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~Past Event ~
2007
Information
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Take
Zaiku (Bamboo Crafts)
Demonstration & Workshop
by Kazutaka Toda
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| About Miyoshi Kago (Basketry) |
Arima Kago (basketry) began in the 16th century. Arima, one of the
oldest and most famous hot spring areas is located in the mountain
areas of Hyogo Prefecture. It has long been known for producing quality
bamboo. Fine craftsmanship is required to convert the harvested bamboo
into strips before weaving. These bamboo strips are crafted into a
wide range of containers by a variety of weaving techniques. It is
said that a founder of Senke Tea School, Sen-no Rikyu (1522-1591)
used Arima baskets in the tea ceremonies.
The long established Toda Chikugei Ten (Toda Bamboo Crafts Shop),
founded in 1885, had been making bamboo baskets at Yokawa-cho in Hyogo
Prefecture for many years as a side line to farming. In the 1870s,
Jinnosuke Toda, the first generation, learned the techniques of Arima
basketry and began adding inventive ideas to the original methods
to weave in his own unique style. Today that most distinctive technique
is widely known as "Miyoshi basketry", designated by Hyogo
Prefecture as a traditional handicraft. The unique mesh patterns were
based on and re-create the ancient technique of "Kego" preserved
in the Shôsôin (an ancient imperial storehouse in Nara)
and are called "skip-two wickerwork weaving."
In 1929, when the Emperor Showa (the crown price then) visited Hyogo,
Miyoshi basketry won prizes at an exhibition and then received orders
from the Imperial Household Agency. Since that time, many of these
items have been presented to the Imperial Family as special products
of Hyogo Prefecture. The hand-crafted items of this beautifully detailed
"Miyoshi basketry" weaving are used in first-class hotels
and restaurants and for on-board serving by airlines. This exquisite
style of basketry is especially treasured by many in the worlds of
tea ceremony and flower arrangement.
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| Mr. Kazutaka Toda - Profile |
Mr. Kazutaka Toda, the 5th generation "Miyoshi Basketry"
traditional craftsman, worked for 8 years after college for a geological
research firm and then succeeded to the family business. He uses bamboo
varieties from the Yokawa area of Hyogo Prefecture, mainly Tanba Hanchiku,
and also Madake, Môsô and Hachiku to make flower baskets,
tea-ceremony implements, containers and other household items, lamps
using bamboo and bamboo paper, bamboo bags, and bamboo toys. The range
of his work encompasses not only the traditional items and techniques,
but he also creates new items employing the traditional technique
of Miyoshi Basketry.
Mr. Toda has participated in traditional handicraft exhibits and craft
fairs throughout Japan. He visits local retirement homes and elementary
schools to conduct demonstrations and workshops, and actively introduces
to many people the beauty and complexity of bamboo craft. Moreover,
to introduce Japan's wonderful traditional bamboo craft abroad, he
has visited Taiwan (1995) and Australia (1996) to conduct workshops
and give demonstrations.
In September
2007, he first participated in the 2-day Aki Matsuri at Bellevue Community College, then visited Spokane, the
sister city of Hyogo's Nishinomiya City, and then conducted a
workshop at the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild's monthly
meeting. |
(Photos Courtesy of Toda-san)
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