Coat made from bark

From: Hokkaidô, Japan
Date: late 19th century AD

This fabulous coat was made by the Ainu people of the island of Hokkaidô in Japan, out of a very unusual material. Ainu men collected the bark of young trees, softened it in water, dried it in the sun and then separated out the fibres. Women then wove the strips of fibre into material, which was used to make this coat. The Ainu also made cloth out of nettles.

The patterns used to decorate Ainu clothing were once handed down from mother to daughter. Today, these same patterns and bark cloth have been used by modern clothes designers.