Riki Kato is on a mission to find out how a collection of famous portraits depicting indigenous Ainu chieftains of present-day northern Japan ended up on the other side of the world, in eastern France."Why did these works equivalent to national treasures end up in France?," asks the 67-year-old former newspaper reporter, adding that he wanted Hokkaido authorities to launch an investigation into the mystery of the "Ishuretsuzo" series of paintings, which are over 140 years old.The masterpieces were completed in 1790 by Hakyo Kakizaki, a painter and retainer of the Matsumae domain on Japan's …READ FULL ARTICLE
