Shigeo Toyokawa, a 75-year-old Ainu, always feels refreshed and at ease using his knife to chip a willow-tree stick, or "inaw" in Ainu, to be used in ceremonies for a "kamuy-nomi" prayer.
He is one of a dwindling number of people devoted to preserving Ainu culture.
Toyokawa, as an "ekashi" (cult leader), he holds ceremonies in his Sapporo home, opening each one by saying to the attendants, "Onkami-anna" (let's start the prayer).