"TAKE" Basketry ~It Looks Like a Thousand Line~

What is "TAKE"?

"TAKE" is kind of bamboo but the craftsman said "Do not translate TAKE into bamboo!” because "TAKE" is not exactly bamboo. "TAKE" is classified in Gramineae and it does not include the leaf.

The craftsman Shigeyasu Sugiyama is particular about the material "TAKE" even how it is translated and he hopes that the word "TAKE" is known all over the world!

He selects the better "TAKE" in five mountains. Luckily, there are many "TAKE" groves in Japan. The Japanese people have made use of "TAKE" to create something for a long time.

 Traditional and Calculated Way of making "TAKE" Basketry 

The craftsman Shigeyasu Sugiyama who works in Miyabi Andon Seisakusyo makes kinds of "TAKE" basketries in Shizuoka prefecture. These basketries are made of round strips of "TAKE". 

Many years ago, this work was samurai's one. Samurai made the birds feeder like the below photo. Nowadays, the craftsman makes bags, lamps, flower vases and so on.

Making "TAKE" basketry is very delicate work. 

First of all, the craftsman shaves the skin of "TAKE" as you see in the main photo of this article. He uses the special knife which he made by himself. 

He put the knife between "TAKE" and then, wrap around with the tape.

The character of "TAKE" is soft and bendable. They make use of this to make their own knives.

The strips of "TAKE" are so fine so it is not easy to the put it through the small holes. However the craftsman put the thousands stripes of "TAKE" into the quite sharp holes. Everything is calculated.

He uses the special cutter ( see the below photo) and he can cut "TAKE" by making it through the each hole. Each hole is different size even it is hard to tell.

Moreover the strips of "TAKE" should be curved the same angles and should be put it through the same interval. This is not easy so the craftsman needs the skill and experience.

This straight lines and elegant curves are created by the traditional skills of bending and joining using fine strips of "TAKE". Their basketries are sophisticated and superb!

The Design has the Meaning

Have you seen this design below? Do you know what it is?

The design you see in the centre of the lamp is abalone. Abalone has full of nutrition so the people have thought that this is symbol of a long life. Also it looks like the number "8" and this is lucky one in Japan. For these reasons, the design of abalone is considered as a sign of good luck and that is why this is good for a gift as well.

Traditional Crafts Should Not Be Very Popular!

These works had the reputation in 「IEYASU400」in Hyper Japan 2014.

"TAKE" basketry is rare for the British people and lots of them were impressed with these amazing work.

 These are all handmade so they can not make a lot in the same time. Each work is ONLY ONE so the craftsman hopes that you will use for a long time. They do not want the temporal  popularity.

They can take care after you buy and repair it if it is needed. That is the reason you can use it for long.

The craftsman says "These should NOT be very popular because if so, it is pretty sure that these will be out of fashion. The traditional things must be long."

The craftsman try to make the "TAKE" basketry to match the modern life style.

You must be impressed to see it which looks like they consist of one-thousand strips of "TAKE".

HP: http://www.takesensuji.jp/?mode=f8

#bamboobasketry #craftsman #traditionalcraft #lamp #Bag #