing theyvisualized the person who would wearthe garment and chose the materials anddesigns they thought most suitable to thewearer. Generally, a woman put the mosteffort into the designs for her husband'sgarments.' Highly decorated garmentswere used for special ceremonies such asthe iyomante (bear-sending ceremony,see sidebar 3). The special garments notonly pleased the spirits but were thoughtto protect the person wearing them.Garments were never used just to protectthe Ainu from the elements—there wasalways a spiritual element to them, not tomention a sense of fashion trends thatdiffered regionally.

Patterns embroidered or appliqued ongarments were passed down from motherto daughter—Ainu girls did not receive

Figure 2.4: Aiiiiiial 5, 1962.

Fig. 2.5.2: g.irmciu with .Anui designs.Continues on /'K^'t' 26

believed human beingsshare some character-istics with all livingthings, being formedand reproduced as partof the circle of naturesince the beginningof time.

Bikky submittedthe work Animal B(Fig. 2.4) to the twelfthMAAE in 1962. Thebiomorphic shape of thesculpture was a strongimplication of growth, giving the piece the feeling of anamoeba or a bacterium. On the strength of this piece,he was accepted as a member of the National ModernArt Association, another milestone.''

In 1962 Bikky held two one-man exhibitions inTokyo galleries and became a member of the HokkaidoArtists' Exhibition of MAA. Because of this acceptance,officials at the Tokyo City Museum began to call himsensei (teacher or master).^' Although any other

artist would have been pleased at acceptance by theJapanese art establishment, Bikky believed that themuseum officials' attitude was hypocritical, andrefused to acknowledge the recognition, fie hadno advanced education of any kind and had beenshunned by the museum before he became a member.

At the end of the year he submitted Animal-Ushi (Animal-Cow; Fig. 2.5) to the third Avant-garde Sculptors' Group Contemporary SculptureExhibition. His style had taken a new and importantchange of direction although he was still pursuingthe location of the 'Animal" theme. While the work

24

is unknown, photographs show the piece as a tall column with arugged surface. The art critic Miki^^ wrote:

Bikky Sunazawa has submitted a "totem pole"-likework, Animal-Cow, in which he has sticcessfiilly hinted atthe figure of an animal. The texture of the upper and lowerpieces differs. It's not clear how he meant to balance them,but he did effectively contrast the smoother upper piece withthe spiny texture of the base.^^

Several other critics also noted that the work resembled atotem pole, comments that possibly spurred Bikky's later interest inthe art of Canada's Northwest Coast Indians.

Bikky continued to create upright columnar pieces. AnimalMe (B) (Animal Eye; Fig. 2.6) is carved with undulating ridges andwhirlpool designs that suggestcomplex Ainu textile designs.The paired eyelike shape, a designwhich appears frequently inAinu work (Fig. 2.7), is usuallycalled kamuy chik, the god s eye,intended to ward off evil. Bikkyundoubtedly intended to incor-porate the power and mysticismof the eye into his sculpture,evoking an interaction betweenthe audience and the sculpture.

Fig. 2.5: Aniiiial-Ushi(Animal-Cow), 1962.

Fig. 2.7; KdDuiy-chik.

Fig. 2.6: Aininal hie (Aiiim.il Eye), 1963.

25

Ainu Fabric Art continued

formal instruction but learned the basicsof design and then created their ownpatterns. Each new garment had a differ-ent pattern that the woman developedwithout sketching beforehand as shesewed the garment. It was an importantexpectation that every design be differentthan the last.

Patterns were not representational eventhough some may appear to be symbolicof natural elements such as wind, rain,or snow. Ainu women never incorpo-rated design elements from nature, orwild animals into garments because theybelieved that the animals' spirit would betrapped in the design and cause harm.There are, however, some very rare picto-rial examples of butterflies, birds, andflowers that may have been influenced byJapanese kimonos. Decorative patterns,made from contrasting colors, graced thefront, back, sleeve, and hem borders, andwere intended to keep evil spirits fromentering the body—much as Ainu moth-ers would place rope around a baby whileworking outside to keep spirits away.Patterns may also have echoed the curv-ing designs that women tattooed on theback of their hands, around their arms.

At the end of 1963 Bikky joined theAndepandan Exhibition in Hokkaido and submittedthe last of his 'Animal" themed works and a new worktotally different than anything in the past, Tentakuru(meikyn) [Tentacle (maze)]. Unfortunately, the where-abouts of these works is not known. The title Tentaclepresages Bikkys next theme, as he stated:

I developed the theme of "Animal" for eightyears. I wanted to dip deep to expose the true natureof 'Animal" which includes the human animal. I havetaken the Animal theme as far as I can, and I am satis-fied with the results. I have decided to pursue a newtheme "Meikyu" (maze), which can be described as anextension of "Animal," but much deeper.

The human animal is capable of think-ing and I want to explore the human processthrough my art. When you look at a humanbrain, it looks like a maze (tentacle). However,I also want to explore the mystery of the mazefrom a metaphysical perspective" ■ ^

In 1964 he ended the 'Animal" theme after he had his third exhibitionin Tokyo. During this period he also ended his membership of MAA, as heexplained:

/ was one of the judges in the MAA competition, ivhich awardedprizes to applicants based on a show of hands ivithout discussion. Ayoung person like me, and a new member like me, should not judgewhether other artists' works are good or bad.

Bikky was completely a self-taught, self-educated artist, which wasextremely unusual at that time. Even though some self-taught artists in the fiftiesemerged from the fringe of the established Japanese art field, they usually workedin the artistic expressions of Dadaism or the Anti-Art {Han-geijutsu) movement.In many respects Bikky was a very raw talent, with the exception of the work of

26

Zadkine and probably Ueki, Bikky isn't known to havebeen influenced by any particular school or style of art,and his artistic training was only based on Ainu tradi-tional carving, which carried no respect. In contrast, themajority of Japanese artists were from privileged familiesand trained at formal art schools or they were trainedin the ancient master-disciple system. By only acknowl-edging or evaluating young artists by their academicbackground or family ties the conservative hardlinerscontrolled who entered the all-important art circle.Bikky wasn't happy about these political relationshipsin the Modern Art Association. He made up his mindto concentrate on one-man shows from then on. It wastime for him to move on to the next stage of his artisticactivity.

End Notes

1. Letter to Katstimi Yazaki, 1981, in K. Yazaki's private collection.Bikky's statement about having a "common opinion" with Shibuzawaconcerning eroticism in art may mislead the reader. Shibtizawa'sinvolvement with sexuality seems to be as a passive viewer and critic,while Bikky on the other hand, was an active participant, a partner inthe sensual act of creating art.

2. Miki (1990:112).

3. An exhibition of independent artists organized by the participantsas opposed to kanten or exhibitions held by the government. "Thistype ot exhibition was developed in France. It is similar to zaiya-ten(nongovernmental exhibitions), but it is different from zaiya-ten inthe sense that andepandan-ten has the aspect of mukansa (not havingthe work submitted to a selecting committee) and prizes are not given.The Nihon Andepandan-ten and Kyoto Andepandan-ten were two ofthe more popular exhibits in Japan" [A Dictionary of Japanese Art Terms1990:20).

4. Munroe (1994:149-50; 398).

5. Fujishima (1990b: 162-4).

6. Miki (1990:121-4). Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), was a U.S. sculp-tor of Japanese descent. He was born and raised in America. "Hestudied with Gutzon Borglum (the carver of Mount Rushmore) andConstantin Brancusi whose assistant he became in 1927. He was alsoinfluenced by Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miro, andPablo Picasso in his Surrealist phase. In the 1930s Noguchi was, withCalder, one of the most advanced sculptors working in the UnitedStates" (Read 1985:241).

Ainu Fabric Art continued

and on their faces to protect them fromevil spirits—and serve as signs of maturityand respectability.'

That Peramonkoro (1897-1971), Bikky'smother, taught him to create designs andwork on fabrics shows her independentspirit; it also provided him with a reservoirof imagery on which to draw from in hiswork. Even though she passed away overthirty years ago, she continues to be arole model today, inspiring contemporaryartists such as Noriko Kawamura who iscreating incredible complex fine textileart, bringing traditional abstract art to thenext level in large wall treatments.•*

Fig. 2.5.3: women's tattoos.

Sidebar Notes

1. Dubreuil (2002)

2. M. Kodama (1987:83).

3. Dubreuil (1999a, 2002)

4. Dubreuil (I')')')b, 2003)

27

7. Miki (1990:120-1).

8. Interview with Mineko Kano, April 23, 1994.

9. Bikky mux many forward-thinking intellectuals at the home of Kazuo and Mitsuko Arita. Kazuo Arita wasa successful architect and a patron of the arts, and he and his wife would feed the struggling young intel-lectuals and participate in lively discussions about life and art. The Aritas became Bikky's confidants, help-ing him as he desperately tried to overcome the prejudice he had experienced due to his Ainu heritage.Bikky's relationship with the Aritas lasted throughout his life, and they were in close contact with eachother. Kazuo Arita spoke at the second annual Talk-about-Trees Exhibition, and their son, Yasugi, becameone of Bikky's assistants from 1980-1982.

10. Munroe (1994:189).

11. For many years Shibuzawa would send Bikky copies of his published work in magazines, and autographedcopies of his books. Bikky had a great deal of respect for Shibuzawa (interview Junko Takagi, May 13,1995).

12. Other members of the salon inckided Shuntaro Matsuyama (b. 1930), a scholar on the Indian subcon-tinent; Shuzo Takiguchi (1903-1979), poet, art critic, and painter; Ikuya Kato (b. 1929), poet; YuriNonaka (b. 1938), painter; and several others.

13. Interview with Micsuko Arita, May 14, 1995.

14. See note no 1.

15. Interview with Mineko Kano, April 23, 1994.

16. Yamakawa (1988:188).

17. Echizen (1994b:84).

18. Yamakawa (1988:186-7).

19. Interview with Mineko Kano April 23, 1994.

20. Bikky's brother, Kazuo Sunazawa, himself a carver and an illustrator of ttaditional Ainu scenes, nowowns and operates the gift shop. The name of the shop is "SUNAZAWA AINU CRAFTWORK, KOA-KANNO - BIKKY," an unselfish statement of love and respect for his father and his brother.

21. Bikky never gave up painting and elrawing. In fact, while there were no records kept, he sold far morepaintings and drawings than sculptures. Over the years he made many hundreds if not thousands ofpaintings, and the sale of his paintings paid not only household expenses, but they financed his carvingactivities. One collector, Shinobu Ishijima, has more than five hundred paintings and drawings, and fortysculptures (interview with S. Ishijima, July 29, 1995).

22. Yamakawa (1988:187).

23. Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) was a sculptor born in Smolensk. He studied in Sunderland, London, and in1909 at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. "In Paris he formed a deep admiration for Rodin, but the mostimmediate impact upon him was that of Cubism. For a few years he experimented—like Lipchitz, Laurensand Archipenko—with a disciplined analysis of the figure into an austere geometric arrangement of solids.In the 1920s his forms took on an essentially expressive significance, e.g. Prometheus, a fusion of figureand flame, and the torso of Orpheus {\949) and T/u- Destroyed G>y (1951-3)." (Read 1985:349).

24. Hammacher 1959:introduction.

25. Shigeru Ueki (1913-1984) was born in Sapporo, Flokkaido. He learned avant-garde art such as Cubismand Dadaism b\' himself He studied painting with Kotaro Migishi (1903-1934), but when he made atrip to Nara, and saw Cbiken-iu of Dainichi-nyorai in Tosho-daiji, he was moved by it and he began study-ing sculptute by himself He submitted many of his works in various exhibitions including the Sao PauloBiennalo and Venice Biennale. He was known as a pioneer abstract sculptor (The catalogue, Hito to Kazeto Kamigai 1993:20).

26. Bikky had met and conversed with Okamoto on at least one occasion, and while Bikky had great respectfor Okamoto, he had no interest in his art (interview with Junko Takagi, May 14, 1995).

27. Miki (1990:121). Exhibitions ol all types, including very important art exhibitions, are regularly held inlarge department stores throughout Japan. There is almost always dedicated exhibition space in depart-ment stores. Attendance at department store e.xhibitions is nearly always extremely high.

28. Sugimura (1990).l^.AsahiShimbwu (November 22 1960).

30. Asahi Shmibim (August 28, 1988).

31. Echizen (1994b:85).

32. Yamakawa (1988:187).

33. Tamon Miki (b. 1929) was a director ot the National Museum of International Art and an established artcritic ol modern sculptural field.

34. Miki (1963:70-1).

35. Hokkai Times (January 30, 1980).

36. Yamakawa (1988:187).

Frontispiece: Bikky being interviewed by a newspaper reporter in April 1974

Chapter 3

The Back of the Mask; Art and Activism in Sapporo

(1964-1978)

It is said that a devil is "an asking person" and "a stranger. "

A mask is "a stranger" who doesn't have characteristicfeatures or specific appearances. It ahvays asks ns if we knowwho it is. Make the mask turn around. The content of the

mask is empty. It is filled with emptiness. How can thecharacteristic human face endure such a complete emptiness?^

If Bikky's years in Tokyo had been a time for himsocially, and intellectually, the next decade and a half washe believed, wasted energy. During this period, however,Bikky gained a deeper understanding of his Ainu identi-ty and connected it to themes that would thread throughhis artwork for the rest of his life.

Bikky had moved his family from Tokyo toAsahikawa City in Hokkaido around 1960 and shuttledthem back and forth between Asahikawa and Sapporoseveral times before relocating there in 1964. He wouldlive in the prefectural capital for the next fourteen years.Although his work was being shown in one-man showsin galleries in Tokyo and Sapporo and gaining increas-ing critical recognition, he could not make a livingfrom selling his fine art pieces. He turned instead to themodestly lucrative but unfulfilling task of creating Ainutourist art and selling the pieces through the Kitmiihoii

to grow artistically,

a time of frustration and,

Sidebar 6

Ainu Art and The Japanese ArtEstablishment

The attitude reflected in the traditionalJapanese art field for Ainu art has typicallybeen one of disdain. Many Japanese artcritics have stereotyped all Ainu art as tour-ist art while others have categorized Ainuart as merely being ethnographic artifacts.One of the reasons for this attitude is thatJapanese art historians have applied thecanonical criteria established in the Westernhierarchical classification system since theMeiji Restoration in 1868. Following thisevaluation system, Ainu art is regardedin the category of "low" craft or appliedart with the bulk of the pieces created by"anonymous" artists. The contrasting termi-nology "art" versus "craft" draws dichoto-mous boundaries between "high Japaneseart" over "low Ainu craft."

The earliest substantial contribution tothe study of Ainu art came in the work of

Ciilllilllk's oil pnxi- i2

31

Ainu Art and The Japanese ArtEstablishment continued

Sugiyama Sueo (1885-1946), an industrialdesigner and an owner of a design com-pany, who authored and published Ainuno Mon'yo (Ainu Design Motifs) in 1926.'This book was the first Japanese effort toexamine and analyze Ainu material cultureas art work. In the 1940s Sugiyama andthe Japanese scholar of the Ainu, KindaichiKyosuke (1882-1971) compiled all avail-able research into three volumes, Ainu noCeijutsu (Ainu Art). The first volume was asurvey of Ainu textiles published in 1941:the second was on woodcarvings (1942);and the third was on metal work andlacquerware (1943). These books containmany illustrations along with extensiveinformation and initiated a new interest inAinu art among academics.

Since then, little has been published ineither japan or the West on Ainu art,especially Ainu contemporary art. Modernartists have not been recognized or criti-cally appraised; without important cri-tiques by art critics, art historians, and theviewing public, recognition of traditionaland contemporary Ainu creative effortsas art remains problematic.^ However,in recent years some Ainu contemporaryartists have begun to publish art booksof their own work as a statement of theirartistic identity. Examples include worksby Nuburi Toko (1995), Mutsumi Chiriand Takao Yokoyama (1995), and SanaeOgawa and Machiko Kato (1996).

Mingei-sha (the Kitanihon Folkcraft Company), whichfilled much of his timer His ability to produce his large-scale work was also affected by suffering through severalyears of devastating vision and balance problems thatprevented him from producing any artwork—problemsbrought on by a head injury he suffered while drink-ing. His constant drinking and womanizing disruptedhis relationship with his second wife and their children,who were raised, essentially fatherless, in Asahikawa.

"Tentacle (a maze)"

Beginning in 1964, when Bikky first moved toSapporo, he began to pursue the first of the sculpturalthemes that had evolved from the "Animal" series. Inhis "Tentacle (a maze)" series he created mysteriousforms that invited viewers to handle them. Tentacle-likeprojections appear in some of Bikky s earliest knowndrawings (see Fig. 1.4) and primordial biological struc-tures fascinated Bikky. However, the biomorphic formsof the sculptures did not look like "any of a variety oflong, slender, flexible growths, as about the head ormouth of some invertebrate animals" as defined byWebster's dictionary; they did, however, invoke theaction ol those protrusions, recalling the way an octopusor squid touches and almost seems to fondle its food.He intentionally put the word "maze" in parentheses toevoke the audience's journey through an exhibition of his work.

Bikky believed that sculpture demanded to be touched. The tactile senseand the action of touching created a different way of seeing sculpture.He explained:

People should appreciate sculptures by touching them, but thereis always an ironclad rule not to touch sculptures in exhibitions.Although the sense of sight is central to modern times, I wondered if Icould grasp the deeper root meaning of human beings from the other

Sidebar Notes

1. Sugiy.um (1926, 1934, 1940)

2. Dubreuil (1999b, 2003).

32

degenerated tactile senses. This is hoiv I developed the tentacle theme.As I said, sculptures are not to be just seen but to be touched with thehands. You get into a dark exhibition hall while touching the sculp-tures with your hands and you eventually find your way out of theroo?n—you've walked through a "maze"ofscidpture that you see yourway through with your hands. That thought led to my maze theme.^

Bikky would sometimes cover his work with black cloth and let the publictouch the sculpture with their hands under the cloth.^ He also encouraged thepublic not only to touch the work with their hands, but also to play with andrearrange his work. For example, some of Bikky's "Tentacle (a maze)" works areformed from interlocking pieces carved out of a single piece of wood. Apart, eachpiece might appear to represent simple biologicalforms such as chromosomes or amoebas; together,depending on how they are arranged and the anglefrom which they are viewed, they appear to be menand women embracing, animals wrestling, or raw ener-gy twisting and writhing. Bikky wanted the movableelements to stimulate the publics imagination and givethe viewers new experiences or relationships with thesculptures. He wanted to convey through touching thewood the Ainu belief that all things in nature, animateor inanimate, have a kinship with humans. He alsowanted to stimulate senses more often used by animalsthan humans:

"The more you focus on the tactile sense asa theme, the more endless the concept becomes. Iteventually becomes visual. Although the struggle iscontinuous, the point of view from the tactile sense isalways there.

One of the Tentacle works that still existswas submitted to the Artists Union Exhibition atthe Tokyo City Museum in 1976 (Fig. 3.1). Thelarge piece is composed of several movable sculpturalforms connected with wooden pegs, allowing it to be

Fig. 3.1: Surviving Teiilihlc piece.

33

folded, bent, and stretched to create many variations. For instance, if it is foldedin half or in thirds, it appears to be a person hugging him or herself or two peopleembracing. When folded into a very tight, firm, and stable position, there is afeeling of fluid motion. When it is unfolded, it turns into an unstable and fragilepiece, devoid of life. Viewers were invited to play with it and create their ownforms and images.

Unforttmately, only a few of the "Tentacle (a maze)" works still exist. ToBikky, the process of creating his sculptures was almost more important than theend product. Bikky did not care greatly what happened to his sculptures oncehe had finished the process of creating them—for example, many of the 1970s"Tentacle (a maze)" works were stolen from an open truck after a major exhibitionwhile he went drinking with friends.

His emphasis on the process of artistic creation was no doubt because hehad a sensual relationship with the wood he was carving. He likened it to his rela-tionship to the many women in his life. In a letter to a friend he wrote, "The finerthe quality of wood becomes, the more like a woman it becomes. I know it's aterrible thing to say, but I enjoy how the wood changes when I have, what amountsto, an intimate (sensual) relationship with the wood. My new studio will be theplace to make love to the wood."''

Bikky's Tourist Art

In 1967, to support his wife Junko and their three small children, Bikkybegan working under an exclusive contract with the Kitanihon Mingei-sha (theKitanihon Folkcraft Company). In Hokkaido Bikky was well known for hisextremely innovative wooden jewelry incised with modernized Ainu designs, theso-called "Bikky patterns" {Bikky inon'yo). Even though the company hired him forhis "star quality" and didnt expect a great deal of work from him, Bikky producedan unbelievable amount of tourist art, mostly jewelry, during this period. He wasextremely prolific, even when drinking.

In the summer of 1967 Bikky made his own workshop in an enclosedspace in the company's warehouse. In this tiny workshop he made a bed from anold horse sleigh and brought in his books and tools. One of his friends describedBikky's routine at that time:

when I visited his studio, it was like a rag-and-hone shop. Bikkyoften dozed in a closet or in the chair in the daytime. He usually iventto Susukino [the nightlife district in Sapporo] to drink. His creation ofart was done f om midnight till the morning light after drinking.^

Even with his many distractions, he produced rings, necklaces, earrings,never using the same design twice. Bikky's jewehy sold extremely well even thoughit was priced up to ten times more than other artists' work. He also producedlarge numbers of carved wooden insects, reptiles,and fish using a relief technique (Fig. 3.2). Thesecharming pieces have articulated segments suchas wings, tails, heads, and joints, all pegged withwooden nails and carved with intricate Ainudesigns using the makiri, the traditional Ainucarving tool.

Tetsuji Takeishi, the Kitanihon FolkcraftCompany's managing director, said that by usingthe makiri, Bikky couldn't carve the precise circlespossible with a modern chisel and that his circleswere usually irregular. Bikky did not try to createexact circles, but he certainly had the technicalskill required to do so. When he created abstractart, he still carved in the traditional Ainu man-ner. The result is somewhat irregular, capturingthe distinctive rhythm that no one could copy.Bikky also created the unique algae color thatcoated the recessed surface of the designs, addingdepth and emphasizing the relief designs. Thecolor, looking very much like the green of oldcopper, was achieved through a mixture of pig-ments and oil stains.

