Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection

JAPANESE BAMBOO ART THE ABBEY COLLECTION

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN SPRING 2017

JAPANESE BAMBOO ART THE ABBEY COLLECTION Monika Bincsik with an Afterword by Moroyama Masanori

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK

director’s note Japanese bamboo art, with its refined beauty and technical sophistication, has been little known in the West until recent years. This Bulletin and the exhibition it accompanies, “Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection,” on view beginning June 13, offer members and visitors to The Met the rare opportunity to see a comprehensive selection of these exquisite works, which represent a cultural tradition stretching back hundreds of years.

The growing appreciation for Japanese bamboo art in the West has inspired a number of collectors to build significant holdings of these intricate constructions, from meticulously plaited baskets and trays to more loosely woven abstract sculptures. The collection of Diane and Arthur Abbey, whose promised gift to The Met comprises seventy-one works, is exceptional for its broad representation of many notable bamboo masters, including all the artists designated by the Japanese government as Living National Treasures. The Abbey Collection will join an earlier gift to The Met from Edward C. Moore, the renowned chief designer of Tiffany & Co., who in 1891 bequeathed to the Museum a collection that included nearly eighty bamboo baskets as well as Japanese textiles, ceramics, and metalwork.

The Abbeys began collecting Japanese bamboo art in 1999 with the modest ambition of adding a few exceptional pieces to their holdings of postwar art. As they like to say, it was “love at first sight.” A few soon became many, as the Abbeys immersed themselves in the rarefied world of Japanese bamboo craft and settled into the serious business of becoming well-informed, dedicated collectors. We are grateful to them for allowing their collection to reside amid our world-renowned holdings of Japanese art and for their generous support of this exhibition and publication. The Met’s quarterly Bulletin program is also supported in part by the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection” was organized by Monika Bincsik, assistant curator in the Department of Asian Art, who is also the author of this Bulletin.

We are grateful to her and to Moroyama Masanori, curator of the Crafts Gallery at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and a leading expert on Japanese bamboo art, for his essay on the contextual history of the Abbey Collection.

Thomas P. Campbell Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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JAPANESE BAMBOO ART : THE ABBEY COLLECTION Monika Bincsik

That such a strangely beautiful, much admired and symbolically transfigured plant would provide the most varied inspirations for the fine arts is only to be expected in people like the Japanese, who are such keen observers of all phenomena of nature. Bamboo is appreciated with equal and full joy by all levels of Japanese, not only as an economic plant, but also as an art motif.

—Hans Spörry (1859–1925)1

Bamboo in Japanese Culture Bamboo is present in nearly every aspect of traditional Japanese daily life. For centuries artists and craftsmen in Japan have carved, woven, or otherwise transformed almost all parts of the bamboo plant to create a variety of commodities, from tools, ladles, and fans to brush holders, tea caddies and whisks, arrows, blinds, and baskets.

The earliest archaeological evidence of woven bamboo pieces in Japan dates to the Middle to Final Jōmon period (ca. 2500–300 b.c.), some 4,500 years after the bamboo plant, having gone extinct in the country during the previous ice age, spread north from Kyūshū, Japan’s southernmost island. Certain bamboo utensils dating from that time were employed in rituals, such as small knives used to cut the umbilical cord. These knives as well as bamboo combs were believed to possess magical powers and are mentioned in the two oldest histories of Japan, the Records of Ancient Matters (Kojiki) and Chronicles of Japan (Nihon Shoki), both written in the early eighth century and considered primary texts of the Shinto tradition.

Bamboo also figures in the earliest Japanese prose narrative, the tenth-century Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Taketori monogatari), which tells the story of a tiny baby discovered by an old, impoverished bamboo cutter inside a glowing bamboo stalk.

The bamboo cutter and his wife raise the child as their own, naming her Kaguya-hime, or “Shining Princess.” She grows up to be a rare beauty and attracts many suitors, including the Emperor of Japan, who asks for her hand in marriage. Kaguya-hime repeatedly rejects the emperor, however, and at the end of the tale reveals to him that she must return to her people on the moon, where she is from. Before she leaves, Kaguya-hime gives the emperor an elixir of immortality, which he orders burned on the peak of Mount Fuji, whose reputed original name in Japanese means “immortal.” An illustrated manuscript version of the tale in The Met’s collection is housed in a lavish

1. Storage box for volumes of the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Taketori Monogatari), Edo period (1615–1868), first half of 18th century. Lacquered wood with gold and silver hiramaki-e, 9 ⅛ x 6 ½ in. (23.2 x 16.5 cm). Rogers Fund, 1921 (21.174.1a–d)

lacquer box embellished with a bamboo design and the family crest of the powerful Tokugawa clan (fig. 1).

