Ivan Khristoforov | Oberton Pro

Ivan Ilyich Khristoforov is a Folk Master of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), also known by his Sakha craftsman’s name Kiriһээн Uus. He was born on 6 December 1955 in the village of Tumul in the Khangalassky District and lives and works in the village of Oktyomtsy. Khristoforov was trained as a physicist and taught physics for many years at the Oktyomtsy branch of the Yakut State Agricultural Academy. His scientific understanding of sound has had a profound influence on his approach to the khomus.

According to the maker, he began producing khomuses in 1989, when the first republican exhibition and congress devoted to the instrument were held. Khristoforov continues the traditions of the great Sakha blacksmiths, particularly those associated with the renowned Semyon Innokentyevich Gogolev, known as Amynnyky Uus. In 1992, Ivan Khristoforov received the title of Folk Master of the Yakut Khomus.

Khristoforov makes traditional khomuses in a wide range of sizes and registers, from small high-pitched instruments to large bass models. His work includes khomuses tuned to specific musical notes, matched sets for ensemble playing, double-reed instruments and unusual experimental designs. Individual examples may differ considerably in character, but many of his instruments are distinguished by a clear, rich voice, long sustain and a broad range of controllable overtones.

His background in physics and his experimental nature have led him far beyond the conventional khomus design. In 1997, he created his own version of the khomus with an additional ring. Khristoforov also reconstructed a tenth-century Japanese jaw harp from an archaeological find and developed an electronic khomus in which an electromagnetic device sustains the vibration of the reed. This design was patented in 2013.

In 2010, Ivan Khristoforov made the world’s smallest functional khomus, measuring only one centimetre in length and 0.9 centimetres in width. He created it in response to the Japanese craftsman Ryuji Kojima, who had presented the Khomus Museum with a 1.8-centimetre instrument. The reed of Khristoforov’s miniature khomus was forged from the metal of a watch spring. Another important achievement was his production of two playable reconstructions of the ancient Japanese instrument: one is kept in Japan and the other in the Museum of the Khomus of the Peoples of the World in Yakutsk.

Ivan Khristoforov also works to pass his knowledge on to future generations. In 2011, he published a handbook on making the traditional Yakut khomus, describing every stage of the process in detail. He has taken part in exhibitions and conducted workshops both in Yakutia and abroad, including in Austria, Norway and Switzerland.

By 2015, Khristoforov had made more than three thousand traditional khomuses. In a 2025 interview, he stated that the total number of instruments he had produced during his lifetime had exceeded eleven thousand. His distinctions include a grant from the President of the Sakha Republic, the titles of Folk Master and Honoured Cultural Worker of the republic, awards for his contribution to folk art and to the development of Yakutia, and membership in the Creative Union of Artists of Russia since 2007.