Koji Yuki (Kushiro Ainu) - printmaker, carver, musician is a multidisciplinary artist whose mediums include painting, printmaking, storytelling and carving. In his work, Koji explores the world of Ainu spirituality with recurring themes such as the relationship between humans and animal spirits. He is a founding member of the Ainu Art Project, a group which aims to create holistic arts fusing Ainu music, dance and visual art, focusing on the family as an artistic unit. Koji says there is no word for art in the Ainu language, as art is intrinsic to daily living. 

 

Koji exhibits regularly in group and solo exhibitions throughout Japan. In 2014, he wrote and illustrated the story for the short film “The Fox of Shichigorosawa”. The film addresses environmental concerns and tells the tale of a family of foxes whose home is polluted by a nearby dumping ground. It has won several awards at film festivals around the world.

 

In 2003, Koji participated in the Indigenous Canue Festival at Maui Island, Hawaii. He performed at the Louvre Museum in 2012, and took part in an international artist residency in Grano, Sweden in 2017. 

 

He was a driving force for the Indigenous Peoples Summit in Ainu Mosir (Hokkaido) in 2008, serving as its Secretary General. Koji is currently a co-representative of the Ainu Association of Sapporo and Director of the Ainu Association of Hokkaido, the peak body for Ainu people in Hokkaido.