Bikky also created several statues depict-ing traditional Ainu elders, although in thebeginning he didn't particularly like creatingthese stereotyped images." He also carved an

Fig. 3.2: Cirveii insects.

exquisite scene of confrontation between an Ainu elder and a bear from a treestump (Fig. 3.3). The sculpture creates a moment of deep tension showing the lifeand death struggle of a hunter and his prey. The bears hind leg is raised in space,which suggests a moment frozen in time, depicting action and pain. The sense of

spontaneity, the capturingof the awesome moment ofdeath, makes us voyeurs ofthis powerful scene.

Bikky was good atusing any piece of woodthat found its way to hishands and believed thatfate brought wood to himto be revived by his hands.His first deliberate experi-mentation at a totem poleas a concept resulted froma piece that had fallen froma dump truck, an objectthat would start him on atrip that would ultimatelychange his life. The ideaof using the totem-poleformat was probably planted in his subconscious by the art critic Miki, whohad used that term to describe an early work by Bikky years before. However,Kenichi Kawamura, ctdtural leader of the Asahikawa band of Ainu and a familyfriend, stated that Bikky was also influenced by images he had seen in NationalGeographic.'^

That first totem experiment, carved in 1972 (Fig. 3.4), was two metershigh. The pole depicts an Ainu elder, an owl, a pair of birds, and a bear. To thosefamiliar with the art of Canada's Northwest Coast Indians the work does notlook like a totem pole, but to the Ainu and Japanese, who had little knowledge oftotem poles, it did.

Although Bikky was proud of the quality of his work for the KitanihonFolkcraft Company, his eyesight was starting to fail, hampering his ability to do

Fig. 3.3: Bear and Hunter (Ekishi), 1973.

36

the fine, close-up work that he relied on for asteady livelihood.'" For this and a variety of otherreasons, he created very little fine art between1967 and 1974. He found the work physicallydifficult; even though he was only in his fiDrties.His difficulty with relationships was taking itstoll with his second marriage disintegrating.Always a heavy drinker, he was now drinking toan excess on a regular basis, with drink becomingboth the cause, and the effect, of his marital prob-lems. As an additional distraction, he becameembroiled in Ainu political causes, just as hisparents had done many years before."

Bikky's Activism

During the 1970s the Ainu demandfor equality and justice exploded, championedby the Ainu Liberation League and sympa-thetic Japanese. The movement coalesced in1970 around a bronze

Fig. 3.4: Totem Pole.

montiment, designedby Japanese sculptorShin Hongo, whichwas to be erected inAsahikawas Joban Parkas a monument to thecentennial of Japanesesettlement in Hokkaido. The Japanese pioneering spiritwas symbolized by four standing men identified with thetitles of The Surge (as a wave coming ashore). The Earth,A Fertile Plain, and The North Wind, while the aborigi-nal Ainu was illustrated by an elderly Ainu man entitledThe Kotan (Ainu village). The man knelt at the feet otthe Japanese pioneers, pointing to guide their way. The

Sidebar 7The Bear in Ainu Tourist Art

Almost all curio shops in Hokkaido sellbear carvings, exotic souvenirs of the"vanishing" Ainu race. The iyomante(bear spirit-sending ceremony) is known

to many |apanese through magazines,books, and even a song called Iyomanteno Yoru (Night of the Iyomante) popularin the 1940s and 1950s that conjure aromanticized image of the Ainu as noblesavages.

Traditionally, the Ainu never carved natu-ralistic images of humans and animals,

( (IHtimU's III! /'i/'s'l'

37

Fig. 3.5: 1 he Sutuc of Fiisetsu iio Guiizo (Wind and Snow Group) hy Shin 1 iongo, U)70 (1977).

implication was clear: the Japanese were the hiture of Hokkaido, not the Ainu(Fig. 3.5). This insensitivity enraged the Ainu community, and the artist's vagueand arrogant response created further hostility, as did his design change to showthe Ainu elder sitting on a stump, suggesting to the Ainu that they would alwayslook up to the Japanese.

When the statue was unveiled in the park, Bikky distributed protest hand-bills in downtown Asahikawa:

Why did the Ainu have to sit down in the kotan! Can't (the artist)make a composition in which all the figures are the same height?...

The Japanese images were illustrated as The Surge, The Earth,A Fertile Plain, and The North Wind. What a triumphant andboundless space these images create! Compare them with the imageof the Ainu, the title of the Kotan sounds so restricted. Why did we,the Ainu, have to sit down and stay in the kotan! Hokkaido used tobelong to us, didn't it?

It is o.k. to celebrate the centennial, but theJapanese aren't the only people who struggled.We, the Ainu, struggled, too, and these past onehundred years were the time of our humiliation.However, we try to get rid of the huyniliation, andthe Ainu are also standing pointing at the modernconsciousness.

Can we, the Ainu, proudly take a memorialpicture in front of this statue? No!

As long as the Ainu have to sit down and stayin the kotan, this monument cant rid us of theabominable way the Japanese have treated theAinu. The artist and the leaders of the city shouldunderstand this, signed Bikky Sunazawa.^'

In October 1972 the statue was destroyedby explosives. An Ainu ethnological display on theUniversity of Hokkaido campus was also blown up at thesame time. Because of Bikky s political activity, the policeimmediately suspected him and unsuccessfully attemptedto gather evidence against him. Between 1972 to 1974,many violent demonstrations were carried out in thename of Ainu liberation including the bombing of theworld headquarters of both the Mitsui and MitsubishiCompanies in Tokyo and the stabbing of the mayor ofShiraoi, home of the biggest Ainu museum and touristattractions in Hokkaido. However, many of theseincidents were later proved to be done by Japaneseliberation groups such as the Japanese Red ArmyFaction, without the political support of the Ainu.'^

Generally, Bikky didn't like belonging to anyorganized group, nor to be associated with them.He was especially critical of the Hokkido UtariAssociation." He believed that some Ainu belonged tothe Association simply to get benefits without trying

The Bear in Ainu Tourist Artcontinued

believing that the images could bepossessed by bad gods and harm people.They did, however, carve stylized kimun-kamuy, the bear god of the mountains, onprayer sticks, ceremonial headdresses, andsacred items used for ritual purposes suchas the bear inoka, used by the SakhalinAinu for the purpose of promoting fecun-dity of bears needed for the iyomante.^

The Ainu began carving bears for salein the early 1900s.^ It must have beendifficult for the Ainu to carve such asacred object for profit for the Japanese,but the Ainu realized they had to adaptto changing times. While many Ainu hadcarved the bear in miniature as part of theikupasuy (prayer sticks, see Sidebar 3) andstill more had carved a bear head as partof their headdress, no one had carveda full bear's body in a larger scale or ina realistic pose. This proved a problemat first. The earliest bears were far frombeing a faithful representation of theanimal—one scholar noted that they oftenlooked like pigs or alligators!^

The bear-carving skills of the Ainuprogressed rapidly, however, and by theearly 1920s Umetaro Matsui (1901-1949)(Fig. 3.7.2), from the Chikabumi kotan,(Ainu settlement) emerged as a celebratedbear carver. Matsui's bears capture theanimal's awesome power and showedit as a formidable foe in the wild; it'sobvious that he observed bears in nature.

Fig. 3.7.2: Photo of Umetaro Mncsui.

Coiiliiiiic\ (III -41

39

to understand their policies. He wasvery troubled that some Ainu wereso secure in the Association that theywere stuck in a narrow world viewof victims of discrimination, andhe believed that some Ainu wouldnever leave the kotan mentally. Hecould not stand that they were will-ing to just live in the past. He trulybelieved if you have something tosay, you should say it independentlywithout the support from a politicalorganization.'^

Although Bikky generallypreferred independent action tobelonging to organizations, he waspersuaded to stand as chairman tothe January 1973 National AinuConference held in Sapporo. Healso participated in the 44th Pan-Hokkaido United Labor Day Rallyin May. "I Ve never participated inthis kind of organized racial rallybefore," Bikky told a reporter. "Asour racial consciousness grows, I want to appeal to the Ainu to gain awarenessof our situation and be proud ot being Ainu.Marchers prepared placards thatfocused on the major issues of the Ainu such as "Let the last unspoiled wilder-ness (Mount Daisetsu) be in our hands," and "Represent true Ainu history inschool textbooks." They also hoisted the "Ainu flag" designed by Bikky with a redarrowhead accentuated by a white design symbolizing the deep snow of Hokkaido,against the intense blue of the sky. An arrowhead embodies the spirit of theiyoniajite, the bear ceremony. Bikky walked with the flag at the head of theprocession (Fig. 3.6).

In June 1973 a monthly ne^ws'pzper A-ntari Ainu (We human beings)was published for the first time. Edited by younger Ainu activists, the journal

Fig. 3.6: Ainu Flag, 1973.

40

reexamined Ainu cultural identit)^. Bikky designed a logoand carved woodcut illustrations. Unfortunately, thenewspaper ceased publication in 1976.

While he was gaining public trust and admira-tion, Bikkys private life was in turmoil. He didn't engagein any public artistic activities—except for one Tentacleexhibition in 1973 in Tokyo—during the period he wasworking in the Kitanihon Folkcraft Company to makea living. He was frustrated with his situation as an art-ist. He wanted to be a successful modern sculptor, buthe couldn't sell his larger abstract work, especially inSapporo. To make matters worse, because of his finan-cial difficulties, he couldn't afford to buy high-qualitywood and had no room in his workshop for large-scalework. He often complained to his wife Junko that ifhe couldn't create modern sculptures, he didn't feel likehe was being true to himself Moreover, it caused the

estrangement betweenhim and his family toworsen day by day. Bikkywas depressed, drinkingheavily, and womanizingcompulsively.

The Bear in Ainu Tourist Artcontinued

In 1933 Matsui received a special awardat the Ainu Craftwork Art Exhibition spon-sored by the Hokkaido Prefectural Office.This honor was surpassed in 1936 whenhe was asked to carve a bear for presenta-tion to Emperor Hirohito who was makingan official visit to Asahikawa. Due to theEmperor's acceptance of the gift, the bearcarvings of the Chikabumi Ainu becamefamous in japan and greatly increased thesales of all Ainu tourist art. Matsui beganputting his signature on his work fromthis point on.'*

In the 1930s, a Japanese modern sculp-tor, Kensei Kato (1894-1966), was invitedto Asahikawa several times to give theAinu carvers guidance and training.5 Thisgave the Ainu carvers a "formal" artisticbackground that included design andcomposition, and this experience seemedto have a strong impact on the art of bearcarving. Because of his reputation as amaster carver, and because he was oneof the most important cultural leaders,one of these trained carvers was probablyBikky Sunazawa's father, Koa-kanno, wholived in the Chikabumi kotan.

In 1937 the Hokkaido IndustrialExperimental Laboratory tried to createa larger variety of designs worthy of

Cuiitiniws on pa^e 42

The "/^/-men" (Wooden Mask) Series

In 1975 Bikky finally worked through hisdepression, stimulated by masks Takeji Takahashibrought back from a business trip to Bangkokand Singapore.'*^ Bikky began by carving masksdeveloped aroimd variations on the Japanese kanjicharacter ^/.''* Bikky named the theme Ki-men, inwhich the character ki means "wood," and menmeans "mask." Like his other series, Ki-men con-tinued his exploration of visual and tactile elements

Fig. 3.7: Lip Mask.

41

The Bear in Ainu Tourist Artcontinued

of human and animal bodies that he had pursued inAnijjial and Tentacle (a maze).

Some masks appeared to be pictorial symbols,while others look like wild imaginary creatures. Someare very simple shapes, such as circles. Others have asensual quality, such as the mask in Fig. 3.7 that haslip-like shapes carved down its entire surface, whileothers appear to be human genitalia. These shapes sug-gest intimacy and life, supporting Bikky's notion thatwood is a "living thing." Bikky explained in an inter-view, "I wanted to express both faces of masks—thefront and the back."'" He worked both sides of themasks with deep, rhythmic chisel marks, observing that"I finally understood that the greater element of a maskwas the back side.""'

Ki-men was also influenced by the word play ofBikky's abstract essays and poems. He played with thevisual forms of ki just as he played with words in hispoetry. The ki image was sometimes created using justa hint of the characters shape or a fragment taken fromits meaning and developed into several specific imagesfirst by sketching the abstract form. As with most of hiscarvings, the object rarely changed significantly fromthe final sketch.

Between 1975 and 1979 Bikky created as many as one hundred and fiftymasks, all using the pale wood of the walnut tree {Gastrolina thoracica), which isnative to Hokkaido. Bikky pursued the Ki-men series for the pure joy of a personalcreative challenge, part of his constant urge to experiment with his art.

Hokkaido's natural beauty. For instance,they created various products with bearmotifs.'' It remains unclear how many ofthe experimental products were actuallymerchandised in the markets, but it con-tributed a great deal to the tourist indus-tries in Hokkaido in 1938 and to the for-mation of the Ainu Folkcraft Organizationin the same year. World War II curtailedthe market for tourist art, but AsahikawaCity did not suffer any war damage.Immediately after the war the AsahikawaFolkcraft Organization began producingwoodcarvings to answer the marketdemands from the American soldiers ofthe Occupation Forces.-' The product linenow included practical items that wereproduced for the Americans. Almost allitems were created with a design that hadsomething to do with bears, killer whales,salmon, or with traditional Ainu designs.Bikky, as a young Ainu artist who beganto work in this era, refused to follow thesetrends and as he so often did, created hisown way, revolutionizing Ainu tourist artas he did so.

Today Ainu carvers such as Takeki Fujito(b. 1 934) create wildlife fine art of thehighest order. The work of Fujito, themost respected and successful of the Ainuwildlife artists, in found throughout theworld. While he creates all manner ofanimals in the Ainu spiritual pantheon,and other representational art such as life-

Kamuy-mintar (The Playground of the Gods)

In the summer of 1976 Bikky decided to escape from city life in Sapporoand think about the course ol his life and his artwork. He was forty-five and real-ized he needed time to decide what to do next. He camped in Ubun outside ofAsahikawa City, where he and his father struggled to farm after World War II. It

42

was also where he had awakened to the joys of the abstractmanner of sketching and confronted his own feehngs ofinferiority caused by racial prejudice. This three-monthperiod of isolation gave him a tremendous opportunityto find himself Bikky pitched a tent, built a rock hearth,and bathed in the river. He returned to Sapporo spiritu-ally refreshed and ready to resume his work.

Almost immediately he received a commissionto create a work for the Komakusa-so, an indoor onsen(hot springs) for the Hokkaido Prefecture City StaffMutual Aid Union. The commissioner, Tetsuo Endo, wasa former director of the Asahikawa Local Museum whoknew Bikky. Endo was having a hard time filling a largewall space in the lobby of the omen and asked Bikky tocome and take a look at the space. Bikky did and tele-phoned a couple days later, "If you find a large log of sen{Caster aralia), I will do it.""'

The first thing Bikky did was to bring in an oldhorse-drawn sleigh to be used as his bed and put it infront of the space where the work would hang. Endodescribed Bikky sitting in the sleigh, staring at the spacein the hall for a long time while drinking whiskey. If hegot tired he slept on the sleigh. He made many sketches,and when he began carving, he would work for awhileand then run his rough hands gently, sensitively over thewood, his eyes becoming very emotional.

Bikky named the work Knmuy-mintar, the play-ground of the gods, and it came to be one of Bikky sfavorite works. He would often return to the onsen to beclose to it."^ Bikky explained what the sculpture meantto him:

Several years ago I came hack to Hokkaido because I realizedhow strongly I was attracted to Hokkaido's wilderness. Mt. Daisetsulooked like a father opening his hands wide to welcome the summer.In winter the mountain showed its severe monochromatic colors. Our

The Bear in Ainu Tourist Artcontinued

size statuary of Ainu elders, he considershimself a simple "bear carver." Fujito,the ultimate role model, challenges otherwildlife artists to move away from thecraft production of the stereotypical tour-ist bear. As the Ainu culture experiences arevitalization, the challenge is being met.s

Sidebar Notes

1. M. Kono (1985:15).

2. K. Sake (1979); Ohtsuka (1982);Ishijima (1979, 1981).

Arai (1992:82); K. Saito (1979:4).

Ishijima (1981:11-12).

Kensei Kato was born in 1894in Gifu prefecture, but his familymoved to Hokkaido after his birth.He graduated from KamikawaJunior High School in Asahikawacity. He worked as a substituteteacher in the Ubun ElementarySchool from 1913, while living inthe lodgings of a farm house nearthe school. He devoted himselfto teaching, but was inspired bythe tutoring of sculptor TeijiroNakahara (1888-1921) and heentered Art School in Tokyo in1915. He studied under KounTakamura (1852-1934). He waslater selected to be one of the Nittenjudges. He received an Art AcademyPrize in 1951 and he became amember of the Art Academy in1962. He passed away in 1966 atthe age of 74 (K. Saito 1980:3).

6. Ohtsuka (1982:16).

7. Ibid.: 17; Ishijima (1980a:3-4)

8. Dubreuil (1999b, 2003).

43

Aiflu Utari [brotherhood] called it "a garden where the gods play" andI was swallowed up in its magnificence.

I symbolized the flying butterflies over the floiver gardens ofMt.Daisetsu in the upper portion of the scidpture. I also symbolized the"autumn horse mackerels" [a fish] going upstream in the Ishikari Riverthat comes from Mt. Daisetsu in the lower portion of the scidpture.Afier I finished it and looked at the building site again, I realized thebuilding was placed on a gorgeous site! '^

Kamuy-mintar (Fig. 3.8), which may be the first piece of work Bikkynamed in the Ainu language, was a turning point for Bikky. In the past he hatedto be referred to as the "Ainu" modern sculptor. He didn't like to be treateddifferently because of his being Ainu and avoided native themes or titles in hiswork (with some notable exceptions), fie ciidnt like viewers to see his work with

Fig 3.8: Kamuy-»!i)!tiit\ 1977.

a fixed concept or an expectation of being something Ainu. His personal view ofart was that 'whether the artwork is good or not has nothing to do with beingan Ainu or being a Japanese. Good artwork is just good."'^ When he depictedthe mysticism of his connection to Mount Daisetsu, he couldn't use anything butAinu words—the poetic quality of its title sounds like the soft echoing of the godsat play.

In 1978, the year after he created Kamuy-mintar, his life took a dramaticturn. He divorced his second wife in May, dating his soon-to-be third wife Ryoko

44

before the dissolution. At the end of September Bikky held a one-man show in agallery in Sapporo, where he met the director of the high school in Otoineppu, avery small village located in a remote northern district of Hokkaido.The direc-tor, Takashi Kano, asked Bikky to come anci see the village, which is surroundedby forests."^^ When Bikky visited Otoineppu a month later he fell in love withthe magnificent natural environment. The village administrators, believing thatan association with Bikky, the well-known carver, would be good for the village,suggested that Bikky use an abandoned elementary school as his studio. Bikkydesperately wanted to escape from his creative sliuTip and immediately made uphis mind to seize this opportunity. In November, he moved to Otoineppu fromSapporo. Otoineppu was already in the beginning of a severe winter. The stage wasset for the most profound change in his life.

End Notes

1. Shibuzawii (1990:156-61).

2. The Kitanihon Folkcr.ih Company is one oi the largest suppHers ot Ainu tourist art, and in 1993 thecompany made a net profit of six milhon dollars. It is owned by a Japanese businessman and currently allof its carvers and other employees are Japanese. Ainu carvers have difficulty finding outlets for their workwithout going through a Japanese wholesaler.

3. Asahi Shimbim (August 28, 1988). Shigeru Kayano, cultural leader ot the Nibutani band ot Ainu, men-tioned at Bikky s wake: "I was asked to create Ainu art work tor the University of Hokkaido. Bikky wasvisiting me, observing what I was doing, for a week or so. I happened to look up and I saw Bikky 'look-ing' at the work with his eyes closed, slowly and lightly running his hands over the art. I was surprised asI watched Bikky, as I never saw anyone look so deeply at something with their eyes closed. Later in theweek Bikky made me a bell which I still have in my room." (March 1989:54).

4. Asahi Shimhim (April 6, 1974).

5. B. Sunazawa, Te (Hands), from the catalogue of Ikki-ttnlioku (1988).

6. Personal correspondence with Katsumi Yazaki, October 24, 1981. Yazaki is an artist and a filmmaker inSapporo. The language used to describe wood in the letter is that of a man addressing a respected andhonored lover.

7. Ishikawa (1989).

8. Bikky would, in later lite, go on to make very fine examples of the ektishi, the male Ainu elders.

9. Interview, Kenichi Kawamura (October 1985). A check ot back issues ot Niiiioiiiil (icognipluc showedtwo editions, January 1945 and March 1972, that teatured Haida and other Northwest tribal art. The1945 issue had a series of paintings that emphasized traditional scenes ot Northwest Coast lite stich as apole-raising ceremony at a Haida village. The 1972 issue shows a Haida carver, Rutus Moody, workingon a model totem pole. The 1972 issue also shows a scene of decaying totem poles in the island, whichwould aftect Bikky a great deal in a few years. Of the many totem poles Bikky carved, he never copied orduplicated a totem pole from Canada's Northwest Coast or trom any other culture tiiat has "totem poles."It was the concept ot vertically stacked images overlapping and interacting with each other that intriguetiBikky.

10. Interview with Takeji Tlikahashi (April 8, 1994).

11. Interview with Katsumi Yazaki (April 15 and 20, 1994).

12. A copy of the handbill can be found in the Asahikawa City Library.

13. In 1946 the pan-hlokkaido Ainu Conference was held in Shizunai and established the Hokkaido AinuAssociation. Irs purpose was to improve and develop the social welfare ol the Ainu. However, while theiractivity was stagnant for a time, a general meeting was held in 1960 and re-established the Associationin 1961. Its name was changed to the Hokkaido Utari Association from the Hokkaido Ainu Association.The meaning of the Ainu was originally "the humans," but it was misused as a discriminatory word bythe Japanese government, and some Ainu had a feeling of the resistance to the word. So they changed thename to the Utari which meant "brotherhood." The Hokkaido Utari Association is the largest Ainu orga-nization in Japan and it has about 16,000 memberships (Asaji, Miyatake, and Nakama 1993:92-3).

