ICHIROYA -Tour J Artisan-

Tour No.01 "Bamboo Craft in Oita"

Technique detail

"Bamboo Weaving"
In Japan bamboo has been very familiar plant for long time. Basket and other many commodities had been made of bamboo. Oita prefecture has largest artificial bamboo groves in Japan. At first bamboo products were made for tourists who visited hot springs of Oita, and later bamboo weaving was developed as high technical handicrafts. After 60's plastics and imported items damaged bamboo industry in Oita. But their technique survived by changing the items from comodities to highly valuable art crafts.
Bamboo baskets made by artisans in Oita are completely different from others. If you take it in your hands, and look precisely its weaving pattern, you must notice the souls of artisans.

Artisan profile

Making Higo

Bamoo are cut when they are three or four years old, and boild to removed their oil. Boiled bamboo become very vivid green as photos show. And oil-removed bamboo are dryed under the sun, and their green color turn brown.

He splits the bamboo with the equipment , called 'kikuwari', which name is from 'kiku'(crysanthemum) shape. He splits it at once .
He peels the bamboo sticks thinly by three processes, called 'arahagi, ' chuhagi' and 'usuhagi'. Thin bamboo sticks after these processes are called 'higo'. For making long higo, he uses also his toe, and for short higo, he sometimes uses his mouth.
These making-higo process look simple, but he says these processes are very important to determine the quality of items. The thickness must be very precisely, and difference between 0.3mm and 0.4mm is fatal for weaving results.I asked him how could you know the 0.1mm difference, and he answered he could know from the touch of higo.
He says these processes account for 50-60% of whole processes.

Weaving, Dyeing and Coating with Rou
He says, 'For using the natural materials like bamboo, waiting is very important'. He weaves a part of basket, and 'nekaseru'(leaving it for a night). He says the waiting for a night weaving part becomes tight, and its beauty and strength increase.
There are some kinds of traditional weaving methods, and each method makes different weaving pattern on the surface of the items.
His bag is dyed twice. When it is higo, it is dyed roughly, and after weaving it is dyed again really. And the bags are coated with natural urushi twice, and after it is dryed, 'rou' ( Japanese wax) is rubbed on the surface of the bag. Rou makes its finish more beautiful and during the usage it gives natural luster.

Artisan profile