At a fundamental level, the Japanese and Chinese character for bamboo (竹) is a component, or radical, in many other characters—more than a thousand in total, including those for items traditionally made of bamboo, such as the flute (笛), writing brush (筆), box (箱), and basket (籠)— indicating that bamboo has likely played a pivotal role in the daily lives of people in East Asia for thousands of years. It appeared in Chinese poetry beginning in ancient times and became a favorite subject of painters as well, associated with auspicious qualities such as longevity, strength, and 5

2. Outer robe (uchikake) with Mount Hōrai, Edo period (1615–1868), second half of 18th century–early 19th century.

Silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin damask with stencil-dyed details, 73 x 48 in. (185.4 x 121.9 cm).

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jonas M. Goldstone, 1970 (1970.296.1)

endurance owing to the plant’s renowned hardiness. It is also one of the traditional

3. Sesson Shūkei (Japanese, ca.

1504–1589). Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Muromachi period (1392–1573), 1550s. Hanging scroll: ink and color on paper, image 40 ⅜ x 20 ⅜ in.

(102.4 x 51.7 cm). Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.50)

Hōrai, a mythological island where immortals were believed to live, all part of an

“Three Friends of Winter” along with the pine and plum, which are symbols of resilience and perseverance because the evergreen pine and bamboo both survive the cold, while the plum is the first flower of spring. Combinations of the Three Friends with images of cranes and turtles—themselves symbols of longevity—represent Mount auspicious design motif that in Japan has long been associated with weddings (fig. 2).

Another bamboo-related classic story is the “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove,” which takes place in China during the turbulent early years of the Western Jin dynasty (265–316). Seven Daoist scholars, musicians, and writers seclude themselves in a bamboo grove outside the capital, where they drink wine, engage in the witty Daoist discourse called qingtan (“pure conversation”), and enjoy a simple life of writing poetry and manuals of Daoist mysticism. The story of their retirement to the countryside became not just a painterly subject, but a model to be emulated by literati living in times of political upheaval (fig. 3).

Bamboo is often represented in Japanese art enduring heavy weather, such as rain or snow, reflecting its reputation for being flexible but unbreakable and its association with steadfastness and loyalty (see fig. 7). A tiger in a bamboo grove conveys the idea of a

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peaceful and harmonious society, as the tiger is one of the few animals able to navigate the thick bamboo forest. Sparrows on bamboo can refer to the Tongue-Cut Sparrow (Shita-kiri suzume), a morality tale of greed and kindness. Compositions featuring bamboo in association with these and other pictorial subjects were often depicted on the decorative arts, from lacquerware, ceramics (fig. 4), and textiles to sword fittings.

Japanese bamboo and rattan works are often finished with a layer of lacquer (urushi) in order to protect their surfaces, make them more durable, and provide a subtle sheen. During the Edo period (1615–1868), rich lacquer decoration was sometimes applied to basketry intended as luxury items, such as a rare red-lacquer footed tray in The Met’s collection that was made in Ryūkyū (Okinawa) and embellished with a Chinese landscape, indicating an extensive artistic exchange between the Ryūkyū Islands and China (fig. 5). In Japan, the light durable body of such works, known as rantai shikki, was sometimes further decorated with sprinkled gold powder (maki-e), transforming everyday objects into opulent treasures. A basketwork box in The Met’s collection, designed to hold square calligraphy paper (shikishi), is decorated with large gold

4. Dish with cherry blossoms in bamboo baskets, Edo period (1615–1868), 1690–1720. Porcelain with underglaze blue and overglaze polychrome enamels (Hizen ware, Nabeshima type), H. 1 ¾ in. (4.4 cm), Diam. 5 ⅞ in. (14.9 cm). Gift of Mrs. V. Everit Macy, 1923 (23.225.325) 5. Footed tray with figures in a landscape, Momoyama period (1573–1615) or Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century. Basketry and red lacquer with gold and litharge painting, 7 x 16 ¼x 10 ⅛ in. (17.8 x 41.3 x 25.7 cm). Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 (2015.500.2.5) 6. Basketwork box for square calligraphy paper (shikishi-bako) with paulownia crests, Edo period (1615–1868), early 17th century.

Lacquered bamboo basketry with gold hiramaki-e, 2 ⅛ x 8 ¼ x 8 ⅝ in.

(5.4 x 21 x 21.9 cm). Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 (2015.500.2.35a, b)

paulownia crests (fig. 6), a popular design from the late sixteenth to the early seventeenth century associated with the powerful warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–1598).