14. Sanders (1986:137-8).

15. While critical of the Utari Association, he nevertheless lent his name and energy whenever called upon.\G. Asahi Shimbiw (May 1, 1973).

17. Interview Junko Sunazawa (April 25, 1994).

18. Tikeji Takahashi interview (April 18, 1994).

19. There are more than two hundred Chinese characters that have the homonym of" the ki sound in theJapanese kanji dictionary.

20. Auihi ShDiihiiii (July 19, 1976).

21. S. Sekiguchi (1978).

22. T. Endo (1990).

23. Ibid.

24. Bikky Sunazawa (1977).

IS. Asahi Slnmbuu (May 13, 1982).

26. Otoineppu means a place where an estuary of the river got muddy in the Ainu language. The village iscalled a "village of forests," because more than eighty percent of the village land is filled with forests. Theexperimental plantation of Hokkaido University Forest is also located nearby (1992 Otoineppu VillageReport, see map for location).

27. Auxin Shiuilntu (December 29, 1979).

47

Chapter 4

Totem Poles and Tall Trees: Bikky Returns to His Roots

(1978-1983)

Wood has an infinite mystery as a material. The average

tree around here has 200 growth rings, which meansthat it has lived four times longer than me and has morewords than me. We have to know and listen to it.'

- The town of Otoineppu, only ninety kilometers (fifty-six miles) fromHokkaido's northernmost point, is very cold and very far removed from Sapporowith its museums and galleries—and even farther from Tokyo. It was close, how-ever, to Bikky's beloved trees. Bikky knew as soon as he arrived that he had lotmdhis new home, and it was here that he created some of his greatest work.

The environment seemed daunting when he arrived in November 1978.The area was already in the grip of winter—a winter that leaves villagers snow-bound more than six months a year. It is a place where it is normal to have morethan two meters (six feet) of snow on the ground, with temperatures well belowzero. Bikky lived among the forests in a tiny village of less than fifty people calledOsashima, a flat area along the Teshio River. But before long Bikky, Ryoko, andhis three children from his second marriage" had the abandoned elementary schoolthat was their new home all set up: he divided the school space into the livingand working space; the small gymnasium became the living area; one classroomwas turned into his studio, and another became a gallery. It was an unbelievablylarge space when compared with his small workshop in Sapporo. Bikky named hisstudio the Atelier Sanmore.''

Bikky had easy access in his new studio to raw materials because aroiuidhim stretched the experimental forest plantation of the Hokkaido University

Forest. The undulating mountains beyond the plantation are filled with oldgrowth forests with a combination of coniferous and deciduous trees. Bikky wasvery sensitive to the properties of different kinds of wood, "All wood is alive," hetold one art critic, "and different kinds of woods have different personalities.'"* Inthe past it had always been a struggle to find the wood he needed to produce art;this new world with its ready availability of raw material was "like putting a fishback into the water."'

Before long, Bikky had adopted a Glehns spruce {Picea glehnii Mast) inthe forest that inspired him. Older than the other trees, the three-hundred-year-oldgiant stands more than forty meters (130 leet) high. He visited the tree in his sparemoments many times. Because of his love for this tree, his friends and the villagersstill call it "Bikkys tree." While it isnt a shrine or a sacred tree in the Shinto sense,people nonetheless visit the tree and find it spiritually uplifting.

The Totem Pole at the Ainu Memorial Museum

Bikky got right to work. He had received a commission to carve a totempole*" to be placed in front ol the Ainu Memorial Museum founded by KanetoKawamura in Chikabumi kotmu Asahikawa, where Bikky had been born andraised. The museum had been remodeled, and the Ainu people of that areawanted a symbolic work of art depicting the important beliefs of the Ainu forits reopening. The new director of the museum, Kenichi Kawamura, KanetoKawamuras son, asked Bikky to do the work. Bikky designed the pole, but askedAinu carvers to assist him so that the work would be an Ainu statement, not solelyBikkys project. The ten-meter pole was erected in April 1979 (Fig. 4.1).

At the top of the pole is the owl, a very powerful protective god of thekotan, below that is the itokpa, or family crest, of the Kawamuras, a stylized whale'sdorsal fin. Next are prayer instruments for the gods: an ikupasuy (prayer-stick) rest-ing on a sake cup and saucer, tuki, followed by a dugout canoe. In the open spaceof the canoe is a brown bear's head, the god of the mountains, and a killer whale,the god of the seas.*^

50

The Talk-about-Trees Exhibition

When Bikky moved to Otoineppu, the villagers—mostly of Japanesedescent—thought that a "strange (Ainu) bear carver" had moved to the village.They later found out that he was a sculptor creating contemporary art and thatwas somehow threatening/' For these and other reasons it was difficult for Bikkyto be accepted in such a small community. He needed to have an opportunityto communicate with the villagers, so he and his friends organized a small com-munity event, which was called Ki o Katari Sakuhin-ten (The Talk-about-TreesExhibition). In the exhibition, held May 27 through June 1, 1979, Bikky high-lighted Otoineppu as the "village of forests." He showed different kinds of art-work made with wood, exhibiting his own sculpture, including surviving worksfrom his "Tentacle series.He also asked his artist friends in Tokyo and Sapporoto participate in this event, many o{ whom were willing to display their paint-ings, films, poetry, music, and sculpture alongside the work of local high schoolstudents and villagers.

The "Talk-about-Trees Exhibition" became a bigger event in the communityyear by year as the support from the community grew. Soon the village officialsbegan providing the operating budget and the executive committees. Throughthe years the villagers seemed to gain a respect for and understanding of Bikky'sabstract art, a very different type ot artistic expression than they usually appreci-ated. It helped that Bikky accepted all reactions to his art, good or bad, with equalgrace. The exhibition was an annual event until Bikkys death in 1989.

Bikky helped the community realize that the forest's resources wentbeyond timber for building materials by stimulating the villagers' imagination andcreativity. Village officials began to encourage small local industries to producewooden objects such as fine art, furniture, and craft items and tried to provide thecommercial access to sell them as representative of village products. In 1985 theOtoineppu High School was founded to educate gifted teenagers from all overJapan in woodworking and related arts.

The Toh Series and Other Works

Bikky started a new series ol simple, abstract sculptures entitled Toh(Columnar Shapes) in 1979. The series was based on vertical forms, inspiredperhaps by the tall trees around him and the columnar art he had been creating.

Unlike the smooth finish of many traditional Japanese works, Bikky begancovering the entire surface of his work with a tightly controlled, scale-like texturecomposed from small chisel marks.

The first work in the series, purchased by the village of Otoineppu, andnow on display at the high school, consists of two simple nara (Japanese oakmilled logs), fashioned into a cross, the top of the vertical log split to fit thehorizontal log. One commentator suggested that "the form reminds one of Christhanging on the cross, whose image of the nature's grandeur is overlapping the godthat Bikky learned from his parents."" One of Bikky's close friends said, however,that Bikky had no intention of suggesting a Christian symbol.''

In 1980 Bikky built a second studio, a prefabricated steel building inwhich he installed an overhead traveling crane that allowed him to manipulatelarge logs. He also installed a saw and power generator." One of his masterworks,the massive, solid Kami no Shita (Tongue of God, Fig. 4.2) was one of the firstpieces to be created in his new studio. This large piece (201 x 116 x 54 centi-meters or 80 X 45 X 21 inches) looks so natural that it seems to have been broughtfrom the forest as is. Many cracks and stains are prominent in the wood, and itappears to have spent many years exposed to the sun, rain, and wind. The tightlyincised chisel marks on the surface invite viewers to touch it with their hands. Itseems to be a living thing and the power of its dignified presence is overwhelming.

The shape and title of the Tongue of God also suggests the "tongue" ofthe ikupasuy, or prayer-stick, which is carved in a flattened shape and is the mostimportant spiritual article Ainu use to communicate with the gods' world (seeSidebar 3, page 3). The Ainu consider it a living thing with a soul. In some Ainuregions, artists incise the shape of an arrowhead or triangle into the tapered endol the prayer-stick, which is called the pariinpe, meaning a tongue. The pariinpedelivers the message of the prayer to the gods. This monumental and massivetongue might have been created to send a message to the highest ranking god whoontrols the dispensation of nature's power.

One ol his most successful and interesting works is Kita no Dobntsu Tachi(Northern Animals), created in 1980 (Fig. 4.3). The ten abstract pieces of varioussizes and shapes are always casually displayed on the floor. The tallest twistedcylinder stands erect and several irregular, abstract shapes of wood surround it.A long log lies on the floor completing the composition. The placement makesthe pieces appear to be natural, organic objects brought from the forest. The

4

Fig. 4.3: k'itii no Dohiitsii tacbi (Northern Animals), 1980.

thousands of tiny chisel marks on each piece indicate Bikky's tremendous love oithe work. These ten pieces, all wooden animals, are the result of aggressively push-ing abstraction from his first drawings of farm animals through the years. Thetwisted cylinder with one projection might be a deer from the Hokkaido forestsand the surrounding small pieces might be abstractions of a tox, rabbit, bear, orother wild animals or animals from Ainu mythology. Although they all are veryabstract, Bikky captured the essence of animal forms.

The Otoineppu Tower Totem Pole

In early June of 1980 the Otoineppu Village Office commissioned Bikkyto carve a totem pole for the seventieth anniversary of the village. The villageofficials wanted to symbolize the promotion and the development ol the villagethrough the slogan of the "village ol forests." Bikky accepted the proposal and a

55

friend, Makoto Kawakami, owner of the local lumber company, found a four-hundred-year-old Manchurian ash {tamo) in the Hokkaido University Forest forhim.'^ Bikky immediately made a complete design for the pole that symbolized thelocal products and industries.

Bikky and four assistants worked feverishly for three months to completethe pole in time for its September 6 unveiling. More than two hundred villagerscame to Bikkys studio to pick up the pole using three wagons. They pulled thewagons by hand for more than nine kilometers to the train station. When thetotem pole arrived, the station square was filled with seven hundred waitingvillagers.'^ It was a memorable experience and brought community pride to the

villagers who worked together toraise the pole. On the NorthwestCoast of North America, a totem-pole-raising is always an excitingevent. This raising was no differ-ent. The totem pole was named"Otoineppu Tower." While thepole was aesthetically pleasing,Bikky did not take the area's fiercewinds into account when engineer-ing the pole and it broke into piecesduring a horrific winter stormseveral years later.

At the end of 1980, afterthree years' absence, Bikky held asmall exhibition entitled "BikkyRiding on A Wooden fiorse" in agallery in Sapporo. He exhibitedthe unique furniture he created andactually used at home. He had analmost magical ability to transformeveryday household items into hisown fantastic objects. Several smallchairs were connected together, forc- // CI I T w-ri D J r-ru ,no, examolc, aud entitled A^/V/'/'Tt^/'w.

Fig. 4.4: Shiko 110 Ton (The Birds ot Thought), 1981. r ' ^

56

Birds and Wooden Flowers

In 1981 Bikky received a commission from the Otoineppu ski resortto carve three totem poles'^'and another commission from the NakagawaExperimental Forest of the Hokkaido University for a grouping of three poles,which came to be called the Shiko Jio Tori (The Birds of Thought). An imaginarybird rests on three joined pillars, which symbolize the past, present, and future.They were erected on a snowy November 21, just two days short of the three yearssince Bikky moved to this area (Fig. 4.4).

While 1981 was a busy year lor Bikky, he took time to do some publicservice by designing another pole for the village that would draw attention to asign that announced the village's traffic safety record. Acting as a consultant, hedid little of the carving, but designed the sign and supervised the work of the localhigh school students. This kind of generosity was typical of Bikky.

Bikky began a new series in 1982 called Jiika (Wooden Flowers; Fig. 4.5).In preparation, he spent six months gathering branches from the willow groves

Fig. A.5:Jiikti (Wooden Mowers), \

along the Teshio River near his home. He cut them every morning and broughtthem to his studio, where he peeled the bark off each branch. Day after dayhe would peel them, sometimes with the help of his wife. One day his wifecomplained to him, "You cant make a living just peeling the bark off willowbranches." He replied, "You think I'm crazy, but I'm going to do great things. I'ma genius."^'' Eventually, after six months, his studio was filled with huge piles ofwillow branches equal to ten two-ton truck loads.

With his raw material in place, the pieces began to take shape. He startedwith a young tree with only a few branches as a base. Viewers participated increating the pieces by adding a willow branch from the stack piled next to thebase, somewhat like a bird making its nest. Bikky strongly believed that audiencesshould be allowed to participate in the making of art, to physically and spirituallyexperience the art, to touch and play, to enjoy. Bikky took particular joy sharinghis work with mentally challenged children, giving them the opportunity to partic-ipate in the arrangement of the wooden flowers. Their eyes shone as they touchedthe willow branches, gently adding them to the creation by themselves.

Not only was the art participatory, but it evoked the Ainu ijiaiv, a simpletree branch—often willow—finely shaved and tufted at one end and used in Ainuritual ceremonies (see Sidebar 3, page 3). This icon, beautiful in its simplicity, isa part of the traditional Ainu way of life, and Bikky kept several of them aroundhis house. As nature is at the core of Ainu religion, and because Bikky felt sucha spiritual relationship with wood, it is only natural that he would give so muchenergy to the wooden flower theme. The Ainu believe that after receiving a prayer,the inaw turns into a bird to deliver the message. It's interesting to note that manyof Bikky s later works, regardless of the dominant theme, included birds.

Bikky was still actively producing the Juka series at the beginning of 1983.He had no idea that he would find himself creating art thousands of miles awayfrom Ainu country by the end of the year. He would see first-hand the totempoles that had inspired him and find himself at home among the native carvers ofthe tribes of the Northwest Coast of Canada. This experience was to change theremainder of his life.

End Notes

1. Interview with Bikky, September 1988, on Nichiyu Bcjiitsn-kaii broadcast, February 1 1, 1990.

2. Bikky inA his second wife, Junko amicably agreed that the children would stay with h\m. Soon after theymoved to Otoineppu, Bikky's girlfriend, Ryoko, moved in, and aker a period of time, they were married.

3. Bikky liked to name his studios. His first studio in Sapporo, actually a room in his house, was named"more" in English, and his studio at the craft company in Sapporo was named "more and more," again inEnglish. Atelier means "studio" in French. San means "three" in Japanese, so the name means "more, more,and more." (Interview with Makoto Kawakami, January 23, 1995).

4. Hokkai Tnnes (December 6, 1980).

5. Nichiyo Bijutsu'kan (broadcast February 11, 1990).

6. Although the Ainu did not have the custom ol creating totem poles in ancient times, they have beenerecting small "totem poles" in the tourist areas since the end of World War II. They remind me of" thecarved wooden Indian statues that were put in front of cigar stores and other shops in America aroimd theturn of the century and earlier.

7. Kaneto Kawamura (1893-1977) was the hereditary chief and a grandson of the famous Ainu chiefMonokute in Peniun-kotan. Kaneto was a well-respected person who contributed a great deal to the Ainuhuman rights struggle throughout his life. He founded the Ainu Museum in Asahikawa after World WarII (Arai Genjiro 1992:65—7). After his death, his son Kenichi inherited the responsibility of managing themuseum and preserving the Ainu culture in that area.

8. K. Kawamura (1990).

9. Hokkaido Shinibun (June 27, 1981).

10. Bikky completed his tenth "Tentacle" work using a local tree, a Japanese oak, at the end of January, 1979(Asahi Shirulmu, January 30, 1979).

11. Nichiyo Bijutsu-kan (broadcast February 11, 1990).

12. Interview with Makoto Kawakami (January 12, 1995).

13. Hokkai Times (January 29, 1980).

14. Kawakami was more than a friend in the usual sense. Although Bikky had many friends, Kawakami wasone of a small group of men that Bikky confided in on all matters. He also spent a great deal of time inthe forest with Bikky selecting just the right trees for his many projects.

15. Okamoto (1981).

16. Unfortunately during the mid 1990 s a severe storm toppled one of the poles at the ski resort. A newmaintenance man, not knowing the importance of the pole, thought it was worthless junk, and burned it.

17. A. Motoi (1994:296).

Chapter 5

Transforming Visions: Bikl<y and tine Northwest Coast

of Canada (1983)

when I first met Haida artist Bill Reid, my stereotypeof Indians was shattered. Here was a Native person whowas successfiA-l and respected, someone with pride.'

A Serendipitous Visit

In the summer of 1983 Bikky was unexpectedly drawn into an adventurethat would mark a turning point in both his personal and artistic life. The catalystfor change was Douglas Sanders, Professor of Law at the University of BritishColumbia. Dr. Sanders, an expert on legal issuesconcerning Canadian and other indigenous peoples,traveled to Japan to study Ainu radicalism. Whilelecturing on the Indigenous Protection Act at theUniversity of Hokkaido, he made the acquaintanceof Professor Kenji Sanekata, who was on the facultyof Law at the university. Dr. Sanekata and his fianceMasumi invited Sanders to travel with them in north-ern Hokkaido. Masumi had read about Bikky and on awhim they dropped by his studio.

Sanders, who collected indigenous art h'omaround the world, had enjoyed the Ainu tourist art hehad seen around Hokkaido and recognized the distinc-tive design elements on the carvings Bikky had in hisworkshop. Sanders asked many questions related toBikky's cultural identity and where he fit into Ainu art.

Sidebar 8Bikky's Tools

Ainu men have been proudof producing a variety ofcarvings using only a smallhome-made knife calledthe makiri, and Bikky wasno different. The makiriwas used not only

for carving utilitarian pjg_ 3 g j. yv/,,^„,/household objects

such as bowls but also for the exquisitelycarved ceremonial objects such as the all-important ikupasuy and inaw (see Sidebar3). Ainu boys learned to master the makiriby watching their fathers, grandfathers,and other elders, and when one had mas-tered these skills, the community consid-ered him to be an independent carver aswell as a man. Ainu men always wore themakiri hanging from their belts encased inan intricately carved wooden sheath, thedesign engraved with great care. A man'scarving skill was judged by the quality ofboth design and technique found on thesheath and hilt of the makiri.

{ 'onliiiiic\ (III fhixc 62

61

Bikky Tools continued

Ainu women also had their own makiri,called the menoko-makiri (woman's knife),used for cutting clothes, preparing food,or skinning hides. This knife was alsoculturally important—its sheath and hiltwas carved elaborately by men, and whena young man was interested in a girl, hecarved a menoko-makiri and gave it to her.If she accepted it and wore it on her side,she accepted his love.'

When Bikky was a child, he learned tocarve in the traditional manner using themakiri from his father, who was greatlyrespected for his traditional carvings.Later, when Bikky sought new carvingchallenges, he used it almost exclusivelyto create the beautiful Bikky mon'yo in hisjewelry. While commercial carving knivesand small chisels would have given acleaner, more precise cut, Bikky felt thatwork produced with commercial tools wastoo sterile.

As he grew professionally, he began tocarve larger sculptures, and he had toteach himself to use a wide variety ofhand tools such as chisels, hand axes,and other chopping and shaping tools.He also used power tools such as drills,pneumatic chisels, and chain saws torough out a piece, but they were onlya means to an end. Bikky loved to workaggressively with hand tools. There wassomething sensual about his swinging anaxe to a rhythm, wood chips flying, hisface shinning with sweat, grunting withevery swing of the axe. He often roughedout several works at once. Later, perhapsdays later, he would use progressivelysmaller hand tools to the point he wouldoften just caress the wood with the chiselcreating a texture for a new life form.The process of creating a work broughtphysical pleasure to Bikky, and hand toolswere his way of communicating directlywith the feminine spirit of the wood. Hebegan using an elbow adze, favorite toolsof the Native artists, after his work withBill Reid in British Columbia.

I visited his studio after his death andthe experience was truly surreal. On thewall above a work bench, each in itsown place, were more than one hundredcarving tools such as makiri, larger knives,

Although Bikky had begun to come to terms withhis racial identity, he wasnt happy about the Ainuquestions, nor was he happy about being classified asan Ainu artist. Sanders did not know that Bikky wasdeeply conflicted about his heritage and thought Bikkywas withdrawn and uncommunicative. Bikky finallybecame firiendlier after Sanders asked him knowl-edgeable questions about the design elements on hiscarvings. Bikky took them into his studio to show onthe blackboard how the elements could be modifiedand combined. He further explained he had developedmany of the current designs found in Ainu tourist's art,and Sanders realized that many of the distinctive Ainudesigns he saw in the gilt shops all over Hokkaido wereindeed derived from Bikky s work.

Later that day, Bikky mentioned that he hadreceived a cultural exchange scholarship from thegovernment ol Hokkaido, but he hadn't decidedwhere he wanted to go.' Sanders encouraged himto visit British Columbia to experience the uniquewoodcarvings found there, because the native peopleof Canada's Northwest Coast had one of the strongestwoodcarving traditions in the world. Sanders alsoinsisted that Bikky meet the Native artists and discussthe problems and issues common to the First Nationspeople of Canada and the Ainu. ^ Sanders told Bikkythat he could introduce him to several Native artistfriends of his, including Bill Reid, the famous Haidacarver.

Bill Reid (1920-1998) is one of Canada's pre-eminent Native artists. Considered a national treasure,he is widely recognized as having contributed to therevival of Haida art traditions. Born in Victoria, BritishColumbia, to a father of Scottish/German origin anda mother of Haida descent, he is the great grand-

62

nephew of the famous Haida artist Charles Edenshaw(c. 1839—1920) who was one of the greatest artists of theNorthwest Coast. Recognized worldwide tor his skill andartistry, Bill Reid's work is prized by museums, institu-tions, and private collectors throughout North America,Europe, and Japan. He received honorary degrees fromseveral universities, the Lifetime National AboriginalAchievement award, and three of his works were issuedas Canadian national postage stamps. Perhaps the great-est tribute was the Canadian government issuing a newtwenty-dollar bill in 2004 with his art featured on theback of the bill.

