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Ainu. Attush-pera (weft beater), late 19th - early 20th century. Wood, 2 1/2 x 14 in. (6.4 x 35.5 cm). Gift of Herman Stutzer, 12.457. Creative Commons-BY.
For centuries Ainu weavers made a distinctive cloth, called attush, using fibers from the inner bark of certain local trees. Women wove the fibers into a fabric that resembles a stiff linen, which was used for most Ainu clothing until the twentieth century. This spade-shaped tool was used in weaving, to push the cross-threads together to create a tighter weave.