Skip to content

Cart

Your cart is empty

Enjoy 10% off

On your first order with us and get early access to new collections and more.
Bamboo Artisan Weaving Japan's Future

Bamboo Artisan Weaving Japan's Future

Published April 27th 2019 on the former blog

At this year’s Milan Design Week, the Spanish fashion label Loewe’s annual showcase of global craftsmanship veered into a world as yet unexplored by most luxury brands, that is, the world of woven baskets. Loewe issued a challenge to master weavers around the globe: use leather, and create something new. Naturally a few Japanese artisans answered the call, and the results were - unexpectedly - transcendental.

Its goal was to highlight the beauty of traditional craftsmanship, but the Loewe baskets exhibition managed to do more than that. These baskets seem to exist either in the distant past or in the imminent future. Or, maybe they’re alluding to a trend of the present moment that I haven’t bumped against yet, being as my knowledge of the fashion world is in its gestational phase. In any case, I chose to read these baskets as symbolic (even if Loewe didn’t mean them to be) of both precedents and antecedents to the brand’s very-now line of luxury handbags.

Of the Japanese weavers who contributed to the project, Chiba native Hafu Matsumoto stands out not only for his designs, but for his worldview. He’s a bamboo craftsman by trade, having studied under the master Izuka Shokansai, who was a national treasure in human form. From his teacher Matsumoto learned the cardinal rule of bamboo weaving: do as little as possible.

“Fresh bamboo… possesses more than enough beauty on its own,” Matsumoto offers. “I cut its life short, so the least I can do is to preserve its suppleness forever by sealing it with bamboo basketry.”

Bamboo weaving is a process of bending what is naturally unbending. To create a basket or sculpture, Matsumoto takes fresh-cut bamboo stalks, which typically grow tall and straight, and submerges them in boiling hot water. Gradually the tree trunks soften, allowing the artist to tie and sculpt the bamboo as he desires.

While Matsumoto is part of a long lineage of skilled bamboo craftsmen, it’s safe to say that his work defies expectation. With techniques perfected over decades, he’s making things we’ve never seen before.

Stories

Every piece of japan comes with a story

The Longer Path: Crafting Ceramics Through a Collaborative Process

The Longer Path: Crafting Ceramics Through a Collaborative Process

POJ Studio collaborated with Okuda-san of Oogoya for over a year to get the Shigaraki Collection just right. Mutual respect and creative partnership allowed both teams to translate the tradition of...

Read more
Bringing Stonework of Japanese Gardens Inside Modern Homes

Bringing Stonework of Japanese Gardens Inside Modern Homes

As part of the team carrying on seven generations of legacy stonework at Nishimura Tōrō-Ten, Ishiura Kenji set out to bring stone craftsmanship beyond the garden and into the modern home.

Read more
Kazuto Yoshikawa, Reawakening Dormant Techniques

Kazuto Yoshikawa, Reawakening Dormant Techniques

Kazuto Yoshikawa guided a collaboration to revive the traditional wood-bending techniques of a Mie Prefecture multi-generational frame workshop, resulting in a striking interior design element for ...

Read more
The Weight of 400 Years

The Weight of 400 Years

Carrying on the legacy of 16 generations of potters, Hosai Matsubayashi is the human embodiment of the evolution of tea culture in Japan. Find out through this documentary how he pursues Kireisabi ...

Read more
Hiromichi Nakade, Maker of Oryoki Bowls

Hiromichi Nakade, Maker of Oryoki Bowls

Meet Hiromichi Nakade and Kazuya Fujimoto, the makers of the Oryoki and Kodaiwan bowls. A master craftsman sits with his former apprentice to speak about their hope for the declining crafts industr...

Read more