Traveling to Canada made sense to Bikky, whohad long been drawn to the work of Native artists. InOctober, Bikky and his third wife Ryoko arrived inVancouver, British Columbia. Bikky recalled standingon foreign soil for the first time in his life:

Bikky Tools continued

chisels, several adzes, hand saws, axes ofdifferent sizes, drill bits, and power tools.The studio, a converted school roomfrom the late nineteenth century, had thesmell of wood. The only light in the roomcame from the sun streaming in througha window. It was quiet, the same senseof quiet one feels sitting in a church. Onthe floor were several inches of saw dust,wood shavings and small chunks of woodthat the Spirit of the Wood gave up asBikky worked to release the image fromits rough form. There were /now on thewalls, and a bear skull—kimun-kamuy, thegod of the mountain—over the door. AsI looked at the tools of his trade, I knewthese were not "toys for boys," and I wasnot in a workshop. I was in kamuy-mintar,one of the Ainu "playground of thegods." I felt I was in the presence of thespirit of the master carver of the Ainu.

Sidebar Note

1. Kayano (1978:29).

/ chose Canada because the country is in the same latitude asHokkaido and has a similar distribution of trees like Hokkaido.Moreover, I have been interested in totem poles for a long time, and Iwanted to carve a totem pole, which was my simple motive for goingto Canada^

Landing in Vancouver, Bikky was instantly impressed with the areasnatural setting: the rugged coastal mountains to the north, the Georgia Straits andthe Pacific Ocean to the west, and the farmland to the east. It was the middle ofthe autumn, and the trees were in full color.

Dr. Sanders took Bikky and his wife Ryoko to the home of Setsuko andPierre Pieoche in Vancouver, where they stayed while looking for a permanentplace to live. Setsuko, an artist, and Pierre, threw a party to introduce Bikky to thelocal artists community, including Bill Reid. The party had the desired affect; BillReid invited Bikky to work in the Reid studio on Granville Island, an artists colonyand one of the major tourist centers in the city of Vancouver. In appreciation forSetsuko's kindness, Bikky carved an abstract likeness of Setsuko (Fig. 5.1), which

63

Fig 5-1.A: figurative sculpiure, "Sersuko doll,"1983. Woocf: 85.0 X 16.0 X 17.5 cm. Ownedby Setsuko & Pierre Pieoche, Vancouver, B.C..

he titled "Setsuko doll." The one-meter tall figureis made in two sections: the top half is the head, arounded portion with an inverted triangle flanked oneach side with graceful S-shapes carved to representher hair style at the time; the bottom half consistsof a body and legs made of one piece with no bodycontouring, though two natural branches extend-ing out from the body near the top, acting as arms.The two sections are carved so that the top half,which is supported by two short pegs coming outof a simple block of rounded wood, can sit on thebottom half at different angles. This develops tensionas the top bends to the right or left, while the entirepiece stands straight. As Bikkys only known abstracthumanoid figure with a human model, it is a uniqueand important piece.

Sanders also took Bikky to the University ofBritish Columbia's Museum of Anthropology a dayor two after he arrived. Bikky studied the museum'stotem poles with great interest as Sanders pointedout the different tribal styles of totem poles and theirsymbolism.^

Totem Poles and a Potlotch

Before he began his work at Bill Reid's studio, Bikky traveled with hisnew friends to the Tsimshian Gitksan area on the Upper Skeena river in north-ern British Columbia, where totem poles erected in the late nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries stand side by side with new ones. They first went to the villageof 'Ksan, which means "River of Mists, ' where a traditional Gitksan village hadbeen constructed in 1970 as a tourist attraction and artists' colony, including theKitanmax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art ('Ksan), which provides trainingand education to young native artists on the values and artistic skills needed todevelop Northwest Coast art.''

64

Bikky was particularly interested in the tools the Native artists used inthe carving shed at 'Ksan, especially the wide variety of adzes: the D-adze, elbowadze, and straight adze, among others. Bikky, as is the Ainu tradition, used a chiselto form his work. He observed that the Northwest Coast carvers use their toolscompletely opposite to that of the Ainu, carving toward themselves and holdingthe knife with the blade coming from the little finger side of the hand, while theAinu carve away from the body with the knife on the thumb side.^ He asked manyquestions of the carvers in the carving shed through a translator.

Throughout the area the skilled Native artists were respected. Museumsand galleries exhibited their work as fine art, and there were many lavish books onNative art and artists available in the museum gift shops.'* The prices the galleriesand gift shops charged for the art staggered Bikky. He saw that the Native artistand the non-Native art lover shared a pride for native art, in stark contrast tothe disrespect that the Japanese public and artworld held for the native art of theAinu. ' Bikky often lamented that there wasn't a single publication on contempo-rary Ainu artists in Japan.

As impressed as Bikky was with the respect shown Native artists, it wasseeing nineteenth-century totem poles, standing and fallen, that moved him themost and transformed his approach to his art. He was especially moved by the oldtotem poles that had fallen down and were decaying:

Most of the nineteenth-century totem poles and even those fromthe beginning of the twentieth century aren't standing. They've fallento the ground and have begun to rot. Still, they were terrificallymagical It's clear the Native artists observed the struggle of nature.When I saw the totem poles, I had to throw away all my old ideas ofwhat they were. I hadn't realized how serious they were. Seeing thereal totem poles was so overwhelming that I felt nauseous. I hadn'tgrasped the meaning, the artistry, or the gigantic monumentality ofthe totem poles.''

Over the decades moss had covered the fallen totem poles, and they hadbeen scarred by wind, rain, sun, and snow. Some poles also had a rough and drysurface covered with hundreds of tiny worm holes but even decay couldn't elimi-nate the beauty of the carvings. To Bikky, they were powerful reminders of Nativehistory, having stood through dramatic changes in the people's forttmes over time.

One of the oldest totem poles, "Hole-through-the-Sky," is still standingin Kitwancool, its village of origin (Fig. 5.2), and it was very interesting to Bikky.This pole, erected in the late nineteenth century, depicts a myth telling of a family'sorigin in a wolf migration. A large hole at the bottom of the pole was used forceremonial entrances, and the complicated design symbolizes the primordial age ofthe family myth. Multiple human beings and various animals are interconnected, afine example of the juxtaposition of visual elements that is one of the most dynamicaspects of Northwest Coast art.''

The interconnection and interchangeability of human and animal formsresonated with the themes Bikky pursued in both "Animal" and "Tentacle (amaze)." He had wanted to show that all living things are connected even if theirshapes are different. Bikky was especially impressed by the way the design elementswove in and out of each other.

And then there were the frogs. Sanders pointed otit a frog design in an oldtotem pole and said with a smile, "your totem." Bikky loved it and was fascinatedby how the frog designs were incorporated in the totem poles, especially the wayfrogs came out of body parts of other animals or humans.'' For example, tearscoming out of an eye might be shaped like a frog, and Bill Reid's thirteen meter(forty-three feet) totem pole at the Museum of Anthropology, University of BritishColumbia, features a frog coming out of a bears mouth, which delighted Bikky. Hesaid, "Obviously how to incorporate frogs into the elements appears to be some-thing extraordinary, but it's also just simply great sculpture. Frogs suddenly appearcoming out of finger nails or out from the eyes, and in the mouths (of humans orcreatures), just incredible!"''* Bikky was deeply embarrassed that he had called hiscolumnar art totem poles. Now that he really knew what a totem pole was, hadtouched them and spoken with them, and they with him, he never used the word"totem" to describe his work again and tried to correct others when they did.

When Bikky returned to Vancouver, Bill Reid invited him to a potlatchin Skidegate in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), home of the HaidaFirst Nations people. Skidegate, "Place of Stones," located on the southern tip ofGraham Island, used to be known for its massive standing totem poles and cedarplank houses. In 1978 Bill Reid had carved and erected the first totem pole togo up in Skidegate in more than ninety years and was welcomed into the com-munity. A potlatch'^ was held for the hereditary chieftainship of the wolf clan ofTanu. More than two hundred people were invited to witness the event, and it

was held in the community hall.Bikky, as an Ainu, was an unusualguest, but the indigenous manfrom Japan was well received bythe Haida people at the potlatch,who treated him almost like a kinbrother. He felt honored when hewas introduced during the potlatchand wished that he knew enoughEnglish to communicate with thepeople arotmd him."'

The hosting groupdisplayed their hereditary posses-sions, sang their songs, and gavespeeches. Dancers swayed withtheir button or Chilkat blanketsflowing gracefully about them. Thetremendous power of the masksreminded the guests of the his-tory of the hosting group. Whilenot understanding the potlatch, itwas marvelous drama for Bikky.He enjoyed the music and danceso much that he created a painting, bidian Dance A (Fig. 5.3), in honor of theceremony.

At first glance Indian Da)ice A seems subtle and subdued. The colors aresoft with highlights of red, black, blue, and white in varying densities rangingfrom saturated black to a cool blue battleship gray. Done in crayon and watercolors,there is activity to the four edges of the paper, coming from color, density, andthin scratch lines that have a feeling of spontaneity to them. There is, however,a feeling of confusion perhaps reflecting how Bikky felt as an outsider duringthe potlatch. Painted in Canada and hung in the "Images of British Columbia"exhibition at the Vancouver Artist Gallery, it incorporated elements from Chilkatblankets and the Northwest Coast Indian masks.

Fig. 5.3: huli.iH DmueA. 1983.

68

Bill Reid's Studio

Bikky began working in Bill Reids studio on Granville Island as soon as hereturned to Vancouver. Granville Island is a working artists' community, vibrantwith life, energy, and creativity. There are many facilities for active artists such asstudios, art schools, galleries, theaters, and so on. It is also an important touristattraction for the city. Bikky loved being a part of the scene.

Because of his visit to the 'Ksan school where he saw so many studentscarving with the adze, Bikky wanted Bill Reid to show him how to use it. AVancouver newspaper reported, "He has been accustomed to using a large chiseland mallet to hew out his creations but was intrigued to see Indians swingingrazor sharp, short-handled adzes that left a distinctive finish on cedar carvings.""^In a 1983 photograph (Fig. 5.4) Bill Reid shows Bikky how to use the contempo-rary type of elbow adze with a steel blade.' ' Bikky practiced it and soon becameproficient with the new tool. He liked it so well that he eventually made one forhimself in Vancouver.""

Fig. 5.4: Photo of Bill Ruid and Bikky using .m elbow .idze. lo the right is Pierre Pieoche ot Vaneouver.

69

Bikky spent almost all of his time in the studio for the next two months.Even though he couldnt speak English very well, the studio became a gatheringplace for many people due in part to his open and friendly personality. He enjoyedthe Canadians' willingness to express their opinions about his work and theirwillingness to be open to his abstract works."'

Images of British Columbia Exhibition

"Bikky looked like a bear, drank like a fish, and workedlike a beaver," said Bill Reid?'

In spite of Bikky s social life and his continued drinking, he producedan amazingly large number of sculptures, paintings, and sketches during hisstay in Vancouver, many of which appeared in the exhibition "Images of BritishColumbia." Bikky had sketched totem poles, trees, patterns, and scenery duringhis travels around British Columbia; when he returned to Vancouver, he wouldselect his favorites and add color to them. He loved to create spontaneous drawings,sometimes dabbing his fingers in paint or ink.

Among the paintings exhibited was an untitled abstract painting (Fig. 5.5)that evolved from a sketch Bikky made in the Queen Charlotte Islands. It isinfluenced by the characteristic formline design elements of the Northwest Coastart. Ovoids with eye lid lines are scattered throughout the painting along with

split-U forms andcrescent shapes. Hehas used the char-acteristic colors ofthe Northwest Coastpalette: black, red, andwhite.

Fig. 5.5: Untitled [\iiiuiiil;, I'iN.i.

70

In the sculptures he created while in Vancouver, Bikky abstracted thesculptural forms of Northwest Coast art. For instance, a simple undecorated bowlrepresents a mountain sheep horn bowl with its elegant and gracefully outsweptshape (Fig. 5.6). However, Bikky carved it in a verticalposition to show its purely sculptural form (Fig. 5.7).

Fig. 5.6: Mountain sheep liorn bowl.

Another example is the rendering oi theawesome Kwakwaka'wakw mask of Dzoonokwa, themythical giant wild woman (Fig. 5.8); Bikky tookthe essence of the image and interpreted it in hisown abstract form, which focuses solely on the lips,emphasizing the sensual relationship to his subjectand reminiscent of his Ki-men masks (Fig. 5.9).

Fig. 5.7: Bikky's bow, {/imigcs of BritishColumbia), 1983.

Fig. 5.8: Kwakwaka'wakw mask ol U/oonokv

Fig. 5.9: HikL\ s .ilisii.iLi mask (liiiiigcs ofBiilidt Cnliiiiihhi), 1983.

71

The largest of his Northwest Coast sculptures, and one of the few Bikkynamed, is titled The Watchmati (Fig. 5.10). He derived the title from Bill Reid'sThe Three Watchmen (Fig. 5.11), which had so impressed Bikky. Reid's work illus-trates a well-known Haida legend about three brother chiefs who fall in love with

a trickster. Raven. Raven fools themand turns them into beautiful women.Unfortunately the remainder of thelegend is lost and we don't know the restof the story." ' These three brothers areusually placed in the top of the totempoles to guard villages, and Bill Reid hadcreated poles that incorporated theseimages as well as a frog coming out ofa bear's mouth. Bikky's Watchman mayvery well be a tribute to Bill Reid, eventhough there is no similarity in style.The oval shape at the top faces the viewerand looping "arms" seem to suggest the"welcome figure" in Northwest Coast art.There is a slender torso in the middle,followed by two legs with two largeprojections at the top of both legs. Thetwo projections appear to be some sortof mask, one of which resembles a bear.

Fig. 5.10: "The Watchman" (from Images of Brituh Columbia),1983. Yellow cedar; 210.0 x 52.5 x 52.0 cm..

72

Fig. 5.1 1: A modern frontal house pole by Bill Reid,assisted by Douglas Cranmer, at the Museum otAnthropology at the University of British Columbia(URC; 50030).

Returning to Ainu Country

After finishing his successfulexhibition in January 1984, it was thetime for Bikky to go back to Ainu cotui-try. He wrote about his impressions:

At my first meeting with Haida artistBill Reid, my stereotype of Indians wasshattered. Here was a Native person ivhowas successful and respected, someone

with pride And I shall never forget

the depth of the grandeur of the ivildness(in Canada). Although our Hokkaidohas a rich and magnificent nature,the nature of Canada is too vast tounderstand.'^

Bikky truly loved the naturalworld of Canada, and he was eager toreturn to Canada as soon as he could. Healso greatly admired the indigenous artof the Northwest Coast and was pleasedto have been immersed in it. Most of all,he gained unparalleled insight into whatit meant to be a native artist. He wasinspired by the respect shown artists likeBill Reid, and he hoped one day to createan Ainu "art laboratory" like the com-munities in Granville Island and 'Ksanand perpetuate his dream that he and theAinu could have self-respect, be respectedby the people and the government ofJapan, and by art communities aroundthe world.

End Notes

1. 5/7w/>o (November 18, 1983).

2. The Hokkaido prefectural government provides a special scholarship tor five selected local artists for thepurpose ol a cultural exchange undertaking every year. These five artists can choose any country that theywant to go to (Baiikaha Shnipo, November 18, 1983). The purpose of the scholarship is to give them achance to have an artistic cultural experience.

3. Ascihi Shnnbiin (Oaoher 7, 1983).

4. a/w/t.?/;.? 5/7/w/)(7 (November 18, 1983).

5. "Most ot the older sculptures displayed at the UBC Museum ot Anthropology were acquired throughpurchase in the 1950s by the Totem Pole Preservation Committee, established by the UBC. Museum ofAnthropology and the British Columbia Provincial Museum." (Halpin, 1983:48).

6. Although the school is located in the Tsimshian region, the school has taught a broad range ol artisticstyles lound throughout the Northwest Coast. While the original instructors included non-native artistsBill Holm and Duane Pasco, and native artists such as Chief Tony Hunt (KwakiutI) and Robert Davidson(Haida), later instructors were almost exclusively native artists. The school has trained many talented art-ists such as Frieda Diesing (Haida) and Dempsey Bob (Tihltan-Tlingit).

7. Japanese wood carvers also carve away from the body.

8. Native American artistic creativity went through various stages of descriptive terminology, from being asimple trade item, to "scientific specimens," "ethnographic artifacts," "craft," "primitive art," "curio," to

a gradual recognition of art as "fine art" in Canada and the United States in the twentieth century. Thereare several reasons for these shifts, but one of the most important was the transformation of the incor-poration of Native art as part of a self-serving national artistic identity to including Native heritage intothe respective nation state. Canada has, through its museum curators and scholars, developed a growingnational appreciation for the values and status of objects of Native creativity, elevating the perception ofNative creativity from "crak/artilact" to "fine art" since the 1960s. For example, the 1967 exhibition.Arts of Raven: Masterworks by the Northwest Coast Indian at the Vancouver Art Gallery was truly the firstexhibition to bring about a perception shift of First Nations objects as "art" or "fine art" in Canada. Thevalidation legitimized the new description in the institutions of the art world, including artists, critics, theinterested public, and at the government level, so important at the time, greatly facilitated the change inthe perception and evaluation ol objects.

9. Yamakawa (1988:208-9).

10. Since Bikky's death several books on contemporary Ainu art have been published. Most are photographicintroductions ol an individual artist's work often with brief" comments Irom the artist or friends, with

no critical analysis of their work. Some books were published by the artists themselves. These includeOhtsuka (1993), Chiri and Yokoyama (1995), Toko (1995), and Ogawa and Kato (1996). And, since hisdeath, several volumes have been published on Bikky's work, including Hariu et al. (1989), Sunazawa R(1990), Asakawa (1996), Shibahashi (2001) Museum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo (2001).

1 1. Bankalta Shinpo (November 18, 1983).

12. Bancrolt-Hunt and Forman (1979:38-9). Bikky was very interested in not only the artistry of this pole,but of the mythology as well. Bikky learned a love of traditional stories through his mother, who was wellknown as a teller ol yukar, Ainu oral epic stories. Bikky would have heard hundreds cJuring his life timeand incorporated elements from the myths in his work.

13. Photographs taken by Bikky during the Canadian experience show many more pictures ot frog segmentson totem poles than of any other figure.

14. Yamakawa (1988:197).

15. The Northwest Coast potlatch was "the occasion at which a traditional name, rank or hereditary privilegewas claimed through dances, speeches and the distribution of property to those invited. The group host-ing a potlatch displayed their hereditary possessions, which included songs, dances and masks, they recitedthe origins of these rights and the history of their transmission, and bestowed the new rank and name

upon the member now entitled to use them. The ceremony was completed by distributing gifts to theguests. The guest groups, by witnessing the claims made, validated and sanctioned the status displayed andclaimed" (Cole and Chaikin 1990:5).

16. Interview with Ryoko Sunazawa (April 6, 1994).

17. Interview with Ryoko Sunazawa (September 17, 1993).

18. The Province Newspaper (lAnuiLiy 2, 1984).

19. By 1983, Bill Reid had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for approximately eight years. He contin-ued to create wonderkil art with the aid of his assistants.

20. During my visit to his studio in Otoineppu, I counted three adzes, and I saw a video tape ot Bikky usingone.

21. Bikky tried very hard to learn as much English as possible. With his outgoing personality and his willing-ness to try new English words, he was able to communicate surprisingly well. (Yamakawa 1988: 199).

22. Interview (December 19, 1993). Reid went on to say that while Bikky always seemed to be drinking, henever saw Bikky drunk during the day. Pierre Pieoche, Bill Reid's friend, states that in a conversation withBikky about his drinking, Bikky said that "carving was too dangerous ro attempt while drunk, but it wassafe to be drunk while painting," and he ohen was (interview February 6, 1994).

23. This legend was recounted in a 1986 videotape entitled, "The Three Watchmen" by Bill Roxborough,and Michael Brodie. The production describes the work of Haida artist Robert Davidson as he createsthree totem poles. Commissioned in 1983, the poles were erected on August 8, 1984, in the atrium of theMaclean Hunter Building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

24. Bikky later stated in another newspaper interview that "'perlect nature exists in Canada" (Asahi Sliinibtin,Aug. 28, 1988).

Chapter 6

The Northern King: Final Years (1984-1989)

One day the Northern Qiieeti asked the Northern King,"why are you so proud? " He replied, ''well, look at themaps. Old ones. New ones. The North is always locatedat the top of the map, isn't it? The North is always ontop." The King looked at the Qiieen quietlyand smiled.'

Bikky returned to Otoineppu from Canada on January 10, 1984, and wentimmediately to work in his studio. The visit had transformed every aspect ol hisart, and the final five years of his life were to be intensely productive and creative.Not only had he been inspired by the artistic freedom and self-respect he foundin the Native artists in Canada, but he was stimulated by watching artists workwho were proud of their heritage and their art and who actively studied it. He wasespecially impressed by Bill Reid's stature in the mainstream art community andhis recognition as an important Native and contemporary artist.

Before his visit to Vancouver, Bikky had been ambivalent about his Ainuheritage and his identification as an Ainu artist, but his experience in Canadahelped him realize that he could be a modern sculptor as well as an Ainu artist.He also became more comfortable with public expressions ol his native heritage.He began to think about the future of Ainu art in general and more consciouslyplanned the direction of his own art.

Bikky's three months in British Columbia had also given him a newperspective on the natural environment in Hokkaido and his relationship to it asan artist. He told the v4W7/ Shimbim in spring, 1983, that he felt he was beginningto understand that his artistic style expressed a bond with nature,"' and his firstexhibition after his return, in March, was called Siuuizaiva Bikky Exhibition-Furiko

(A Pendulum), because, he said, his mind kept going back and forth between thenatural worlds oi Canada and Hokkaido like "a pendulum." His interaction withthe natural world had always been important to him, but it was not until he wentto Canada that he began to think consciously about his role in nature, not aninteraction with, but being a part of nature.

Visiting Canada had re-awakened Bikkys "northern consciousness," andthis became one of his major themes after his return. To Bikky, this consciousnesscelebrated the rigor and grandeur of northern lands: the harsh weather, icy moun-tains, tall forests, deep snows, and long winter nights. He also recognized witha new clarity the importance of northern peoples' adaptability to these extremesand their strong links with their ancestors and traditions. Bikky observed that theCanadian First Nations peoples' pride in their culture, which had survived despitegreat upheaval, was similar to that of the Ainu, including their genius for creativitythat helped sustain their culture. Bikky responded to this pride, believing that itwas something shared by all northern indigenous people. Influenced by CanadianNative's use of their own culture in their work, Bikky's sculpture became more spe-cifically Ainu in its themes.

