Chipsanke means “boat unloading” in Ainu language, and is a ceremony to unload a boat made by an ancient technique into the river to give it a new life. In Nibutani, Hiratori Town, it is held as a traditional event every August to deepen understanding of Ainu culture among many people.

Chipu means “we” or “opu” and refers to a wooden boat made of hollowed-out tree trunks. At that time, Nibutani was a farming village with about 50 households, and most of the arable land was located on the opposite bank of the Saru River, which is one of the largest rivers in Hokkaido. At that time, bridges had not yet been built, and for many farmers whose arable land was on the other side of the river, chippu were a daily necessity to transport people and goods.

In Chipsanke, the boat is placed in front of the altar on the riverbank, and an inau (ritual utensil) is placed in a hole in the face of the boat. First, the participants report to the river god that they have built a boat, and thank the mountain god for giving them the materials for the boat. Then, to the boat, they say, “From this day on, please live in harmony with human beings as a new god. Through your power, women and children will be able to cross the river. We ask that you will bring them safely across the river.

For the Ainu, who believed that the gods inhabited the natural world and man-made objects, and that each came to this world from the land of the gods to be useful to mankind, and lived their lives with respect and care, the chipsanke was also considered an important ritual to pray to the gods by putting their souls into boats.

*The “p” in Chipsanke, Chipu, and Chipunanka are all lowercase.
Citation: Kayano, Shigeru . The Folk Tools of the Ainu People. Suzusawa Bookstore Co.

The Ainu believed that each tool they made and each object they made had a soul, and they treated them as if they were living things.In particular, they made use of nature’s bounty, using wood as a material to make the folk tools necessary for daily life with their own hands.Many of these wooden products are carved with beautiful Ainu patterns that are thoughtfully combined by the maker, and the individuality of the maker is so evident that it is said that one can tell who carved the product by looking at the patterns.

In old Ainu stories, “a man who is good at wood carving and a woman who is good at needlework” appear as people to be admired, but in Ainu culture, wood carving has basically been handed down as a man’s job and embroidery as a woman’s job.In the Ainu language, there is a word “teketoku” = “one who is good with his hands.Being dexterous was very important because being able to make good tools with your hands meant that you could hunt a lot of game and make a good living.In particular, a small carved wooden sword called a “makiri” was an important tool for the Ainu people, essential for hunting, gathering, cooking, and making daily utensils.It is said that the skill of the carver is tested by the finish of the makiri, and in the past, it was customary for a man to present a woman he liked with a makiri he had made as a token of his courtship.

In the Meiji period (1868-1912) and later, they began to make use of their wood-carving skills to produce souvenirs in addition to their own products.In the early days, Ainu daily necessities such as bowls, chopsticks, and models of tools were produced, but by the end of the Meiji period, dolls and wooden carved bears began to be made.
Thus, the culture of wood carving is closely related to the Ainu way of life and has been passed down to the present day as an Ainu craft, changing its form over time.