Rooted in the land of Itoshiro
Itoshiro is the innermost village in Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture.
We live in a mountainous region that has existed since the Jomon period,
and we respect and learn about the culture and history that have been woven here,
and we create things.
We want to pass on the rich nature and the profound regional culture
that is backed by a long history.
Itoshiro is a village from the Jomon period located deep in Oku-Mino, Gifu Prefecture, bordering Fukui Prefecture.
It is a mountainous and snowy region where one might wonder if people could ever live. Although it can now be reached by car, until around 1955, it was a secluded area that could only be reached by walking over steep mountain passes.
It has been 12 years since we started Itoshiro Youhinten here, and we have come to understand why people have lived here throughout its long history.
- Hakusan Chuai Shrine, the spiritual heart of Itoshiro. It is sacredly enshrined as a place of Hakusan worship.
- Winter in Itoshiro is deeply snowy. Everything is dyed white, and the air is filled with a clear, cleansing feeling.
Living at the foot of Mount Hakusan, where the deity of Hakusan provides water, the source of all life, and enjoying the blessings of the mountains, may not be entirely sufficient. However, there is food to survive no matter what happens, pure drinking water, and faith as a spiritual anchor.
Everything necessary to sustain life and to live peacefully is already here, and through this, people have built culture and accumulated history.
- Photo taken around 1955. A woman is wearing tattuke.
- The prototype of tattuke. Everyone made them by hand in their own homes.
In Itoshiro, we are fascinated by "clothing," one of the cultures created by our ancestors through ingenuity. Using old clothes as our textbook, we continue to make clothes while constantly questioning what true richness means.