Because of his visit, Bikky began to think of himself as a "Northern King"who challenged nature not by controlling it with self-serving authority or powerbut collaborating with it through his endless creativity and with his strong pridein being an Ainu and an artist. He, as an artist and a king, could reconstruct andrevive the trees that were cut down and give them a new life and order in his king-dom of the north. In turn, nature would complete his artworks. Bikky once told afriend, "These wooden sculptures will grow after leaving my hands.Bikky, fasci-nated by the weathering of the many old totem poles he saw in Canada, believedthe actual decomposition was perhaps that most powerful stage in the life of awooden sculpture. Not only did he understand that the breakdown of tissue wasthe natural order of things, but more importantly he saw that this process wasin keeping with the Ainu spiritual practice that required gifts of the gods to bereturned to Gods' Land. In his artwork of the next five years, this conscious senseof channeling nature back to the gods wove its way through all of his work.

Columns, Not Totem Poles

Increasingly recognized as one oi Hokkaido's leading artists, Bikky receivednumerous invitations to participate in museum and gallery exhibitions in Sapporoand other northern cities and in the rest of Japan. He also received a number ofimportant local commissions that allowed him to explore some of the themes thathad emerged after visiting Canada.

In 1985 Bikky created three large site-specific columnar pieces. He carvedthe first, an unnamed work called a "totem pole" locally, fi^r Kamisunagawa-cho,in the western part of Hokkaido near where Bikky s father Koa-kanno had beenborn. This simple pole stands at one end of a new bridge, called Yacho no Hashi(the Wild Birds' Bridge) for the recordings of local birds' twittering that play whenpeople walk across the bridge. Bikky s seven-meter high pole is topped with a

Fig. 6.1: Ml' (Buds), 1985. Fig. 6.2: A house post in situ, Cowichan, V.incouvcr

isl.uul, Rrilisli ('.olunihi.i, 19tli c.

woodpecker with a long extended beak, below which are three eggs in a nest. Thiswas the first columnar artwork Bikky created after coming back from Canada, andwas the last one to be called a totem pole—his confrontation with the "real" totempoles of Canada was so intense that he felt ashamed of his ignorance of totempoles and refused to call them such. This, however, was the name it took on inKamisunagawa-cho.

The other columnar work is a two-piece set of abstract sculptures entitledMe (Buds; Fig. 6.1), referring to the intellectual growth of the students, placedin the middle of the courtyard at the Asahikawa Professional High School tocelebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the school. The twoabstract figures, carved from Japanese oak, face the same direction. The three-meter (ten feet) high figure, the taller of the two, is completely abstract, with anelongated rectangular torso with a long neck and a small conical shaped "head."It resembles a whaler's hat similar to those worn by the Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth people, which Bikky saw many examples of while in Canada. These figuresare somewhat reminiscent of "welcome figures" or "house posts" of the NorthwestCoast (Fig. 6.2); the smaller figure particularly resembles the old house post fromthe Halkomelem area of the Coast Salish now displayed in the entrance showcaseof the British Columbia Provincial Museum in Victoria, which Bikky enjoyedvisiting. While it's impossible to know for sure if this house post directly inspiredBikky to carve these figures, the formal elements of both works are prominent.

As a realization of Bikky's collaboration with nature, in the years sincethese sculptures were erected, cracks have appeared from the exposure to therigorous Hokkaido environment. Both the Bird Bridge column and Buds now havea mysterious and organic presence of their own, much like the aging totem polesBikky saw in the old Gitksan territorial areas of the Upper Skeena River in BritishColumbia.

The Wind

In 1986 Bikky's relationship with nattire began to be focused on the themeof "wind,' perhaps symbolizing his psychological state following his return fromCanada—but also connecting to the important role that the wind played in Ainuculture. He seemed to be released from the restricted intellectual framework hehad created for himself in the past such as his cultural identity and his artisticgoals. Like the wind blowing through nature, he longed for freedom as an artist,an Ainu, and as a person. This can be seen in a poem Bikky wrote about the windshortly before his death. It is his most famous poem:

Wind,

You are a four-headed and four-legged monster.

As you are so furious, people love your intermediate moments, whichare called the four seasons.

I pray, blow the str ongest wind upon me and my entire body.Especially, blow it upon my eyes.

Wind,

As you are four-headed and four-legged monster,I'd like to present you a nice pair offour-legged pants.And please, hold tne once.^

The four-headed and four-legged monster symbolized the mystical andmysterious nature of the seasons, which Bikky always loved. He asked the wind toblow into his eyes so that he could see into himself^ This metaphorical expressionalso paralleled the expressions ol the Ainu oral epics, xhe ytikar. A destructive windappears in the old stories as a bad god who caused people to suffer but was calmedby a good god after a dramatic battle.

Bikky's poem also alludes to an Ainu ceremony that seeks to reverse unusu-ally bad weather. The Yakumo Ainu, lor example, performed a wind ritual whenthe east wind blew fiercely in the autumn and salmon would not come up therivers. Four young Ainu men were chosen to play the roles of the gods; three menplayed the good gods of west, north, and south, and one played the bad god olthe east. The good gods wore elaborate ceremonial outfits; in contrast, the bad east

81

god had to wear an old and worn-out outfit. At the beginning of the performance,the bad god splashes the audience with water and throws sand on them, but thethree good gods chase the east god into the sea. He tries to escape, but the goodgods catch him, bring him in front of the audience, and make him apologize tothe audience for his bad behavior.''

The first of Bikky s wind-themed works was Yottsu no Kaze (Four Winds;Fig. 6.3). He received the commission to do a large sculpture for the opening ofthe Outdoor Museum of Contemporary Art in Sapporo in July 1986. His firstdrawing was done in December 1985 and on it he scribbled "this drawing is thefirst idea for Four Winds (lor the outdoor museum), and so is a memorable one."^While Bikky often made many drawings for a new theme, he seemed to have adefinite idea lor this project for little changed between his first drawing and hisfinal work.

In January 1986, lour lour-hundred-year-old Glehn's spruce trees werebrought to Bikky s studio Irom the northernmost part of Hokkaido University'sexperimental forest. Before Bikky set about his work, he sat down on the snowy

Fig. 6.3: )oiiiit 11(1 A,/.-,' (I'oui- \X hkIs), 1986.

Fig. 6.4: Bikky performing the kamuy-nomi.

ground and performed a kamuy-nomi for the trees, using an ikupasiiy (a prayer-stick) and a ceremonial sake cup and saucer. Although he generally performedsuch rituals privately when he began new work, this ceremony was photographedby Katsuaki Kitayama of the Hokkaido Shimbim (Fig. 6.4), one of the first timesBikky had publicly acknowledged the connection between his modern work andhis Ainu heritage." It seemed to prove his psychological change and his acceptanceof his public Ainu identity.

More so than his totem poles and columns, Four Winds was Bikky s mostambitious outdoor wooden artwork. As he began the work for the Museum ofContemporary Art in Sapporo he wrote:

Although this is an outdoor museum, Im trying my luck withwooden sculptures. Outdoor scidptures are always done in bronze

and stone, but I'm going to submit wooden scidptures Natural

phenomena, the snow and wind, will add to their completeness

/ calculate that it will stand there at least fifty years^

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In carving the four Glehns spruce trees for this work, Bikky kept theoriginal shape ot the log, carving out the central portion, each of which facesone of the four compass directions. He covered the surface of each column withthousands of rhythmical scale-like chisel marks, and it s almost as if each scale-likemark represents a new grain for the trees or each breath he took as he carved withhis chisel.'" The wood has the textured quality of living things or cells. When hewas working on Four Winds, Bikky left the following in his private notebook:

/ make use of the trees in nature, grown without touchinghuman hands, as materials.

Thus, they are lii'ing things. Its quite natural that livingthings will atrophy and decay.

I (as an artist) will reconstruct them anew—giving thema new life with a new form.''

For a 1986 exhibition at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Bikkysubmitted an indoor work called Kaze ni Kikit (Listening to the Wind; Fig. 6.5).'"^There are four abstract cylindrical forms that Bikky carved inside and out. Eachhas a small rectangular head-like project and each has the presence of a humanfigure although they are all very abstract. Bikky carved the cylindrical forms

Fig. 6.5: Kaze ni Kiku (Listening to the Wind), 1986.

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according to the contour of the tree, so that they appear to bend, stoop, or tik.He specified that they could be arranged in any composition; tor example, theycan be arranged to depict Ainu wind mythologies, or as it they are talking to eachother in a group, or so that one figure is being left: out ot the conversation. Inother compositions the cylindrical fiarms appear to be in a stage setting of somesort, or just stand there, listening to the wind. At the end of 1986 this work wasactually used as a stage installation for a modern dance performance entitled TheCoexistence of Nature and Humans}'' Clearly this piece can be described as aninstallation piece, f^owever, because of the rarity ot this type of work in Japan atthe time, it is highly unlikely that Bikky was influenced by the installation work oother artists. This is a wondertul example ot his unique creativity, blending Ainuspirituality with the primal forces of nature.

Three years later, in 1989—invited to submit work to an exhibition otcontemporary sculptures at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery outside Tokyo—Bikky revisited the "wind" theme with two massive and dynamic works bothnamed Kaze (Wind).'^ One piece seems to suggest the open mouth of a killer

Fig 6.6: Kdzf (Wiiul), 19«H.

whale, the god of the ocean, rising from the water (Fig 6.6).'^ By carving awaywood midway on the right side, a mouth is formed using the natural contourof the wood. Examining the piece reveals several U-shape metal joints holdingtogether some of the pieces of wood, but the overall impression is organic. In thissense it resembles his 1980 work Tongue of God. Bikky often stated that to "recon-struct' natural wood was to give it a new life and personality; in other words, thatBikky, as a part ol nature, gave a new dimension of life to his works.

Unlike Tongue of God, which is meticulously finished, Bikky's chisel markson one of the two Kaze works are much rougher and use several carving tech-niques. For instance, he gouged many deep, rough, and sharp incision marks inthe upper portion ot the piece, carved against the grain of the wood, creating analmost visceral texture. Before going to Canada and being exposed to the distinc-tive linear patterns of the adze marks on totem poles, Bikky's chisel marks wererandom and unintentional, the end result of shaping wood with a tool. After hisreturn to Otoineppu, however, Bikky was acutely aware of his carving technique.He found that by controlling the way he removed wood with the chisel, he couldcreate different moods and attitudes such as found in these two Wind pieces.

The second work named Wind (Fig. 6.7) suggests the dramatic life and

Fig. 6.7: U^/W, 1988.

death struggles found in nature. Made from two lumps of Japanese oak, itthe same primordial quality as the first work, but the tension is almost taniMost of the surface is incised with thousands of chisel marks but offset bysmooth areas made by a saw. Bikky not onlyintentionally exposed some portions of thenatural grain of the wood through judicioususe of newly cut areas, but also left older cutareas, darkened and weathered through theyears, as contrast. The cracks, gaps, knots, andstains of the grain of the wood also become anintegral part of the piece.

For the Kanagawa exhibition Bikkyalso created a marvelously simple and abstractsculpture entitled Kaze no Oh to Oh-hi (Kingand Queen of Wind; Fig. 6.8).'^'The 1.73-meter-tall column (more than five and one-half feet), separated to form two heads, has anintegrated base that also serves as a single neckand shoulders for the royal couple. The slightflair at the top of both the King and Queenadd a positive space to the harmoniously bal-anced composition. It is carved smoothly onthe outside surfaces and on the concave areaswhere the heads join. Again, we see rough andsmooth surfaces used to create an effect—thistime calm and regal.

has^ible.

several

Fig. 6.8: Kdze no Oil to Oh-lii (Kin^ and Queen ofWind), 1988.

87

The North

Another theme that Bikky developed over the final years of his life wereworks that reflected his "northern" consciousness, although it was an idea thatwove its way through most of his work throughout his life. It took explicit form ina number of pieces, including his 1987 Kita no Oh to Oh-hi (Northern King andQueen; Fig. 6.9).'

The Northern King and Qiieen are a pair of upright sculptures, each

consisting of three stacked sphereswith a base at the bottom, a majorform that he had used since the Tohseries of 1979, just after he movedto Otoineppu. The two sculpturesprovide a strong symbolic contrastbetween the attributes of female andmale, which though abstract is alsobiomorphic and even humanoid.The work symbolizes the abstractsexuality between men and womenthat Bikky pursued in his "Tentacle"theme.

His continuing theme of"northerness" led to the abstractand strikingly simplified sculptureentitled Kita no Dobutsu (NorthernAnimals) in 1987 (Fig. 6.10). Thetwo abstract organic shapes areelevated on short, square pedestalsattached and placed side by sideon a long rectangular board. Theseorganic C-shaped pieces are some-what similar to the Northeryi Kingand Queen but are placed so thatthey create a twisted and tightly con-trolled, complex spatial movement

Fig 6.9: Kitix 110 Oh to Oh-hi (Northern King and Queen), 1987.

88

in contrast to the somewhat serene, relaxed feehng of the "Northern King andQueen."

Bikky used Japanese oak, which gives a whiteness to the pieces that isreminiscent of a newborn smooth-skinned animal looking out at the world forthe first time. In contrast, the base of the rectangular board has the finely carvedchisel-marks that is found on much ot his work since moving to Otoineppu. Thiscreates a subtle but definite contrast between the animals, and it emphasizes thesmoothness of the organic shapes. This piece symbolizes the drama of life younganimals face in the northern kingdom that Bikky loved so much.

Fig. 6.10: Kita no Dobutsu (Northern Animals), 1987.

Personal Themes

Although much of the work that Bikky would create during the last yearsof his life reflected his experience in Canada, he also continued to purstie ideasthat had occupied him closely throughout his career. One work, Bmisiii-rei A.B(Watershed A.B, Fig. 6.11), returns to Bikky's love of puns and ambiguous wordmeanings."^ At first viewing, these two wooden figures appear to be deer-like ani-mals. The right-angled, streamlined shapes are carved from one piece of wood witthe legs attached separately. The divided front legs seem to be symbolic of moun-

tains and valleys that make upa hydrological watershed, butthe connection between theforms of the pieces and the titleis problematic, perhaps a meta-phoric expression of nature andnatural phenomena commonlyfound in the yukar, the Ainuoral epics. Also deceptive is thework's apparent connectionto Shinto religious art. Deermandalas are often prominentin the art depicting the Kasugacult.' ' However, MakotoKawakami, Bikky's close friendin Otoineppu, disclosed thatBikky said that Watershed A.Bare female and male genitalia,ingeniously disguised by titleand the carved composition.""Armed with this knowledge, it'seasy to identify the erect penisand the labia of the femalegenitalia—Bikky's most overtlysexual work, despite thedisguise.

At the beginning of 1987 Bikky started a new series entitled Gozen Sanjino Gangii (Toys at 3:00 A.M.; Fig. 6.12). As the title suggests, the series wascreated early in the morning, close to daybreak, when Bikky did most of his work.He described his work routine:

/ try to devote myself from 11 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. to shaping myideas for my work. I always stop sketching at 3:30 a.m. and begincarving. Because that is the time when the express train Rishiri passednear my studio, the sound of the train became a signal for me to begincarving. I have worked by this routine for ten years.~^

Fig. 6.11: /i»;M«/-n7 /l.i?(W.uershed A.B), 1985.

90

Fig. 6.12: Gozen Sanji no Gangu (Toys at 3:00 A.M).

Although Bikky loved sociaHzing with people, he wanted to have completeprivacy for his artistic activity and chose the late night when nobody wotild disturbhim so that he could, as he described it, "confront himself" His studio, open tothe weather on one side, had only one small heater and in the winter the tempera-ture in the studio was often well below zero degrees Farenheit—and he often lostfeeling in his hands. Pieces of ice and frozen wood chips would seem to explodeevery time he drove the axe into the wood.

Just as Bikky's father had confronted the severe winter nights in snow caveswith only the clothes he was wearing when he was out hunting, so too wouldBikky challenge his art and himself against the snow and cold. Bikky's artistic

activity seemed to be at its best with self-imposed adversity. He would get himselfcornered in order to challenge himself physically and psychologically.

The many works in his new "Toys at 3:00 A.M." series were done in smallscale, approximately thirty centimeters (eleven or twelve inches). As the title of"toys" suggests, and like his early "Tentacle" series, the works were small enoughthat people could pick them up and play with them. From the dates of some ofhis toy drawings, we know that the idea for this series was already formed by thewinter of 1986. Although most of Bikkys work had become dramatically largerafter his exposure to the totem poles and house posts of the Indians of Canada'sNorthwest Coast, he had enjoyed working on smaller pieces since creating theBikky monyo finger ring patterns in his youth.

"Toys at 3:00 A.M." celebrated the primordial spirit-world creatures thatshared the nights with Bikky. We know that Bikky believed he was releasing and/or making new life forms from the kamuy (gods) of the wood. His observations ofthe animals carved in the totem poles of the indigenous people of the NorthwestCoast gave him the insights and the knowledge to know that he must look deeperwithin himself to create wonderftd new animals. These included an abstractscorpion-like insect with multiple wings and a long articulated tail and others thatlook like butterflies with lour wings. All the insect-like creations have articulatedsegments such as long, slender, flexible feelers, tails, and antennae, which areconnected with hinged wooden joints so that they can move freely.

This kind of detailed and delicate workmanship is technically similar toa variety of creatures such as fish and other sea world animals he created whenhe was working at the Kitanihon Folkcraft Company in Sapporo in 1960s and1970s. These mysterious insect-like creatures appeared in his bizarre bookylo/Sakyii nite (In the Blue Sand Dune) published in 1976, a collection of prose andpoems inspired by his dreams from 1964 to 1973. In the book various kinds ofvery pectdiar and surrealistic creatures appear, such as "a moth with three wingslike the propeller of a fishing boat." "Toys at 3:00 A.M." appear to be the materi-alized images of the surrealistic creatures found in his dreams and "reconstructed"life forms from the land of the kamuy. While most of his large works were doneleaving rough or small rhythmical chisel marks on the surface, the "Toys at 3:00A.M." were finished with a polished, smooth surface that illustrates the mysteriousshininess that almost all new life exhibits.

Fig. 6.13: Bill Reidls tr.iiiskirmation ptnd.mt with detjchabic "mask, 1982.

When he held the "Toys at 3:00 A.M." exhibition in the Aoki gallery inTokyo, Martine Reid, Bill Reid's wife, came Irom Canada to see his show. Martinewas surprised at the small scale of Bikky's work, becatise she was only familiar withthe larger he had created in Canada. She said that Bikky's "Toys at 3:00 A.M."reminded her of a pendant of a dogfish transforming into a woman carved by BillReid (Fig. 6.13) when Bikky was in Canada. Based on her suggestion, it's possibleto conjecture that Bikky had been inspired by the mystic transformation qtiality olthe pendant and the many transformation masks of the Northwest Coast when hecreated "Toys at 3:00 A.M."''

Painting, Sketclnes, Wooclblocl< Prints, Calligraplny

Even as he created some of his most impressive monumental sculpture,Bikky continued to paint and pursue work in other media. In 1987 he held twoexhibitions, both called "Sculpture-Painting," made up solely of his paintings,one at the Park Hotel in Sapporo and the other at a gallery in Yokohama. He hadbegun his career as a painter and constantly sketched, even when talking or drink-ing with his friends, and created thousands of drawings and paintings during hislifetime. However, after he switched the main focus of his media from two-dimen-sional paintings to three-dimensional sculptures in the 1960s, many of his sketches

Fig. 6.14: Kitii no Oh to Oh-hi (Northern King and Queen), 1987.

Fig. 6.15: DoNo.l (Move No.l), 1987.

captured or solved the spatial relationships that he would transfer to his sculptures.

He told an interviewer:

/ always make sketches. I make a couple hundred of sketches inorder to get the exact image of what I want fi'om the sculpture. I thinkmaking sketches is definitely needed in order to acquire the "lines" ofmy thoughts, to assure myself in my work.'^

Bikky often experimented with techniques, such as using his fingers toput the pigments directly on paper—a method he called "sculpture-painting."Sometimes he coated the picture plane with different pigments and scratched itwith a wooden stick or a fork to get the image he was looking for. Using variouskinds of lines and materials heightened his energy on the canvas.

He created two abstract paintings using crayons and watercolors on papernamed Kitn no Oh to Oh-hi (Northern King and Queen) in 1987 (Fig. 6.14),which are stylized abstractions of the biomorphic forms in his sculpture of thesame name."'' The monochromatic "Northern King and Queen" paintings havea sculptural quality to them, with stratified lines on a gray background creating asctdptural effect. Only the queen is painted with red accents. The color contrastsand the movements of lines create a unique sense of depth.

Not all of his sketches were sculpture-related. For example, in 1986 hemade a pencil drawing entitled Do No.l (Move No.l) on a two-meter (six foot)long roll of Japanese paper (Fig. 6.15).'^ These kinds of pencil drawings, of whichthere are several, were dashed off for his own pleasure, not lor the pursuit of imagesfor his sculpture. The unfolding drawing begins with a female body that quicklytakes on a surrealistic quality as the roll unfolds—her sensual limbs stretch andextend in a continuous line only to have another limb abruptly foreshortened. Theshort and long curvilinear contours ol the female body create rhythmical move-

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Fig. 6.16: Tokyo no Hi (Night Lights ofToiiyo), 1988.

ments like a musical score. The recognizable body parts are quickly transformedinto imaginary biomorphic forms and back to a normally proportioned woman atthe end ot his drawing. While the entire drawing has a wonderfully playful qualityto it, his intention seemed to not only express his ideas about female sexuality, butalso to explore the mysticism found in the feminine side of life itself While thereis no doubt that women were physically exciting to Bikky, he was perhaps evenmore intrigued by the "metaphysical" nature of women.

Bikky created another roll drawing in honor of Martine Reid s visit toTokyo. In a taxi to her hotel, Bikky made a quick sketch of the night scenes ofTokyo using a pencil on a long roll (3.7 meters, more than twelve feet) of Japanesepaper. He called the work Tokyo no Hi (Night Lights of Tokyo; Fig. 6.16). Bikkycaught the rhythm and energy of nighttime Tokyo; streets flooded with the reflec-tion of traffic lights, the hypnotic blur from thousands of neon lights, the thick,jostling crowds and speeding cars were all turned into "living things' in Bikky'sdrawing. These biomorphic forms are like nocturnal monsters breathing in thecosmopolitan night life of Tokyo: running, dancing, crying, and shouting, allheaded toward the nonstop night feast.