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7. Attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu (Japanese, 1434–1525). Bamboo in the Four Seasons, Muromachi period (1392–1573), late 15th–early 16th century. Pair of six-panel folding screens: ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, 61 ⅞ x 9 ft. 9 ¾ in. (157 x 360 cm). The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.44, .45)

Characteristics and Cultivation More than six hundred species of bamboo and bamboo grass grow in Japan, including madake, the Japanese timber (or giant) bamboo, which can reach 9 inches in diameter and an astounding 60 feet in height. Although defined as a subfamily of grasses, bamboo is characterized by its woody culm (stem) and a root system that can form either thick, slowly spreading clusters or more aggressive runners. Bamboo culms develop underground for several years before appearing as thick cones covered by culm sheaths (fig. 7, bottom right). The young bamboo shoots, enjoyed as a delicacy in Japan, develop quickly, sometimes growing as much as 31 inches a day, but once full size, the plant stops growing in either width or height. When mature, the straight bamboo culm comprises a chain of hollow segments partitioned by strong, solid plates called nodes.2 Bamboo grows extensively over the southern half of the Japanese archipelago; although the main production areas are Oita, Yamaguchi, and Tochigi Prefectures, certain species can also be found on the northern island of Hokkaidō (fig. 8). The qualities of the bamboo grown in each geographic region are different owing to variations in soil quality and other factors. Even bamboo grown on the same mountain can have slight differences depending on where it grows and the amount of sunlight or wind it receives (in windier areas, for example, bamboo tends to develop stronger nodes). Bamboo grown in western Japan, which has a warmer climate, is generally softer 8

and more pliant; bamboo from colder areas, including eastern Japan, is harder; and the type grown in Kyūshū,

Hokkaidō

in the south, has a higher water content, all of which affects how the plant is treated after being harvested.

Gaining an understanding of the unique

Sea of Japan (East Sea)

properties of each type of bamboo takes years of practice and is a crucial part of the long apprenticeship

Sado

required to become a master bamboo craftsman. Most

NIIGATA

bamboo artists thus harvest the plants themselves,

TOCHIGI

closely studying the characteristics of each type and

FUKUI

even variations within specific groves. Bamboo is typically harvested from late autumn through February, when it has the lowest water content; depending on the type, three- or four-year-old plants are preferred. Freshly cut green bamboo has to dry for

Kansai AICHI Osaka Kyoto MIE Sakai Nara

YAMAGUCHI

Fukuoka

SAGA

Kumamoto

OITA

Honshū

Kantō

Tokyo

Mt. Fuji Kanagawa

Shikoku

Beppu

Kyūshū

about three months. The oil and sugar content is then leached out, either by heating the bamboo over flames and repeatedly wiping it or by boiling, after which the bamboo turns an ivory color. That process is followed by further drying in a hot chamber for three weeks. Only after these careful preparations can bamboo then be split and plaited, with each type requiring a different

8. Map of Japan showing sites related to bamboo art

splitting technique.

In the Kantō region, in eastern Japan, craftsmen typically create fine, pliable strips using radial, or angled, splitting (masawari), in which the nodes and the shiny outer layer of the bamboo are usually removed. Flat, or tangential, splitting (hirawari), in which slices are made parallel to the surface—a technique that reveals the beauty of the natural surface of the bamboo—is more common in Kansai (in western Japan) and on Kyūshū.3 Masawari is usually used when lightness is preferred to durability, and hirawari is employed for skeletal structures.

Early Bamboo Basketry The oldest Japanese bamboo baskets date to the Nara period (710–794) and are stored in the Shōsōin, the revered Treasure House of Tōdaiji Temple, in Nara. Remarkably well preserved, most of these baskets (keko) were originally employed in Buddhist rituals, mainly as offering trays or to hold fresh lotus petals, which were scattered in ceremonies or used to bless the deceased (sange). Many are sieve shaped and were created with twill plaiting (ajiro-ami) and mat plaiting (gozame-ami), two basic basketry techniques still in use today.

Beginning in the Kamakura period (1185–1333), refined, beautifully plaited bamboo baskets were imported to Japan from China for use in Esoteric Buddhist rituals.

These baskets were also employed as part of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which developed about the same time after powdered green tea (matcha) was 9

introduced to Buddhist monasteries in Japan by Zen monks who had visited China. Tea tasting later became a favored practice among highranking Japanese warriors, and the elaborate ritual was further codified amid the refined cultural milieu of the Ashikaga shoguns during the Muromachi period (1392–1573), when the imported Chinese baskets became particularly treasured as exotic collectibles known as karamono.

