Navy blue towel with orange geometric Ainu patterns on a white background

Reverse side of the Nibutani Works Ainu cikarkarpe pattern Imabari towel blanket showing orange ground with navy geometric pattern and navy border

Person holding Ainu patterned fabric with geometric design in a home setting

Ainu Pattern Imabari Towel Blanket cikarkarpe Navy and Orange

Name: Ainu Pattern Imabari Towel Blanket cikarkarpe Navy and Orange
Brand: Nibutani Works
SKU: ntw080010101
Price: 250.00 USD
Availability: InStock

$250.00

Nibutani, a village in Biratori Town on Hokkaido, is the center of living Ainu craft tradition in Japan. Kayano Kimihiro founded Nibutani Works there to create sustained work for Ainu artisans and keep the craft's inherited knowledge in active use. The cikarkarpe pattern across this blanket is built on angular, symmetrical forms — a geometric framework that reads as architectural against the deep navy ground, the orange lines tracing the design with precision. In traditional Ainu garment-making, these patterns were worked as protection, each element placed deliberately on behalf of the person who would wear the garment. The blanket is woven in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, using soft water sourced from the Takanawa mountain range, a water quality that draws out cotton's natural softness and allows precise, vivid color expression in dyeing. The surface is shearing-finished, the pile cut to produce a smooth, close texture against the skin. The blanket is reversible: navy ground with orange pattern on one side, orange ground with navy pattern on the other. Only textiles that pass Imabari's independent inspection carry the certified Imabari Towel mark. This blanket carries it.

Details

Size: W 36.2in x L 56.7in / W 92cm x L 144cm
Material: Cotton 100%

Care & Use

Wash inside a laundry mesh bag to protect the pile
Wash separately from items with adhesive surfaces, as contact may cause fiber loss
Do not use detergents containing optical brighteners or bleaching agents, as these may cause color change or fading
Do not use fabric softener
Dark colors may experience some color transfer during initial washes
Due to the nature of woven textiles, some shrinkage after washing is normal
Do not leave wet for extended periods
If a loop thread is pulled or snagged by a nail, ring, or similar object, trim it with scissors rather than pulling; do not pull loose threads

Check our tips for Care Information.

Ainu Pattern Imabari Towel Blanket cikarkarpe Navy and Orange

$250.00

Hand using a small wood carving knife on a wooden object with intricate carvings.

Meet the Artisan

Nibutani Works

Nibutani Works was established in Nibutani, Biratori Town, Hokkaido, formed around a single conviction: that culture is not kept alive by being set aside, but by continuing to be used. In Nibutani, woodcarving, weaving, and the making of everyday objects have never belonged to individual masters alone. They are a community practice, passed from parent to child and from maker to maker across generations, with each person's hand leaving its own character in the line and pattern. That continuity is what Nibutani Works was built to carry forward. In 2013, Nibutani Ita and Nibutani Attus became the first crafts in Hokkaido to receive national traditional craft designation. Nibutani Works draws from the same inherited techniques and sensibility, recomposing them into objects made for daily use rather than display. The company operates two lines: NIBUTANI WORKS, covering blankets and household objects where Ainu pattern meets contemporary living, and ramgu, focused on wood-carved pieces where the presence of the individual maker's hand is most directly felt.