Bikky also enjoyed creating calligraphy, and he included examples in theGensho-ten (Origin of the Begihning) exhibition at the Muto gallery in Tokyo in

1988, a showing organized by Bikkyand five professional artists who werealso nonprofessional calligrapherswho enjoyed the challenge of creatingvarious styles of calligraphy withoutany restrictions. Bikky s work wasdramatic and innovative, including afive-meter (sixteen foot) long sheet ofJapanese paper on which he wrote thesix exhibitors' names with Japanesecharacters, cut them into pieces, andscattered them at random.

Bikky continued his politicalinvolvement as an Ainu and environ-mental activist, donating his wood-block prints to calendars in 1987 and1988 to raise funds lor a citizen actiongroup fighting against the developmentof a nuclear waste disposal facility nearhis studio. Bikky came out stronglyfor the causes he believed in: "BecauseI'm part of the Ainu race, I can't standthe environmental destruction [by theJapanese government and the Japanese timber industry]."'''

The 1987 calendar Shiki no Kao (Faces ol Four Seasons), included Bikky'svisionary image of four seasons expressed with abstract designs in black and white(Fig. 6.17). Some have strong red accents to express his anger and criticism againstthe environmental destruction in Hol<Lkaido. In December 1987 he producedanother woodblock calendar Pirika Moshir (the Beautiful Land, in Ainu). Thecalendar consisted of two pages, each with a different woodblock print: AjiiniahRunning Toward the Green and Animals Running Among the Trees.

In 1987 Bikky volunteered as chairman and organizer for the SecondNational Ainu Conference, held in March. Fourteen years had passed since the lastconference in 1973, which Bikky had also chaired, and in the intervening fourteenyears, Ainu concerns had broadened and now included international indigenous

Fig. 6.17: Sliiki no Kao (Faces of Four Seasons), 1987.

and Ainu legislation issues. Inflaming passions at the time was the insensitiveremark made by the Prime Minister Nakasone that the nation's Ainu minoritypopulation didn't really exist in Japan."'' It prompted a great deal of heated, angrydiscussion among the Ainu. A two-day schedule was organized and more thanfour-hundred participants were actively involved in the discussion.

Illness

In spring 1988 Bikky, hard at work on artwork for exhibitions and com-missioned pieces, was forced to take time off for surgery to relieve pain fromthrombosis in one leg—a condition he suffered from since moving to Otoinepputhat had now grown unbearable. He underwent various other medical tests at thetime and came out with a clean bill of health.

In late summer, however, Bikky began feeling a sharp pain in his back. Hewent to the Asahikawa University Hospital to get an examination, but no diseasewas lound. While he felt relieved that nothing of concern was found, the pain inthe back went unabated. Unfortunately, the doctors missed a deadly cancer. Toease the pain, Bikky began going to see an acupimcturist in Otoineppu villageevery day.

The intensity of his back pain increased day by day. He could no longerwalk normally and soon he needed the aid of a cane. Both Bikky and his friendsthought the pain was an after-effect of the operation he had had in spring. Beforelong, his condition began to impinge on his ability to create his work. This led toextreme trustration because he wanted to create something special for an upcom-ing exhibition at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery in January 1989, just a fewmonths away. The honor ot exhibiting in this gallery carried with it the pressureto produce the best work possible. Bikky had exhibited his work at the Kanagawagallery in 1985 and had been impressed with the gallery's large open space, perfectfor his large-scale work, and it challenged him to create even more monumentalworks.

Creativity unchecked despite his great pain, Bikky began to rely more andmore on the help of his assistants, guiding them through the mechanical tech-niques needed to bring his vision alive. At the end of autumn Bikky's physical con-dition became much worse, and in late October his doctor informed Bikky's wifethat he had been diagnosed as being in the terminal stages of cancer. His family

and friends, however, decided not to tell him that he had little chance of survivingthe disease, as is often the case in families in Japan. The doctor prescribed a treat-ment of complete rest at the hospital and an intravenous drug therapy was begun.

Even though Bikky was more or less confined to his hospital bed, he devotedhimself intensely to the pursuit ot his creations; for example, when his right armand hand were swollen, he fixed the drawing pencil in his fingers with cellophanetape and made sketches on his stomach.' ' He also painted using a paint brushin his mouth.His friends recalled Bikky's frustration at that time. Bikky com-plained, "I can't work during the daytime because of visitors. I wake up in the nightto work, but my wife is tired and is sleeping and I can't move very well by myselfI simply can't do it."" But, he did, slowly, painfully, continue to work and the fewtimes when he couldn't, he felt deeply humiliated at his unsuccessful attempts.

Fig. 6.18: K.ikusei A.C (Avivlim A.C), 1988.

Final Works and Exhibitions

For the Ikki-tasl.wku (A Tree with Many Touches) exhibition held inTokyo's Inax Gallery in March 1988, Bikky submitted Kakiisei A.C (Atavism A.C;Fig. 6.18),'" influenced, as noted by the highly respected art critic Wadao Takeoka,by the drums of Canada's Northwest Coast \n(Xv^L\is.^^ Atavism was originally a setof three pieces, but one "drum" split in half during the tenth annual "Talk-about-Trees Exhibition " and it now consists of two drum-like pieces.' ' Bikky had created amuch more complex sculpture with a similar title called Animal-Atavism in 1963,but Atavism A. C is more minimal and the two works bear few stylistic similari-ties. Both titles, however, show the depth of Bikky's ideas about the relationshipbetween animal spirits and humans and connections to ancestral conditions,

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perhaps one symbolic example of Bikky's acceptance of indigenous art as part ofhis psyche. Bikky's use of light-colored katsura {Cercidiphylliim japonicum Sieb. etZucc.) wood suggests the cream-colored rawhide used for drum skins: The rearlighting used on this work for an exhibition at the Hokkaido Asahikawa Museumof Art in 1993 highlighted geometric forms on the drums and caused them toglow like burning candles—or like the glow of the inaiv in the fire pit in thehome—creating a sacred atmosphere.

In the summer and fall of 1988, Bikky planned work for a number ofexhibits. In the early summer Bikky and his friends organized the tenth 'Talk-about-Trees Exhibition," which had been taking place since Bikky first founded itin 1979 in the village of Otoineppu. Even though he was plagued by increasingpain, Bikky felt a deep responsibility that the exhibition be a success. The numberof participating artists, both professional and amateur, increased year by year. Notonly was the exhibit gaining in popularity, it was becoming an important exhibitfor professional artists to show their work. '^ Later in the summer, the SunazawaBikky Exhibition was held at Park Hotel in Sapporo. The works of "Toys at 3:00 A.M." and some of his paintings were displayed. From August 24 to October2 Bikky participated in the Forth North Sculpture Exhibition at the SapporoSculptural Museum. Above all, Bikky dedicated himself to planning the work forthe Contemporary Artists Series at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery to be heldfrom January 21 to February 5, 1989.

Final Illness

After extensive examinations in the middle of November 1988, Bikky'sdoctor finally diagnosed his disease as colon cancer that had metastasized. Thedoctor told his family that Bikky would live only a few more months at best, but itwas probable that he would die before the end of the year. Even after this diagnosisBikky's family didn't tell him of his true condition, and there are no indicationsthat he knew how ill he was.''' He often begged his friends to ask the doctors whenhe would be able to leave the Asahikawa University Hospital so that he couldreturn to Otoineppu to work.'^

While he struggled against the unendurable pain in his back, he was muchmore worried about his incomplete works for the exhibition at the KanagawaPrefectural Gallery than he was for his own physical condition. Undatmted by his

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pain but acknowledging that he needed to stay in the hospital to cure himself, hedeveloped a plan to finish his work. When looking from the window of his roomon the fourth floor, he noticed an empty plot of land at the corner of the hospitalsite. He proposed to his friends to bring the incomplete work to the nearby emptysite so he could give instructions electronically to his assistants while he trackedthe progress looking through binoculars. Because he was so serious, one of hisfriends actually negotiated for the loan of the site from the land owner.

The exhibition was now only six weeks away. He became desperate andfrustrated and continually begged his doctor to release him from the hospitalfor a couple days so he could finish his work for the exhibition. The doctor hadbeen impressed by his devotion to his art and his constant sketching and paintingsince he entered the hospital. She also found out about Bikky's plan to bring hisincomplete works to the hospital site, and was very influenced and touched by hisdetermination to finish his work. Finally, on December 11, 1988, she gave himpermission to go home for two days. He was sent back in an ambulance with anurse in attendance.

The people of Otoineppu knew of his illness and were concerned aboutBikky; they decided to help him as much as they possibly could, placing his largerworks outside near the window of his studio, where he could easily see them. Theywanted everything to be ready for him to go to work. After a six-hour drive hearrived at his home, and the people welcomed his return. He was so happy that hegot out of the ambulance by himself He so intensely missed the natural environ-ment surrounding his studio that he stood by himself, looked around and said,"Osashima is such a wonderful place!"

As soon as he saw his work, he guided his assistants to complete his work.Assisting Bikky's apprentices, Michio Takagi and Tomoko Noguchi, were Bikky'syounger brother Kazuo Sunazawa and Bikky's childhood friend Takeki Fujito, bothrespected Ainu artists, and several village government officials, including MakotoKawakami who supplied Bikky with trees for several years, often at no cost.Knowing his freedom would only last two days, Bikky drove himself intensely,pushing and pulling the IV stand while he received the intravenous drugs and ablood transfusion (Fig. 6.f9). He worked madly for two days, and in the evening,when he wasn't directing his friends, he drew and painted.

One of the works that he worked on and completed during this frantictime was titled Nitnekamuy (Evil or Trickster God; see Fig. A. 1). Bikky had started

Fig. 6.19: Bikky and his friends at home.

this piece earlier that year but had been interrupted by the need to finish otherwork.'' The name of the work is derived from the legendary god of evil who livedaround the Asahikawa region, known to play tricks on the Ainu people. No oneknows why Bikky had the Ainu god in mind for his last work, but HokkaidoMuseum of Modern Art curator T. Echizen speculated that because Bikky knewhe was going to submit this work to the exhibition at the Hokkaido AsahikawaMuseum of Art, he wanted an Ainu name relevant to the Asahikawa area."*" It'spossible that Bikky also felt a sense that something malevolent was affecting hisfate—Bikky could have chosen any number of Ainu names h-om the region, buthe choose the evil trickster god, perhaps believing that Nitiiekamiiy was casting anevil spell on him.

At the end of the second day of Bikky's furlough from the hospital, severaldozen of his friends held a party to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Bikky start-ing work in his studio Sanmore. Although he must have been tired, he stoodrigidly at attention with the intravenous drugs dripping into his body, and madea speech in front of them. "I thank you lor your support. I'm glad I've spent the

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last ten years creating my artistic work in Osashima. But now I'm thinking abouthow I'm going to spend the next ten years. I'm going to show you my best art andI look forward to the work."^' His short visit ended the next day and on December13 he went back to the hospital.

Though Bikky attended the exhibition opening at the Kanagawa Galleryon January 21, the end was clearly near. When he returned to the hospital, manypeople came to say their goodbyes over the next few days. Bikky suffered throughthe pain; the more pain he felt, the harder he tried to draw something in hissketchbook, hoping to take his mind off the pain. Then on January 25th, Bikkyslowly began to loose consciousness after 4 P.M., repeatedly talking in his sleep,saying, "I will go back to Otoineppu and do more work,"'*' and grasping his pen-cil. Around 9 P.M., he awoke to write his last words, "My disease is completelycured. "^"^ Shortly thereafter, at 9:15 P.M., he died. It was a fitting and dramaticdeath for the Northern King—a modern abstract sculptor, an Ainu artist. Bikkywas fifty-seven years young.

During the Kanagawa exhibition, several of Bikky's sculptures sproutedwild mushrooms. How pleased he would have been to know that nature wasfinishing his work.

End Notes

1. Gra C/w/; (October, 1988:10).

2. Asahi Shiiiihiin {Ui.y M), 1984).

3. M. Kinetsuka (1990b)

4. Poem written in Autumn 1988.

5. When Bikky needed time tor introspection, he would seek solitude in the lorest. He needed the challengesof nature, the wind and rain, to obtain the spiritual message waiting for him. This is reminiscent of thevision quest experienced by Native Americans.

6. Inukai (1970:621-2).

7. R. Sunazawa (1990:165).

8. Fukao and Kitayama (1986).

9. Hariu et al. (1989:101); Bikky's estimate tor the lite of four Winds was optimistic. Installed in 1986, onepole was already badly decayed by 2002. The taster-than-expected decay forced the museum to make adifficult decision. If the pole was to be repaired successfully, it must be done immediately. There wereseveral issues, if the pole was left to decay naturally, the museum would loose one of its most popular out-door sculptures; on the other hand, there was Bikky's strong desire that nature finish his work. Because thework had taken on an almost mythic importance with art lovers, museum officials took the unusual stepto have a public forum to help decide the future of the poles. Because all works in the outdoor musetnnwere public art, museum officials thought the public should have their opinions heard.

On June 24, 2001, as part ot the Kiki Exhibition, a fifteen-year memorial retrospective of Bikky' work,invited art critics, museum curators, artists, conservators, and the public gathered at the sculpture. Whilethe poles were roped off to keep the crowd back, the grass growing at the top of two ot the poles, ancfthe precarious condition brought on by the deep penetration of the decay at the base of one pole, wasclearly visible to the crowd. After much discussion with conflicting views, at the end ot the afternoon itwas decided that Bikky's wish for his work was to be honored. It was an emotional day for Bikky's sup-porters, and a precedent setting day tor the museum commtmity. To invite the public to voice their opin-ion, allowing them to in effect dictate the future of an extremely valuable work of art, is most unusual{Hokkaido Slmnbun, June 25 & July 5, 2001; Lure [2001:4-10]).

10. Bikky, while admiring the adze work of Bill Reid and other Northwest Coast Native American artists,was never able to reconcile himself to use the adze as a "finishing" tool. The three large adzes I found inBikky's studio were used to "rough out " designs. However the adze work he saw in Canada prompted himto use the very small, tightly controlled chisel marks found on his post-Canada work. The pre-Canadachisel use was more in line with a random chisel "design."

11. Hariu et al. (1989:100).

12. It was originally entitled Yottsu no Kazc B (Four Winds B) (The Hokkat Tunes, August 27, 1986).

13. Hokkaido Shinibiai (November 27, 1986).

14. These two pieces of work were untitled in the exhibition of Contemporary Artists' Series '89 in theKawagawa Prefectural Gallery from January 21 to February 5 in 1989 (The exhibition catalogue ofContemporary Artists' Series '89). Both works were titled Wind after his death (Hariu et al. 1989). Whileone of his major themes was "wind" after his retiu n from Canada, I couldn't find who named them. Thisis just one of many name changes for Bikky's work.

15. The killer whale or rep-un-kamuy, is a powerful god to the Ainu. Many Ainu, from both the seashorearea, and the forested moimtains, use an abstract form of the killer whale as their itokpa, or the patrilinealancestral sign.

16. In the exhibition Tentacle-Sunazawa Bikky (April 16-May 15, 1994) at the Hokkaido Museum olModern Art in Sapporo, and in an interview with Bikky for the Kitano Gunzo (The Northern (iroup)television show on Sapporo TV during the creation ot the piece (aired November 13, 1988), this piecewas titled The King and Queen ofWind. However, in the exhibition of Conleinporary Artists' Series '89

at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery from January 21 to February 5 in 1989, it was titled Kitano Gunzo(Northern Group). I don't know il this title is a misprint in the catalogue, or it someone changed the titlelater.

17. Although this work was completed in 1 987, he submitted it for Modern Art Correspondence Exhibition in1988 (October 15-November 1) in Sapporo.

18. Bikky was constantly playing with words. The dictionary meaning of the kanji (Chinese character) heused, bunsnirei, means both "watershed" and "divide." His memorial book, Sunazawa Bikky Art Works(edited by Hariu et al. 1989), titled these works as Watershed A.B, and the catalogue from his latest exhibi-tion (April 16-May IS, 1994) at Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, titled the works as Divide A.B. Thechanging of titles is problematic tor the art historian because ot the contusion it creates.

19. While there are minor similarities between the Ainu religion and Shintoism in the general area of a respectand fear for nature, the reverence of the natural environment was a belief common among many prehis-toric tribal people. However, these similarities are superticial. Shintoism has at its base human pantheons,animal deities, animal mandalas, such as the deer mandalas mentioned above, and important human madeshrines complexes. They also believe war heroes are the embodiment of god. The Ainu have none of theseprecepts. Shigeru Kayano, an important Ainu cultural leader from the Nibutani region, strongly rejectsany connection with Shintoism. The Ainu belief system is based on the sole concept of maintaining a har-mony with nature.

20. Interview (May 16, 1995).

21. Creo Chib (October 1988:12).

22. Interview (December 9, 1993).

23. Echizen (1988:6).

24. This painting was originally titled Kitn no Oh-hi no Mai (Dance of the Northern Queen) in his memorialbook, Sunazawa Bikky Art Works (Hariu et al. 1989).

25. The date ot painting was written by Bikky in 1986 at the end of drawing with his signature, but themuseum catalog, Ventacle-Simazawa Bikky, cited the date, 1987.

26. Hokkaido Shimbnn (November 20, 1986).

27. Former Prime Minister Nakasone made a comment publicly that "the Ainu people have already inter-mingled with the Japanese people as tar as I know," on 21 October, 1986 (The Globe and Mail, October23, 1986).

28. The other two artists who were part of the exhibition with Bikky at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery,were contemporary painter, Norio Ueno (b. 1932), and contemporary printmaker, Fumiaki Fukida (b.1926).

29. Yazaki (1989a:53).

30. Fujiwara (1989:18).

31. Ibid.

32. There is some discrepancy in the cited alphabetized names of the drums. The literature calls the tworemaining drum "A.C."

33. W.Takeoka (1988).

34. Bikky s very close friend from Otoineppu, Makoto Kawakami, was standing close to the Atavism setat the 10th Annual "Talk-About-Trees Exhibition" when suddenly, a child accidentally knocked over adrum which hit the floor with a loud cracking noise, splitting the drum in halt (interview with MakotoKawakami, April 4, 1994). He immediately felt uncomfortable, that something was wrong, a portent ofsomething horribly wrong for the future. Kawakami called Bikky at home to tell him of the accident. Atfirst Bikky laughed, not at all upset. He knew that this t)'pe of accident was inevitable if he wanted peopleto interact with his art. However, he became quiet, and after a few moments, stated that "perhaps, thisisn't a good sign" (telephone interview with Makoto Kawakami, March 18, 1995). Interestingly, KatsumiYazaki, his very good friend from Sapporo, had a similar experience around the same time. Bikky had

carved a beautiful chair that, depending on the viewing angle, would depict a woman's body, not a chair.One day the chair suddenly split in halt with a loud sound. He too immediately felt uncomfortable, witha shock going through his body, and breaking out in a heavy, cold sweat (Yazaki 1989b:8). In less than amonth of" these two incidents, Bikky would complain of terrible pain in his back. While not diagnosed atthe time, his cancer was already claiming his body (interview with Makoto Kawakami, April 4, 1994).

35. In 1979 Bikky told his closest friend in Otoineppu, Makoto Kawakami, that his goal was to develop"The Talk-About-Trees Exhibition" to become a showcase for new modern sculpture, and that peoplewho were interested in modern art would come to the country. Bikky's dream had become a fact until,unfortunately, his death. His energetic dynamism was the core of the exhibit. Without the core, the exhibit,and the dream, ended.

36. Telling him about his true condition was a big discussion with his family and his friends. It was happeningso fast that everybody seemed to be contused and didn't know how to deal with it. However, they eventu-ally made up their mind to tell Bikky about his disease at the end ot November or at the beginning ofDecember. However, the doctor stopped them this time and said that Bikky didn't have any more time(Fujiwara 1989:17). They thought Bikky would die any day.

37. Fujiwara (1989:18).

38. Igarashi (1989:2).

39. Echizen (1992:4).

40. Nitnekamny was one of the works he submitted to the exhibition, Shiki o Egaku-Gendai no Zokei-ten(Depicting Four Seasons-Wooden Beauty). Modern Sculpture at the Hokkaido Asahikawa Museimi of Artfrom December 18, 1988 to February 19, 1989.

41. Kawakami (1989:25).

42. Fujiwara (1989:18).

43. Yazaki (1989b:53).

Chapter 7

Bikky's Legacy

Bikky Sunazawa was one of the most unique contemporary artists tobegin work in Japan after World War II. His fierce pride, his intense disHke oi thecenturies of discrimination by the Japanese toward the Ainu, his parents' leader-ship role in the fight for Ainu rights, and his traditional Ainu upbringing duringhis formative years all shaped his persona and the way he used his artistic talent.Blended with this was his exposure as a young man to the exciting avant-garde artworld of 1950s Tokyo, during which time he absorbed influences from the artistsand ideas that surrounded him.

Although proud of his heritage, Bikky had internalized the insults he hadreceived from his Japanese schoolmates and struggled with the feeling that theAinu were inferior. He fought against the barriers that locked a male Ainu artistinto a life of being a sculptor of wood with only two artistic expressions, traditionalart and the very narrow field of Ainu tourist art. Neither option was acceptable toBikky. Mitsuko Arita, a confidant of Bikky during the mid-1950s, said:

Bikky had a strong negative complex about being an Ainu, but hestudied hard to improve himself. He often said that he would be thelast pure-blooded Ainu, and even though he had his complex, he wasvery proud of being Ainu. However, he didn't want to be an "Ainubear carver," he wanted to show that the Ainu can do more. While hetried very hard to break the stereotyped image of the Ainu, he triedjust as hard to live as an Ainu. It was very difficult for him.'

Bikky's upbringing was unlike that of most Ainu or Japanese children.For a boy to learn girls' work from his mother was very radical. Gender roles wereinflexible throughout Asia during Bikky's youth, and clearly, garment making waswomen's work. The training imbued the complex Ainu designs into Bikky's sub-conscious, however, providing the opportunity to make the designs work for him.

