( ain, ピラ・ウトゥル, translit=pira-utur) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in

Hidaka Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The west side of the Hidaka mountains occupies most of the area. Hidaka is sparsely populated and has many of Hokkaido's natural resources. The governmental office is located in Urakawa. Hi ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The name of the town means 'between the rocky cliffs' in the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu, is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isolate ...

. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 5,305 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 7.1 persons per km². The total area is 743.16 km².

Ainu culture

The

Nibutani Dam is a dam on the Saru River in Hokkaidō, Japan, which stands at Nibutani in Biratori town, Saru District. Work on the dam began in 1990. It was completed in March 1997, despite objections from the local Ainu people. Controversy The building o ...

was constructed in district on the

Saru River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. The Saru River rises in the Hidaka Mountains and empties into the Pacific. It is considered sacred in traditional Ainu beliefs. The Nibutani Dam is situated on the Saru River, at Nibutani Nibutani ( ja, � ...

, though there was a strong objection due to a sacred meaning of the place for indigenous

Ainu people The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Y ...

. Nibutani is the site of the Ainu Cultural center. Nibutani's best known son is perhaps

Shigeru Kayano was one of the last native speakers of the Ainu language and a leading figure in the Ainu ethnic movement in Japan. Early life Kayano was born in Nibutani village in Biratori, Hokkaidō, Japan. His family name at birth was Kaizawa, but he ...

, a 20th-century advocate for the Ainu and Ainu language and culture. The cultural landscape along the

consisting of Ainu traditions and modern settlement within Biratori has been designated an Important Cultural Landscape.

Economy

Biratori is primarily an agricultural town, growing many different kinds of fruits and vegetables for people and livestock. Tomatoes are one of the top products of the town. It was also known for its lumber industry.

Tourist attractions

Some noteworthy attractions in Biratori: * Biratori Onsen Yukara * Family Land *

Nibutani Nibutani ( ja, 二風谷), or Niptani ( ain, ニㇷ゚タニ), is a district in the town of Biratori in Hokkaidō, Japan. It was once known as ''Pipaushi,'' which means "a place rich in shells." The population as of 2010 was 395 people. A parti ...

and the

Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum opened in the Nibutani area of Biratori, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1992. The collection includes 919 items relating to the daily life of the local Ainu that have been jointly designated an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property; a further 202 ...

* Suzuran Field in Memu, where

Lily of the Valley Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' (), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...

(also known as Maybells) bloom from May to June. The field covers 15 hectares and is the largest in Japan. It opened to the public in 1963, but had to be closed in 1975 due to damage from overpicking and trampling. It was able to open again ten years later.. * The UFO park (Set up as a UFO observation platform, it was later closed in the 1970s-1980s.)

Culture

Mascot

Biratori's mascot is . His name is a pun on "be lucky". He is a tomato with a horn and hooves of a bull, a pig's nose and a lily of a valley on his back. His birthday is 12 September.

Notable people

(1926–2006), leading figure in the Ainu ethnic movement. *

Ryo Fukui was a Japanese jazz pianist based in Sapporo. He played regularly at the "Slowboat" jazz club in Sapporo, which he and his wife Yasuko owned. Fukui taught and performed internationally until his death in 2016. His work has seen a spike in popular ...

(1948-2016), jazz pianist.

References

External links

Official Website

Biratori Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum Website

Nibutani Takumi no Michi website
Towns in Hokkaido Biratori, Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub