Reimagine the River: Hideki Yoshihara, Teturo Hiramura
Waterfront Lessons from Across the World: River As Ancestor
Online Lecture: Click the + Sign on the Right Side
June 22, 2026, 5-6:30 PM
Centered in the Nibutani district of Biratori along the Saru River – the largest river system in the Hidaka region of Hokkaido – the Saru River Basin IWOR Concept is a unique cultural restoration initiative. The project seeks the modern regeneration of watershed spaces through the lens of Ainu culture, reconnecting land, river, and community.
This conversation will explore the resilience of this initiative, born in response to the construction of the Biratori Dam. Despite profound changes to the landscape, Ainu relationships with the river endure and continue to expand, inviting others to learn from, practice, and experience Ainu culture through the living waters of the Saru River.
Hideki Yoshihara serves in the IWOR Development Promotion Section within the Ainu Policy Promotion Division for the City of Biratori, Hokkaido. He has played a leading role in the preservation, interpretation, and revitalization of Ainu culture through museum development, cultural landscape conservation, education, and community-based initiatives centered in the Saru River Basin. He previously served as curator and cultural specialist for the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum and has led numerous exhibitions, symposiums, research projects, and cultural heritage initiatives related to Ainu history, language, crafts, and traditional knowledge. His work has also contributed to the preservation of the cultural landscapes of the Saru River region and to broader conversations surrounding Indigenous cultural stewardship in Japan.
Tetsuro Hiramura is a civil engineer and community leader from Biratori, Hokkaido, dedicated to the stewardship of the Saru River watershed and the revitalization of Ainu culture. As President of Hiramura Construction and Chair of the Waterside Working Group for the Biratori Ainu Policy Promotion Council’s Iwor Committee, he works at the intersection of environmental restoration, cultural preservation, and community development. Through his leadership in local organizations and river-based initiatives, he supports efforts to restore and sustain IWOR, the traditional Ainu living environment, while strengthening connections between people and the cultural landscape.