Bikky's early contribution to Ainu art—jewelry with Ainu designs—wasdue in large part to his strong aversion to carving small, simply crafted bears.Bikky's Ainu jewelry was extremely successful and quickly copied throughout Ainucountry. The jewelry brought an avenue of artistic freedom to Ainu artists, a newand important source of income, and pride, for now the Ainu artist could createsomething besides the stereotypical bear. Even today you will find Ainu jewelrywith "Bikky patterns" in every store that sells Ainu tourist art (Fig. 7.1).

Women were crucial in shaping Bikky's career, especially his mother's guid-ance, and his first wife's connection to the Tokyo avant-garde art world. Because hewas very charismatic, Bikky also formed several, very different, circles of friends,many of whose ideas and knowledge affected his work. Bikky's art was initiallyinfluenced by a few abstract sculptors such as Ossip Zadkine and Shigeru Ueki,but for the most part Bikky tollowed his own star, and he always transformedthese influences into his own very unique images and themes.

Although he had little formal education, Bikky had a hunger for knowl-edge and worked hard to absorb all that the intellectuals in the group could offerhim. The association with and acceptance by writers such as Tatsuhiko Shibuzawahelped Bikky validate himself as a person and as an artist."^ Shibuzawa also awak-ened Bikky's latent talent and love for words. Throughout the remainder of hislife, Bikky played with Ainu, Japanese, and English words in his titles for hisworks and in his calligraphy.

Bikky was also influenced by others such as dancer Tatsumi Hijikata. Bikkywas very impressed with Hijikata's expressions of sensuality and rarely missed anyof his performances. ^ It's probable that the forms inspired by the dancers' bendingand twisting bodies emerged later as the surrealistic morphing sculptures found inthe 'Animal" series and the ''Tentacle (maze)" series. It was the shared interest inerotica and surrealism that bonded Bikky, Shibuzawa, and Hijikata.

Bikky made an important mark on Ainu life with his civil rights workwhile he lived in Sapporo during the 1970s. The Ainu liberation movement'ssuccesses were few and small at the time, but they paved the way for important

concessions by the Japanese government. Today the Ainu speak of the activism ofthe 1970s just as Americans and Europeans talk of the civil rights successes of the1960s. Political advancement of a minority group is always painfully slow, but theforward movement through the ebb and flow of time is caused by the passion ofindividuals such as Bikky. There are Ainu that remember Bikky more for his workas an Ainu activist than for his art.

While Bikky lived in Sapporo he also began to explore the monumentaltotem pole as an art torm, which expanded the scope for other Ainu artists.Traditional Ainu art consisted of small objects such as the inaw, ikupasny, bowls,platters, sword and knife scabbards, and other objects of similar size. While theAinu made a great many smaller dugout canoes, and large sailing ocean canoes,with very lew exceptions there is no evidence that they were normally "decorated,"with the exception of the placement of an iiiaiv in the bow ol the canoe.'* Bikky'stotem pole period, which culminated in 1983, opened a new era of large worklor Ainu artists. Today there are many Ainu totem poles, such as those carvedin Burnaby, British Columbia, 1990, by Ainu sculptors Nuburi Toko and hisson Shusei Toko (Fig. 7.2).^ The work of other Ainu carvers can also be foundthroughout Hokkaido, all directly attributed to Bikky's first poles.*'

Bikky's move to Otoineppu in 1978 brought dramatic change. He nowhad room to create large works and, most important, he had unlimited accessto the largest trees in Japan. The biggest influence on his work was the naturalenvironment that surrounded his home and studio. His love for the countrysideinvigorated him, and lor the first time in his life, he became strongly involved inthe civic programs ol a community. The community reciprocated by supportinghim and his celebration ol modern and abstract art with the annual "Talk-about-Trees Exhibition."

The greatest influence on Bikky's later art, and his self image, was his tripto Canada's Northwest Coast, meeting Bill Reid, and his exposure to the Nativeart of the area. The totem poles of the coastal region humbled and awed him withtheir power and presence, and he was moved by the decomposing fallen old totempoles. For Bikky this was the natural order of things, the returning to nature, anelement missing in his own art. While he was always extremely close to nature ashis Ainu culture and religious belief dictated, he now believed that nature was thefinal part of the sculpting process, that nature was now in fact his partner.

Fig. 7.2: "Kamui-Minrara" (Playground of the Gods) carved by Nuburi Toko and Shusei Toko in Burnaby, B.C.

While the Canadian First Peoples' artwork was very impressive to Bikky, itwas the respect that the mainstream culture held for the artists and, more important,the respect for Native peoples in general that he found almost unbelievable. Whilenot perfect, the positive condition of Native Canadians far exceeded that of theAinu. That this could be possible shocked Bikky to his very soul. He began to dis-play his ethnicity proudly in his art and began naming his work with Ainu names.

After his return to Otoineppu in 1983, Bikky worked like never before.Influenced by his experience in Canada, his art changed. It was bigger, as in hismonumental pieces Four Winds and Listen to the Wind, and smaller, as in his Toysat 3:00 A.M. The rough, crude axe marks of Bikky s monumental works evoked aprimal spirit and overall the works express the severe yet dynamic northern envi-ronment. Bikky found the harsh northern winters an exciting challenge, and hebrought that rigor to his art. In contrast, his small works reflect meticulous detail

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that were the direct resuk of exposure to the work of Bill Reid. Pieces such as Toysat 3:00 A.M. are polished and smoothly finished. The two extremes reflect thedynamic public side of his personality contrasted with Bikky's sensitive private self.

Throughout Bikky's artistic life he strove to express his personal mythologyand poetic sensitivity through abstract sculptural form. Bikky's beliefs derived fromAinu traditions but also included his unique interpretations based on his influ-ences, life experiences, and dreams." He constantly sought a supernatural orderof things to transcend everyday reality as we know it in kamuy mosir, the Ainuspirit world, which coexists with earth's rhythms with dignity. For Bikky, his workwas more than the manipulation of wood and form; he believed that the spirit ofthe tree allowed him to not only listen to the tree but to give it new life as partof a work of art after it had been cut down. In reaching for the kamuy, the gods,he went beyond the concept of naturalism and reached into the abstract celestialworld of the Ainu.

The dramatic circumstances surrotmding Bikky's death in 1989 were widelyreported in various newspapers throughout Japan. On a private level, Bikky'sbook of condolences—containing statements and essays from friends, governmentofficials, and art critics, and newspaper articles—was published as a small bookentitled Moknba ni notta Bikky (Bikky on a Wooden Horse).*^ A photography bookwas also published in the same year by local photographer, Hiroaki Kai, who wasfascinated by Bikky's artistic charisma and kept a pictorial record of the last sixyears of Bikky's life. The book is titled Siniazaiva Bikky Shashin-shu: Hikari to Kage(Lights and Shadows: A Photographic Collection of Bikky Sunazawa). More ofBikky's work was made into a book entitled Sunazawa Bikky Sakuhin-shu (BikkySunazawa Art Works) published in 1989. 'This book includes more of his writings,sketches, and some of art critics' condolences regarding Bikky's death and work. In1990 a large number of memorial essays written by a variety of people includingAinu community leaders, modern art critics, and poets appeared in several majornewspapers in Hokkaido. In the same year Sunazawa Bikky Sobyo: Kita no Onna(Bikky Sunazawa Sketches: Northern Woman) was published, which also includesBikky's short stories and essays, and artistic statements.'"

As a testimonial to Bikky's impact on the contemporary art of the Ainu,and abstract art in general, at the time of this writing, there are no fewer thanthree museums being planned for Bikky's work. However, destined to be themost important is the museum that was opened on April 26, 2003. The village of

Otoineppu, where Bikky spent the last ten years of his hfe, honored Bikky witha museum named Ateher Sanmore, on the same site as his last studio of the samename. Otoineppu is a most appropriate place for this museum for visitors to notonly appreciate his work bur also to feel and get a sense of the environmentalsurroundings that Bikky not only loved, but inspired him to create great art. Heonce stated:

The northern country doesn't give up winter easily, when winterloses the fight, spring still has to be in combat against the snow andcold. When it's all over, the warm brilliant rays of the sun seem to singa song it! praise of victory (Hariu et al. 1989:97).

As we grow to understand and appreciate Bikky s view of theenergy found in all life forms living in the Playground of the Gods,our own lives are richer. His artistic work and his fight for Ainuequality will always be an inspiration to the Ainu people.

Chisato O. Dubreuil

End Notes

1. Interview (May 14, 1995).

2. During the 1960s Shibuzawa divorced his first wile and married another woman. Biidvy liked and respectedthe first wile and couldn't understand the divorce. He chided his friend and finally Shibuzawa ended hisfriendship with Bikky. It was a great loss, but Bikky continued to respect Shibuzawa throughout his life(interview with Jimko Takagi, April 25, 1994).

3. Interview with Kazuko Arita (May 14, 1995).

4. However, there were two Ainu ocean-going plank boats, ita-o)na-chip, excavated from the suburbs ofTomakomai, a port city on the south central shore of Hokkaido, with one boat having the character-istic Ainu ay-US design motif. Buried under volcanic ash when Mt. Tarumae, thirty kilometers fromTomakomai, erupted in 1667, the boats are dated to the early 1600s. The design motif is carved into thegunnels of the boat. A paddle, excavated from the same site, has an itokpn, the patrilineal ancestral sign,carved in the blade (K. Ohtsuka 1992: 312-313).

5. These poles were done as symbols of the frienciship between Burnaby, British Columbia in Canada andKushiro, Hokkaido in Japan of their sister-cities relationship. This large outdoor sculptor park is named,"Kamui Mintara" (Playground of the Gods), the same title Bikky used for a sculpture in 1977 (See Fig.7.2). Although Bikky spelled the title, "kamuy-mintar," Toko used a slightly different spelling, "KamuiMintara". The spellings of Ainu words varied considerably according to region or, later, according to per-sonal preference.

6. However, many so-called Ainu representation of totem poles for tourist areas were done by Japanese carversas well.

7. TatsLihikd Siiibuzawa also introduced Bikky to French surrealistic writers whom he came to greatly admireand influenced him (interview with Mistuko Arita, May 14, 1995). Bikky began putting a notebook withpencils near his bed in order to keep dreams alive when he woke up, or when something suddenly cameinto his mind. He called these writings "word sketches' [Ginka 1983:135-6). In 1976, some of the dreamwritings were published as a small, limited edition book entitled Aoi Sakyu nite (In the Blue Sand Dune),a work that is very abstract with strong surrealistic overtones.

10,

8

9

R. Sunazawa, ed. (1989).

Hariu et al. (1989).

R. Sunazawa, ed. (1990).

Bikky's work can be found in numerous public and privatecollections in Japan and Canada (in alphabetical order):

Ainu Memorial Museum of Kanelo Kavvamura, Asahikawa, HokkaidoAoki, Sotoji, TokyoAnta, Mitsuko, Tokyo

Asahikawa Professional High School, Asahikawa, Hokkaido

Fujito, Takeki, Akan, Hokkaido

Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, Kanagawa.

Kankyo Sekkei, Sapporo, Hokkaido

Kitanihon Mingei-sha, Co., Ltd., Sapporo, Hokkaido

Komakusa-so, Hokkaido

Kozo, Igarashi, Asahikawa, Hokkaido

Hayashi, Hideyuki, Tokyo

Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum of An, Asahikawa

Ishijima, Shmobu, Sapporo, Hokkaido

I to, Toyomaru, Asahikawa, Hokkaido

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sapporo, Hokkaido

The Nakagawa Experimental Forest of the Hokkaido University,

Otoineppu, HokkaidoOtoineppu mura (Otoineppu village), HokkaidoPieoche, Setsuko and Pierre, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaPowell, Marjorie, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaReid, Martine and Bill, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaShanahan, Kumi, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaShimizu, Shogo, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaSunazawa, Chmita and Ichitaro, Sapporo, HokkaidoSunazawa, Kazuo, Akan, HokkaidoSunazawa, Ryoko, Sapporo, HokkaidoToya mura (Toya village), Hokkaido

Yamamoto, Mmoru and Mitsue, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaYamashiro, Yakeo and Sumiko, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaYazaki, Katumi, Sapporo, Hokkaido

Yukarori Kogei-kan (Yukar Vv/eaving Arts and Crafts Museum),

Asahikawa, Hokkaidoand m the collection of the author

117

118

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Ohtsuka, Kazuyoshi, ed.

1993 Ainu Moshir: Minzoku Mon'yo kara Mita Ainu no Sekai (The Ainu land: Looking at the Ainu world throughtheir design motifs). Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology.

Okamoto, Aisuke

1981 "Okamoto Aisuke no Hito Tojo (4)" (Aisuke Okamoto Introduces a New Person [4]). The Sakai ShinpoShiinhiin, june 2.

Omoto, K. and S. Harada

1969 "Polymorphism of Red Cell Acid Phosphatase in Several Population Groups in Japan." Japanese Journal ofHutnan Genetics, 14(1 ):np.

Otoineppu Village Otfice

1992 Otoineppu Village Report. Hokkaido: Otoineppu Village Office.

The Province

1984 "B.C. Gives Sculptor a Great Scale." The Province (Canada). January 2., by Al Arnason.Read, H., ed.

1985 The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists. London: Thames and Hudson.Sakai, Tadayasu

1993 "Genya no Tamashi" (Wild Spirit)." Mori no Okite: Gendai no Chokoku no Sekai (The Rule of the Forest:The World ol Contemporary Sculpture), pp. 77-87. Tokyo: Ozawa-shoten.

Saito, Kenji

1979 "Hokkaido no " Kibori Guma"" (Bear Woodcarvings in Hokkaido). Asahikawa Museum Newsletter 38:4.

1980 "Ido-ten: 'Kato Kensei o Tazunete' o Oete" (Finishing the Itinerant Exhibition 'Visiting Kato Kensei").Asahikawa Museum Newsletter 44:3.

124

Saito, Reiko

1994 "The Study ot Tourist Arts in Ethnographic Records (1): In Relerence to the Ainu from the Edo Era to theTaisho Era." Bulletin of the Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples 3:139-60.

Sanders, Douglas

1986 "The Ainu as an Indigenous Population." International Work Group for Indigejwus Affairs (IWGIA) Newsletter45:118-49.Sekiguchi, Saburo

1978 "Jinbutsu Zumu" (Zoom in on Personalities). Hokiito Sbimbun, November 28.Shadbolt, Doris

1986 Bill Reid. Vancouver & Toronto: Douglas Mclntyre. [Revised edition 1998].Shinya, Gyo

1977 Ainu Minzoku Tiko-shi (The History ol the Ainu Resistance). Tokyo: San-ichi Shobo.Shibahashi, Tomoo

1992 "Kaze to iu na no Pieta: Sunazawa Bikky no Kaiko-ten" (Pieta Named as Wind: A Retrospective Exhibition ofArt by Bikky Sunazawa). Kaze no Chokoku (Wind Sculpture), pp. 67-74. Sapporo: Kyobun-sha.

2001 Kaze no Oh—Sunazawa Bikky no Sekai (King of Wind—The World of Biklvy Sunazawa). Sapporo: Kyobim-sha.

Shibuzawa, Tatsuhiko

1990 "The Fantasia of a Mask," Genso no Garo kara (The Gallery of Illusion), pp. 156—61. Tokyo: Seido-sha.Siddle, Richard

1996 Race, Resistance and the Amu of Japan. London and New York: Routledge.Siebold, H. V.

1881 "Ethnologische Studien uber die Aino auf der Insel Yesso." Zeitshrift fiir Ethnologie, Supplementz 13. Berlin:Anastat Neudruck.

Sjoberg, Katarina

1986 "The Ainu: A fourth world population." International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (PWGIA) Newsletter 48:43-99.

1993 The Return of the Ainu: Cultural Mobilization and the Practice of Ethnicity in japan. Switzerland: HarwoodAcademic Publishers.

Sugimura, Mitsuru

1990 "Sunazawa Bikky no Sekai (9): Kanjo-gaki o Mite Zekku" (Bikky Sunazawa's World [9]: Finding No Words toSay When Looking at the Check), Hokkaido Shinibun, January 16.

Sugiyama, Sueo

1926 Ainu Monyo (Ainu design motifs). Tokyo: Kogei Bijutsu Kenkyu-sha.

1934 Ainu no Kogei (Ainu arts and crafts). Sappoio: Hokkaido Shuppan Kikaku Center.

1940 "The Ainu Woven Works." Journal of the Anthropological Society of Tokyo, Vol. LX, no.628;February): 25-41.Sunazawa, Bikky

1976 Aoi Sakyu nite, 1964-1973 (In the Blue Sand Dune). Sapporo: Bikky Arts.

1977 ''Yjimvvy-mmiz.r"Hokkaido Toshi Shokuin Kyosai Kinniai (Newsletter ot the Hokkaido Prefectural City StaffMutual Aid Union) April.

1988 "Te" (Hands). Ikku-tashoku (A Free with Many Touches), pp. 5. Tokyo: The Inax Gallery.Sunazawa, Ryoko (ed.)

1989 Mokuha ni Notta Bikky: Ko-Sunazawa Bikky no Sogi-kiroku (Bikky Riding on A Wooden Horse: A record of the

late Bikky Sunazawa's luneral), Otoineppu: R. Sunazawa.

1990 Sunazawa Bikky: Sobyo Kita no China (Sunazawa Bikky Sketches: North Women). Tokyo: Yobisha Co.

125

Suttles, Wayne

1976 "Productivity and Its Constraints: A Coast Salish Case." hidiini Art Tradition of the Northwest Coast, Carlsoned., pp. 67—87. Burnaby, B.C.: Archaeology Press, Simon Fraser University.

Takakura, Shiichiro

1970 "Inaw." In Aiiiii Miuzoku-shi (Ethnography of the Ainu), vol. 1 & 2, Ainu Bunka Hozon Taisaku Kyogi-kai,ed., pp. 65A-A5. Tok}'o: Dai-ichi Hoki Syuppan.

Takeoka, Wadao

1988 "Bijtitsu Jihyo" (Art Criticism). Hokkaido Shinibun, August 1 5.

Terada, Toru (trans. Thomas Guerin)1976 Japanese Art ni World Perspective. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill/Heibonsha.

Toko, Nuburi

1995 Tokn Niihiiri Sakiihni-shu: Kaiiiiii Mintara (The Art Works ol Toko Ntiburi: Playground of the Gods). Tokyo:Kyuryu-do.

Turner, Christy G., II

1989 "Teeth and Prehistory in Asia." Scientific Aiiiericaji 60 (February):88-96.

Vivien de St. Martin, I,.

1872 LAnnee geograpl)ique, revue annuelle des voyages de terre et de nier, vol. 9 and 10. Paris: Librairie Hachette et Cie.Watanabe, Sanko (ed.)

1989 "Tsuito-shyu: Chokoku-ka, Sunazawa Bikky" (A Memorial Collection: Mourning the Sculptor BikkySunazawa). Kyodoshi Asahikawa (Local Magazine of Asahikawa) vol. 3, no. 3 (March): 46-54.

Yamakawa, Tsutomu

1988 Asn o Tsukuru Ainii Monzoku (The Ainu who would create tomorrow). Tokyo: Mirai-sha.

Yamaura, Kiyoshi and Hiroshi Ushiro1999 "Prehistoric Hokkaido and Ainu Origins." Amu: Spirit of a Northern People, William W. Fitzhugh andChisato O. Dubreuil, eds., pp. 39—46. Arctic Studies Center, National Museum ol Natural History,Smithsonian Institution in association with University of Washington Press.

Yazaki, Katsumi

1989a "Sozetsu na Saigo o Mitoru" (Grasping [Bikky's] Heroic Death), "Tsuito-shyu: Chokoku-ka, Sunazawa Bikky"(A Memorial Collection: Mourning the Sculptor Bikky Sunazawa). Kyodoshi Asahikawa (Local Magazine ofAsahikawa) vol. 3, no. 3 (March): 53.

l')89b "Kita no Oh—Kamuy no Kuni e" (The Northern King going to the Land of the Gods), Bijutsii Asahikawano. 54 (April): 7-9.

Selected Exhibition Printed Materials

f CHRONOL OGJCA LLY AKKANCHD)

1967 Zasshu Kosei Sho-dobutsu no Yaen-ten (Hybrid Construction: Small Animals at the Night Feast). Sapporo:Tokeidai Gallery, November 9-November 15, 1967.

1976 Sunazawa Bikky Ki-tnen-ten (Bikky Sunazawa Exhibition of Wooden Masks). Tokyo: Kunugi Gallery,July 19-July 24, 1976.

1977 Tentacle (ineikyu) fTangible]: Sunazawa Bikky-ten (The Exhibition of Bikky Sunazawa: Tentacle (maze)[Tangible]). Tokyo: Kunugi Gallery & Tamura Gallery, September 12-September 18.

1980 Mokuba ni Notta Bikky-ten (The Exhibition of Bikky Riding on A Wooden Horse). Sapporo: Art Gallery Saito,December 4-December 9, 1980.

1981 Mokucho m Notta Bikky-ten (The Exhibition of Bikky Riding on a Wooden Bird). Sapporo: Daido Gallery,February 16-February 21.

— Kita no Sbigin-tachi ten (The Exhibition of Northern Poets). Tokyo: Gallery Toshin, March 16-March 27

126

1983 Siinazaiva Bikky - Juto (Wooden Head). Tokyo: Aoki Gallery, September 5-September 17.

1984 Suuazawa Bikky Exhibition - Furiko (A Pendulum). Sapporo: Gallery Pambazuko, March 18-April 1.

1985 Hokkaido o Horn Bikky Saknhiu-ten (Carved Hokkaido: Bikky Exhibition). Asahikawa: Seibu DepartmentStore, )une 26-July 3.

1985 Kita o Horn Bikky-ten (The Carved North: Bikky Exhibition). Tokyo: Tobu Department Store, September12-September 17.

1986 Ki no Roku-nin-ten (An Exhibition ot Six Artists ot Wood). Sapporo: The Hokkaido Museum q[ Modern Art,August 23-September 3.

1987 Sunazawa Bikky-ten (Bikky Sunazawa Exhibition). Sapporo: The Sapporo Park Hotel, August 23-August 22.

1988 Ikki-taihoku-ten (The Exhibition of a Tree with Many Touches). Tokyo: The Inax Gallery 2, March 2-March 31.

1989 Gendai Sakka Series '89: Norio Ueno, Bikky Sunazawa. and Fimiiaki Fukita (Contemporary Artists' Series '89).Yokohama: The Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery, January 21-February 5.

