Clutch bag with embroidery by Aiko Kitagawa, the last person in Japan to identify as a WIlta. 【Aiko Kitagawa】 Born in Otasu, Sakhalin, she was a Wilta, and her father was Gorogoro Kitagawa. After World War II, the southern part of Sakhalin became Soviet territory, and her brother-in-law, Gendanu (Gentaro Kitagawa, Gorogoro's adopted son), moved to Abashiri in 1955. Aiko-san came to Japan in 1968. Aiko-san, along with her brother Gendanu, worked to pass down Wilta culture, including establishing the Wilta embroidery circle "Fureppu-kai." It is said that Aiko-san's embroidery created Irga (continuous patterns) by cutting out curved shapes without a draft from folded triangular paper. 【Origin and Condition】 Due to my father's connection with Gendanu-san, my mother also had several opportunities to meet Aiko Kitagawa-san, and "she was very fond of her," and every time they met, she gave my mother embroidered works made by Aiko-san. Because they were not commercialized, I remember as a child that my mother was very apologetic. Most of them were kitchen utensils such as trivets and pot holders, and they were lost due to burning or getting dirty with oil during daily use. Therefore, only a few works remain at home, such as cloth bags and clothing. This item for sale is a cloth bag with brown-based embroidery, made as a clutch bag. When folded, it fits the folds of the paper wrapping with Aiko-san's signature that remains at home, so it may have been made as a "wallet." There is no way to confirm it now, so the exact details are unknown. Size: 30 x 25cm It is thick enough to be framed and used as a wall hanging. Aiko Kitagawa's works are items used in daily life, and there are no signatures or other markings. Therefore, I will post a photo of the signed wrapping paper (that wrapped this work?) that was enclosed in a separate binder. However, since no other handwritten letters from Aiko-san remain, the wrapping paper is not included in the item for sale. It is difficult to guarantee that it is a work by Aiko Kitagawa, but you can compare it to Aiko-san's works seen on the internet or trust my other listings. It is a valuable item from an ethnographic perspective! #AikoKitagawa #WiltEmbroidery #Wilta #AinuEmbroidery #Gendanu #Abashiri #ClutchBag #MinorityEthnicGroup #JackaDofuni #OkhotskPeople'sHistoryLecture