Agency for Cultural Affairs, Goverment of Japan


New Chitose Airport

The theme of the exhibit at the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido is “INVISIBLE”. The creative company NAKED, INC., which specializes in infusing spaces with a variety of media elements to create fresh experiences, exhibits works based on the theme of “Ainu culture".
The Ainu are the indigenous people native to Hokkaido, the Tohoku region of Japan, and eastern Russia. They maintain a distinctive culture characterized by deep gratitude and reverence toward nature despite the bitterly cold climate in their areas. The Ainu people's rich spiritual world has been passed on to the present day through songs, dances, and stories in the Ainu language, a language separate from Japanese.
NAKED, INC. has created works that convey the culture and spirit of the Ainu people, which have been passed down orally from generation to generation using the Ainu language and music, through sound-based experiences.

Exhibition theme


Ainu Culture NAKED, INC.

Imagine Ainu

The traditions and culture nurtured by the history of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, have been passed down from person to person through words, various instruments, and unique singing tones. This artwork focuses on the sounds of that tradition. It is an installation of sound and light from which narratives in the Ainu language, kamuy-yukar (mythic epics), iomante rimse (dance to send a bear spirit back), and instruments can be heard. NAKED, INC. is a creative company that produces novel, firsthand experiences by combining space and various media. The company worked with the Ainu people to show the attractions of Hokkaido. This piece of artwork expands the imagination through 3D sounds and lighting that illuminates the surrounding environment.

Creative・Producer: NAKED, INC.
[Production Cooperation]
Ainu translator・Narration: SEKINE Maya
[Special thanks]
Ainu language class of NIBUTANI, BIRATORI
Recitation Singing Performance: Upopoy(National Ainu Museum and Park), KAWAKAMI Sayaka, NAGANO Ikumi, SHINTANI Shiori, KIRITA Haruka, KAMIKAWA Aya, YAMAMICHI Hibiki
Ainu pattern: SEKINE Maki
Ainu language: NAKAGAWA Hiroshi

Location: New Chitose Airport　Domestic Terminal 1 Entrance, Floor 1 (February 22, 2021 - September 30)

Ainu Culture

Since ancient times indigenous Ainu people have primarily lived in Hokkaido and Tohoku in Japan and in the eastern parts of Russia. The Ainu used to support themselves mainly by hunting and fishing. In addition to their native Ainu language, they possess a creative culture rich in cultural artifacts like attus textiles and Ainu musical heritage; the latter is registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. The Ainu people also possess unique religious views that consider all things, including plants, animals, natural phenomena, and daily tools, as having a spirit living within them called a kamuy. In Ainu culture, oral literature, including epic poems such as the yukar and the upopo rounds have been passed down. The unique music of the Ainu has also been preserved along with their traditional instruments, such as the mukkuri mouth harp and the tonkori stringed instrument.

NAKED, INC. Official website

NAKED, INC. is a Tokyo based creative company MURAMATSU Ryotaro founded in 1997 along with a team of directors, designers, and writers. NAKED, INC. continues to create new experiences and values throughout various scenes in people’s lives, spanning from art and entertainment to culture, tradition, education, music, cities, food, and sports.

Creator's Voice


Culture Travel

Read more

Other location & artists

Select from Japan Map

New Chitose Airport Narita Airport Haneda Airport Kansai International Airport Chubu Centreair International Airport Fukuoka Airport Naha Airport Tokyo International Cruise Terminal