1990 Sunazawa Bikky-ten (Bikky Sunazawa Exhibition). Asahikawa: The Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum o( Art,January 5-February 18.

1993 Hito to Kaze to Kamigami: Hokkaido no Gendai Mokueho (Man, Winds, and Gods: Contemporary WoodenSculptures in Hokkaido). Asahikawa: The Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum ol Art, August 28-October 3.

1994 Fentacle - Sunazawa Bikky-ten (Tentacle: Bikky Sunazawa Exhibition). Sapporo: The Hokkaido Museum ofModern Art, April 16-May 15.

1995 A7 no Kioku, Chokoku no Kioku (Memory of Wood, Memory ot Sculpture). Sapporo: Museum ol ContemporaryArt, Sapporo, October 28—December 3.

1999 Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of Natural History, SmithsonianInstitution, April 30, 1999-January 2, 2000.

2001 Kiki: Sunazaiva Bikky-ten (Kiki: Bikky Sunazawa Exhibition). Sapporo: Museum of Contemporary Art,Sapporo, June 6-July 15.

Television Productions

1965 Koa-kanno no Musuko-tachi (Koa-kanno's Sons), produced by Hokkaido Television (edited and organized byYoshida Gosuke), January 15.

1985 "Kamuy no Daichi ni Mokurei ga Hibiku (The Spirits of Wood Echo in the Land of the Kamuy)," DoeunientNingen Retto (Documentary, Human Islands), produced by NHK (Nippon-Hoso Kyokai-The JapaneseBroadcasting Association), March 9.

1985 "Ki ga Watashi-tachi Kureta Mono (What Trees Give to Us)," Sunday Q, produced by Sapporo Television,June 10.

1988 Kitano Gunzo (The Northern Group), produced by Sapporo Television, November 13, 28 min.

1990 Nichiyo Bijutsu-kan (The Sunday Gallery), produced by NHK (Nippon-Hoso Kyokai - The lapaneseBroadcasting Association), February 1 1.

2001 Nichiyo Bijutsu-kan (The Sunday Gallery), produced by NHK (Nippon-Hoso Kyokai - I he lapaneseBroadcasting Association), Jtme 3.

127

Figure List

*Note: Unless othcnvisc indicated, all pieces are by Bikky Sunazaiva.

Front Cover "Juka" (Wooden Flowers), 1989

Willow; 212.0 X 140.0 x 140.0 cmOtoineppu Village Office, HokkaidoPhoto: Chip Clark

Back Cot'er "Yottsu no Kaze" (Four Winds), 1986Glehn's spruce, 7 m

Hokkaido Museum of Contemporary Art,Sapporo

Photo: Toshie Fujishima

Frontispiece Bikky Sunazawa, June 25, 1983Photo: Hiroaki Kai

hiside Flap Chisato Dubreuil, 2003Photo: Regina VanDoren

Introduction

Frontispiece Bikky is carving a small piece in 1980s.Photo: Hiroaki Kai

Figure A. 1 "Nitnekamuy (Evil God)," 1988

Katsura, Manchurin ash, walnut; 122.0 x26.0 x 48.0 cm.

Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum of Art,Asahikawa.

ReF: Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds., 1999:Fig. 47.27)

Figure A.2 Bikky Sunazawa, in a wheelchair at theKanagawa Prefectural Gallery, 1989Photo: Hiroaki Kai

Figure A.3 "Kiki" (the spirit of wood) calligraphy byBikky Sunazawa, 1989The catalogue of The Contemporary ArtistsSeries '89 in the Kanagawa PrefecturalGallery

Ref Gendai Sakka Series 'Si^ (1989:9)Sidebar 1: Who Are the Ainnf'

Figure Al .2 Maps of Hokkaido and Ainu lands

(a) Traditional and Modern AinuTerritories

Ref: Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds.,1999:Fig. r.3)

(b) Modern Hokkaido

Ref: Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds., 1999:Fig. 7.7 [after Siddle 1996])

Figure A1.3 Ainu Hunter in Mountain Clothes, late19th century

National Park Service, Longfellow NationalHistoric Site, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Photographer unknown

Sidebar 2: The Ainu Hotiteland

Figure A.2.1. Scenic photo of Hokkaido, c. 1990Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Chapter J: Bikky s Early Life and Influences(1931-1953)

Frontispiece Bikkys piece carved with his name,"Bikky," 2000.Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 1.1 A photo of the 1932 Ainu activists' lobbydelegation in Tokyo: Koa-kanno (right),Peramonkoro (left) with Bikky as a year-old,and three other Ainu activistsPhotographer imknown

Figure 1.2 Bikky's father, Ichitaro Sunazawa(Koa-kanno), 1940sPhotographer unknown

Figure 1.3 Bikky's mother, Peramonkoro Simazawa,c. 1960

Photo: Masako Ivinoshita

Figure 1.4 An early abstract pen drawing by BikkySunazawa, date unknownPaper with pen; 27.5 x 38.0 cmKazuo Sunazawa, Akan, Hokkaido.Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 1.5 Untitled horse sculpture, late 1940sWood; 18.5 X 17.0 X 10.0 cmKazuo Sunazawa, Akan, HokkaidoPhoto: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 1.6 Wooden finger rings, late 1960s orearly 1970s

Wood; 1.5 cm diameterKitanihon Mingeisha Co., Ltd.,Sapporo, HokkaidoPhoto: David H. Dubreuil

128

Sidebar 3: Ainu Wood Carving

Figure 1.3.1 Ikupasuy (prayer-sticks), artist unknown,mid 20th century

Wood; (from top) CI8761, 29.2 cm (L);C18764, 28.0 cm (L); C18770, 33.0 cm(L); Cl4724a, 35.5 cm (L); C13467,35.5 cm (L)

Buffalo Museum of SciencePhoto: Susan Einstein

Figure 1.3.2 Four inaw by Bikky Sunazawa, 1980sWillow; approximately 30 - 40 cmPhoto: David H. Dubreuil

Chapter 2: The Night Train to Tokyo: Bikkys ArtEvolves (1953-1964)

Frontispiece Bikky in Asahikawa, Hokkaicio in the1960s.

Photographer unknown.

Ref: Tentacle Sunazawa Bikky-ten

(1994: 90).

Figure 2.1 "Woman with Fan" by Ossip Zadkine,1918

Material and size unknownRef Hammacher (1959:Fig. 3)

Figure 2.2 "Torso" by Shigeru Ueki, 1952

Red birch; 93.0 x 30.0 x 36.0 cmHokkaido Museum of Contemporary Art,Sapporo

Ref Hito to Kdze to Kauii<^auii (1993:Fig. 6)

Figure 2.3 "Dobutsu 6 - Hokaku sareta Dobutsu"(Animal 6 - Captured Animal), 1960Japanese red pine; 57.0 x 237.0 x 47.0 cmYukara Kougei-kan, Asahikawa, HokkaidoRef Asakawa (1996:Fig. 1)

Figure 2.4 "Animal B," 1962

Wood; size unknown

Location unknown

Ref Echizen (1993b:Fig. 6)

Figure 2.5 "Animal-Ushi (Animal-Cow)," 1962Wood; size unknownLocation unknownRef Echizen (1993b:Fig. 7)

Figure 2.6 "Animal - Me (Animal-Eye) (B)," 1963Pine; 133.0 x 30.0 x 30.0 cmPrivate collectionRef Asakawa (1996:Fig. 3)

Figure 2.7 An Ainu design, kamuy-chik, on a textilework by Midori Toko, 1990sCotton, cotton thread: L 30.0 cm xW28.0 cmPrivate collectionPhoto: David H. Dubreuil.

Sidebar 4 Ainu Tourist Art

Figure 2.4.1 Photograph of Kami/aki Souvenir Shop inAsahikawa, early 20th centuryRef Ishijima (1980b:3).

Figure 2.4.2 Bikky mon'yo design drawing (no. 8),February 26, 1 967^Pencil on paper; 28.0 x 21.5 cm.Ryoko Sunazawa, Sapporo, Hokkaido.Photo: David H. Dubreuil.

Sidebar 5, Ainu Tabric Art

Figure 2.5.1 Ainu girls practicing design motifs on sandin a scene from Shimanojo Murakami'sEzo-shima kikau (Curious Sights of EzoIsland), 1799Ink, colors on paperHakodate Municipal LibraryPhoto by Susumu Tameoka

Figure 2.5.2 "Attush" garment, back view, 19th centuryElm-bark fiber with cotton applique andembroidery; W: 122.0 x W: 127.0.National Museum of Natural History(E150779)Photo: Dana Levy.

Ref Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds., 1999:Fig. 42.3) ^

Figure 2.5.3 Women's tattoo designs (patterns of the westHidaka band, examples from Piratori village)Ref Kodama (1970b:Fig. 51)

Chapter 3: The Back of the Mask: Art a)id Activismin Sapporo (1964-1978)

Frontispiece Bikky being interviewed by a newspaperreporter in April 1974.(Asahi Shiiiihiiii, April 6, 1974).

Figure 3.1 Tentacle (precise title imknown),approx. 1976.Wood; size unknownLocation unknownRef Tentacle Sniiazawa Bikky-ten(1994:86)

129

Figure 3.2 (left) "Ki-ebi" (Wooden Lobster), 1976Walnut, oilstdin, pigment; 82.0 x 40.0 x7.0 cm

Private collection

Reh Tentacle SiDiaziUva Bikky-tcii

(1994:Fig. 28).

(right) "Ki-bachi" (Wooden Bee), 1979Walnut, oilstain, pigment; 30.0 x 26.0 x10.5 cm

Teshiogawa Onsen, Otoineppu, HokkaidoRef: Tentacle Siinazawa Bikky-tcn(1994:Fig. 30)

Figure 3.3 Bear and Ekashi (respected Ainu elder),1973

Wood; 69.5 X 56.5 cm

Kitanihon Mingeisha Co., Ltd., Sapporo,

Hokkaido

Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 3.4 Untitled stacked images (a precursor toBikky's later totem poles), 1972Wood; 199.0 X 38.0 cmKitanihon Mingeisha Co., Ltd., Sapporo,Hokkaido

Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 3.5 "Fusetsu no Cunzo" (Wind and SnowGroup) by Shin Hongo, erected inAsahikawa Joban Park in 1970(reconstructed in October, 1977)Bronze; 230 cmAsahikawa city, HokkaidoPhoto: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 3.6 The Ainu Flag, designed by Bikky

Sunazawa, used at the 44th pan-HokkaidoUnited Labor Day Rally, May 1973Ref: Hokkaido Shtmbim (May 5, 1973)

Figure 3.7 "Kimen" (mask), 1979

Japanese linden; 76.0 x 21.6 x 7.4 cmKitanihon Mingeisha Co., Ltd., Sapporo,Hokkaido

Ref: Asakawa (1996:Fig. 14)

Figure 3.8 The relief sculpture, "Kamuy-mintar,"1977

Sen (Caster aralia); 320.0 x 136.0 x 64.0 cm

Komakusaso, Hokkaido

Ref Tentacle Sunazawa Btkky-ten

(1994:13)

Sideb^ir 7: The Bear in Ainu Tourist Art

Figure 3.7.1 LIntitled carved bear by Masao Ito, ca. 1942Wood, paint, metal inlaid nails for eyes;9.5 X 6.3 X 3.6 cmYakumo-cho Education Committee,Hokkaido

Photo: Shinobu Ishijima

130

Figure 3.7.2 Photo of Umetaro Matsui in Asahikawa,early 20th century

The Ainu Memorial Museum of KanetoKawamura, Asahikawa, HokkaidoPhotographer imknown

Chapter 4: Totem Poles and Tall Trees: BikkyReturns to His Roots (1978-1983)

Frontispiece Bikky standing in front of a piece from his"Juka" series (Wooden Flower) in his studio,June 10, 1983.Photo: Hiroaki Kai.

Figure 4.1 Untitled totem pole, 1979Wood; approx. 10 m H.Ainu Memorial Museum of KanetoKawamura in Asahikawa, HokkaidoPhoto: David H. Dubreuil.

Figure 4.2 "Kami no Shita" (Tongue ol God), 1980Japanese oak; 201.0 x^l 16.0 x 54.0 cmHokkaido Museum of Contemporary Art,Sapporo

Ref Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds., 1999:Fig. 47.18)''

Figure 4.3 "Kita no Dobutsu tachi" (NorthernAnmials), 1980

Japanese oak, walnut; 34.0 x 267.0 x37.0 cm; 13.0 x 80.5 x 31.0 cm; 29.5 x65.0 X 45.5 cm; 173.0 x 48.0 x 24.0 cm;29.0 X 35.0 X 34.5 cm; 47.0 x 74.0 x 26.5cm; 15.0 X 71.0 x 20.0 cm; 51.5 x 40.0 x33.5 cm; 65.0 x 45.5 x 49.5 cm; 93.0 x32.0 x 47.5 cm

Chinita and Ichitaro Sunazawa, Sapporo,Hokkaido

Ref Asakawa (1996:Fig. 17)

Figure 4.4 "Shiko no Tori" (The Birds of Thought),1981

Birch, Glehn's spruce; 7.5 m H. (left); 12 m

H. (center); 7.5 cm H. (right)

The Nakagawa Experimental Forest of the

Hokkaido University, Otoineppu,

Hokkaido

Photo: David H. Dubreuil.Figure 4.5 Same as Front Cover

Chapter 5: Transforming Visions: Bikky and theNorthwest Coast of Canada, 1983

Frontispiece Bikky standing next to a totem pole

depicting frogs in the Gitksan Tsimshianvillage of Kitwancool in the upper SkeenaRiver region, British Columbia in 1983.Photo: Douglas Sanders.

Figure S.I A figurative sculpture, "Setsuko doll", 1983Wood; 85.0 X 16.0 X 17.5 cmSetsuko and Pierre Pieoche, Vancouver,British Columbia.Photo: David H. Dubrcuii

Figure 5.2 "Hole-through-the-Sky" totem pole, late19th centuryWood; approx. 10 mIn situ Kirwancool, British ColumbiaPhoto: Werner Forman

Figure 5.3 "Indian Dance A" painting by BikkySunazawa, 1983

Crayon, watercolor on paper; 52.0 x36.0 cm

Shinobu Ishijima, Sapporo, HokkaidoRef: Tentacle Siuiaznwa Bikky-ten (1994:Fig. 69)

Figure 5.4 Haida artist. Bill Reid (left) showing Bikky(center) how to use the adze in Reid'sStudio on Granville Island, Vancouver,British Columbia, 1983Photo: Douglas Sanders

Figure 5.5 Untitled painting, f-rom "Images ot BritishColumbia," 1983

Pencil, watercolor on paper; 22.5 x 28.8 cm

Minoru and Mitsue Yamamoto,

Vancouver,

British Columbia

Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 5.6 A mountain sheep horn bowl, 19th-20thcentury

Horn; 8.9 x 14.6 x 19.4 cmRef: Holm and Reid (1975:98)

Figure 5.7 Untitled work From "Images ot BritishColumbia," 1983Red cedar; 65.0 x 20.0 x 14.5 cmLocation unknownPhotographer unknown

Figure 5.8 Dzoonokwa mask, Kwakwakai'wakw, 1897Wood; 30.0 X 24.0 cmAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryRef: Jonaitis (1991:Fig. 3.7)

Figure 5.9 Untitled work from "Images ol BritishColumbia," 1983Maple; 35.0 x 21.0 x 18.5 cmShinobu Ishijima, Sapporo, HokkaidoRef: Asakawa (1996:Fig. 24)

Figure 5.10 "The Watchman" hom "Images of BritishColumbia", 1983

Yellow cedar; 210.0 x 52.5 x 52.0 cmRef: Kiki: SiDiazauui Hikky-tcii (2001:Fig. S-14)

Figure 5.11 A modern frontal house pole by Bill Reid,assisted by Douglas Cranmer, 1959Museum of Anthropology, University ofBritish ColumbiaWood; 12.8 mPhoto: Bill McLennan

Sidebar 8 Bikky s Tools

Figure 5.8

artist unknown,

A mans makiri (kniteearly 20th centuryWood, iron; 23 cm

Milwaukee Public Museum (N17340A,B)Photo: Susan Einstein

Chapter 6: The Northern King: Final Years(1984-1989)

Frontispiece Bikky working at his studio in Otoineppu,Hokkaido.

January 23, 1986, Hokkaido SLuiiihiiii.Photo: Katsuaki Kitayama.

Figure 6.1 "Me" (Buds), 1985

Japanese oak; 300.0 x 40.0 x 40.0 cm (left);

270.0 x 51.0 x38.0 cm (right)

The Asahikawa Professional High School,

Asahikawa, Hokkaido

Ref Hariu, et al. (1989:17)

Figure 6.2 A house post in situ, Cowichan, VancouverIsland, British Coltunbia, 19th centuryWood; size unknownThe Royal British Columbia Museum,Victoria, British ColumbiaRef: Suttles (1976:Hg. 4:10).

Figure 6.3 "Yottsu no Kaze" (Four Winds), 1986.Glehn's spruce, 7 m

Hokkaido Museimi of Contemporary Art,Sapporo

Photo: Toshie Fujishima

Figure 6.4 Bikky performing the kamuy nomi for thetree spirit using an ikupasuy and sake onJanuary 18, 1986 in front of his stLidio,Otoineppu, HokliaidoHokkaido Shimbun, January 23, 1986Photo: Katsuaki Kitayama

Figure 6.5 "Kaze ni Kiku" (Listening to tiie Wind),1986

Glehn's spruce, katsura; 214.0 x 605.0 x68.0 cm

Hokkaido Museum of Contemporary Art,Sapporo

Ref Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds., 1999:Fig. 47.24)

131

Figure 6.6 "Kaze" (Wind), 1988

Japanese elm; 190.5 x 242.0 x 74.0 cmToyamura, HokkaidoRef: Kiki: Siinazawa Bikky-ten (2001:Fig. S-30).

Figure 6.7 "Kaze" (Wind), 1988

Japanese oak; 174.5 x 124.0 x 131.0 cmHokkaido Museum of Modern Art,Sapporo

Ref: Asakawa (1996:Fig. 35)

Figure 6.8 "Kaze no Oh to Oh-hi" (King and Queenof Wind), 1988

Manchurian ash; 173.0 x 38.0 x 35.0 cm

Ryoko Sunazawa

Ref: Asakawa (1996:Fig. 37)

Figure 6.9 "Kita no Oh to Oh-hi" (Northern King andQueen), 1987

Walnut, Caster araHa; 138.0 x 76.0 x 66.0 cmKanagawa Prefectural Gallery, YokohamaRef: Asakawa (1996:Fig. 31)

Figure 6.10 "Kita no Dobutsu" (Northern Animals),1987

Japanese oak; 80.0 x 198.0 x 48.0 cmChinita and Ichitaro Sunazawa, Sapporo,Hokl<aido

Ref: Simazmva Bikky-ten (1990:Fig. 11)

Figure 6.11 "Bunsui-rei A.B" (Watershed A.B), 1985Japanese oak, Caster aralia; 169.0 x 99.0 x29.0 cm; 172.0 x 53.0 x 30.0 cmChinita and Ichitaro Sunazawa, Sapporo,Hokkaido

Ref: Tentacle Sunazawa Btkky-tm (1994:Fig. 45)

Figure 6.12 "Cozen Sanji no Cangu" (Toys at 3:00A.M), 1987

Wood; 44.5 x 52.0 x 25.5 cmOtoineppu Village Office, HokkaidoRef: Fitzhugh and Dubreuil (eds., 1999:Fig. 47.22)

Figure 6.13 "Transformation" pendant with detachable"mask" by Bill Reid, 1982Boxwood; 8.0 cm diameter; mask head;5.5 cmMartine ReidRef: Shadboh (1986:51)

Figure 6.14 "Kita no Oh to Oh-hi" (Northern King andQueen), 1987

Crayon, watercolor on paper; 38.0 x

17.5 cm; 38.0 x 16.5 cm

Ryoko Sunazawa

Ref: Asakawa (1996:Fig. 44)

Figure 6.15 "Do No.l" (Move No.l), 1987Pencil on Japanese paper; 25.0 x2107.5 cm

Otoineppu Village Office, HokkaidoRef Tentacle Sunazawa Bikky-ten(1994:76 & 77; Fig. 85)

Figure 6.16 Detail of "Tokyo no Hi" (Night Lights ofTokyo), 1988

Pencil on Japanese paper; 25.0 x369.0 cmMartine Reid

Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Fig. 6.17 "Shiki no Kao" (Faces of Four Seasons)calendar, 1986

Woodblock prints; 67.0 x 33.0 cmPhoto: David H. Dubreuil

Fig. 6.18 "Kakusei A.C" (Atavism A.C), 1988

Katsura; 122.0 x 80.0 x 15.0 cm; 121.0 x

73.0 X 15.0 cm

Toyamura, Hokkaido

Reh Tentacle Sunazawa Bikky-ten (1994:

Fig. 54)

Fig. 6.19 Bikky and his friends at home,December 1988Photo: Masahide Sato

Chapter 7: Bikky LegacyFrontispiece

Bikky at home in 1988.Photo: Masahide Sato.

Figure 7.1 An Ainu tourist shop in Akan, Hokkaido,2000

Photo: David H. Dubreuil

Figure 7.2 "Kamui-Mintara" (Playground of theGods) carved by Nuburi Toko andShuseiToko, 1992Burnaby, British ColumbiaWood; various sizesPhoto: David H. Dubreuil

Chisato O. Dubreuil,

of Native Ainu descent,is a specialist in the artsand cultures of theindigenous peoples ofthe North Pacific Rim.In addition to lecturing on traditional andcontemporary arts internationally, her first bookAinu: Spirit of a Northern People (1999), co-editedwith William W. Fitzhugh, is considered amajor study of the Ainu people. She is currentlynearing completion on a work which considersthe contributions of the Kitanmax School ofNorthwest Coast Indian Art ('Ksan) on theresurgence of the arts of the Gitksan Tsimshianin northern British Columbia.

Cover Design: The Castle Press

Cover Photo: Juka (Wooden Flowers), 1989

Back Cover Photo: Yottsu no Kaze (Four Winds), 1986

Printed in Pasadena, California U.S.A.