Traditional crafts make our daily life richer. We hope that Sado island’s crafts continue to add an extra happiness for living.
In the southern Sado Island, there is a district called Ogi where its unique culture is alive and has interesting traditional crafts till this day.
One of them is called ‘Take-zaiku (bamboo crafts)’. It has been going on since Edo era (1603~1867). There are few craftsmen left now but they are determined to carry on with this precious craft.
Akio Kazuma is a son of the bamboo craftsman. His father, Asaharu devoted his whole life to the research of bamboo and the creation of its crafts. (Akio is the second generation of Ogi bamboo craftsmen.)
After Akio learnt the basic technics at the Beppu city, he trained under his father and started his own craft making. He made some shopping-bags and lantern shades until around 1965.
Through the experiences, he moved on to ‘Hanakago (vase of Flowers made from bamboo)’ which was a lot more challenging and required better skills.
He continued to improve his skills. Although he struggled at times, he developed his own ideas for creations and was able to show them in exhibitions.
The preparation of bamboo as the material is the key for the best result. (Just like a brilliant chef requires good ingredients for his brilliant cuisine.)
He developed the crucial ability to select good bamboos by cutting and splitting them in the same length, width and thickness evenly. Once this preparation stage is completed, he starts creating.
His depth of knowledge in bamboos enables him for the amazing creations.
The elegant vases are regarded as one of a kind. They enhance the beauty of flowers on any occasions.
Evenly prepared bamboo stripe pieces are woven skillfully by the Craft Master, and eventually becomes a fine flower vase, ‘Hanakago’.
Mr. Kazuma would like to use new technologies as they fit. The lantern with the bamboo shade he made is lit by LED lights.
His hands never rest. He ensures that his skills stay the same by experimenting with his creations daily. Sometimes he comes up with a new idea in the process.
He breathes his warm sprit into each bamboo lampshade and makes the room more inviting.
Lifestyle may change but traditional crafts keep adapting with the time and the needs of people.
photo by M. Yamamoto
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
PROFILE
- Born 1944 in Ogi, Sado island.
- 1963 – Trained in bamboo crafts in the Beppu city, Oita prefecture.
- 1965 – Returned to Ogi and started the crafts’ work.
- 1981 – Awarded the prize from Educational committee of Kyoto in the 2nd Young Traditional Crafts exhibition.
- 1992 – Accepted from the 5th Traditional Bamboo-wooden Crafts Exhibition.
- He holds his own exhibitions or jointly with other artists.
- 2021 He is planning to have his own exhibition in Niigata in April.
￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣
LED lampshade on sale at takumicraft online shop
‘Akari Sensuji Sensor Maru’
LED Lampshade
material：Bamboo and Japanese wisteria vine（Sado Island）／ size：appox.W11×H22mm
with LED bulb, electric cord and battery
Made in Sado Island, Niigata, Japan
22,000yen including tax
On sale at takumicraft online shop
Please contact in details to info@takumicraft.cominfo@takumicraft.com
Takumicraft Shop Terms and Conditions (English) in below;
