Oshikesaranip (Ainu twine shoulder bag)

This shoulder bag, known as an oshikesaranip, was handmade by Tokyo-based Ainu artist Akemi Shimada.

Saranip are carry-all shoulder bags still in use today. They were originally used to hold such objects as vegetables, hunting tools, fishing tools, including nets.

In order to make this oshikesaranip, the dried inner bark of the Ulmus laciniata was torn into narrow pieces, which were then shortened and twisted together to make twine. The twine was then hand-woven into a saranip from bottom to top – this method of weaving differentiates the oshikesaranip from other types of saranip woven on an itese-ni (loom).

Creating the twine for this bag was a time-consuming process - it took Akemi almost three months to do so. Weaving the bag, meanwhile, took her a week.

Akemi Shimada
Akemi was raised by Ainu-speaking parents in Shizunai, Hokkaido before moving to Tokyo in her early twenties. Like many Ainu, Akemi initially hid her Ainu heritage while in Tokyo for fear of discrimination, but an encounter with Māori later inspired her to start learning more about her culture and share it with others. She has since become a passionate advocate for Ainu living in Tokyo and a respected Ainu embroiderer active in Ainu cultural revitalisation efforts.

Akemi is the current Chairperson of the Aotearoa Ainu Mosir Exchange Programme and also Chair of Casi An Kar (see booklet object entry), an organisation set up with the aim of building an Ainu-led space in Tokyo based on the concept of the urban marae.