In the second half of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, however, prominent tea masters who perceived the tea ceremony as a spiritual practice—such as Murata Jukō (1423–1502), Takeno Jōō (1502–1555), and, especially, the charismatic Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591)—advocated for a new, simpler style of tea ceremony known as wabi-cha. In this type of ceremony, which is conducted in the intimate setting of a small tearoom, often 9. Black Seto teabowl, known as Iron Mallet (Tettsui), Momoyama period (1573–1615), late 16th century. Glazed stoneware (Mino ware, Black Seto type), H. 3 ¾ in. (9.3 cm), Diam. of rim 4 ¾ in. (12 cm). Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.272)

surrounded by a garden, the participants are understood to withdraw temporarily from the mundane world. The tea master chooses an assemblage of utensils specific to a particular gathering and uses them to perform the tea preparation in front of the guests.

A given assemblage of objects and people is never repeated, and thus each tea gathering is considered a unique experience.

Wabi-cha tea masters rejected the luxurious Chinese-style karamono works in favor of what they saw as natural, unrefined, and “spontaneous” (or seemingly artless) utensils and other rustic tea paraphernalia (fig. 9). New Japanese-style bamboo works, from flower baskets and flower holders (hanaire) to charcoal containers, began to be crafted, often by the tea masters themselves, to accord with wabi-sabi aesthetic principles, which perceive beauty in transience and imperfection. These principles limited the variety of utensils and other implements that could be used in a wabi-cha ceremony and even dictated when they could be used. Simple flower arrangements (chabana) were customary, for example, often just a single bloom, and preferably arranged in a plain bamboo flower container following prototypes created by Sen no Rikyū: typically a bamboo tube with an opening at the front for the flower and a small hole on the back for hanging the vessel on the back wall or wood pillar of the tokonoma, the recessed alcove in traditional Japanese architecture where hanging scrolls, precious works of art, and flower arrangements are displayed (see fig. 36). Arranging flowers in a basket was considered appropriate only during the summer months in order to accommodate larger grasses or grasslike flowers.

Among the most important tools of the wabi-cha tea ceremony is the tea scoop (chashaku), which is carved from a single piece of bamboo. The most famous ones are given evocative names—such as a tea scoop by Sen no Rikyū called Yugami, or “Warped,” referring to its distinctive shape, or Arima-yama (“Mount Arima”)—and are highly esteemed as precious collectibles. Other tea ceremony items made of bamboo include the tea whisk (chasen), the water ladle (hishaku), and the small cylindrical rest (futaoki) for the kettle lid or ladle. Tea caddies (natsume) and even parts of the tearoom furniture were also made of bamboo. Production of these wabi-cha bamboo works drastically declined during the Meiji period (1868–1912), however, following the

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dismantling of the old warrior class and samurai culture, the abolition of the feudal domain system, and rapid Westernization.

Of greater importance to the eventual development of modern Japanese bamboo basketry was the rise of the sencha tea ceremony in the late seventeenth century. In contrast to wabi-cha, for which matcha is whipped with hot water in a teabowl, in the sencha tea ceremony highquality loose green tea leaves grown in the shade (typically gyokuro, the most expensive type) are steeped at a low temperature, a style of brewing popularized in China during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The tea is then served in small Chinese-style pots using a set of five miniature cups and trays.

The sencha tea ceremony was introduced to Japan by Ingen Ryūki (Yinyuan Longqi, 1592–1673), founder of the Ōbaku school of Zen Buddhism (fig. 10), and the Ōbaku monk Baisao (1675–1763), a Kyoto tea merchant who became the first sencha master. Japanese sencha practitioners preferred the relative freedom of the ceremony compared to the strict rules of wabi-cha. The popularization of sencha also coincided with a renewed admiration for Chinese culture, literature, and painting among the Japanese literati (bunjin). The study and interpretation of Chinese culture were especially popular in the Kyoto-Osaka region (Kansai), where, accordingly, there was a revival of interest in fine karamono (Chinese-style) objects, including bamboo baskets.

The popularity of the sencha tea ceremony increased in the late Edo period and peaked in the second half of the nineteenth century, reflecting in part the breakdown of the traditional Japanese social and class system as the country transitioned from a feudal society to a modern nation-state. During this time a growing market emerged among Japanese literati for sencha tea utensils such as flower baskets and portable tea ceremony boxes and chests. The rules of sencha allow the use of flower arrangements in a wider variety of bamboo baskets throughout the year.

As a result, and to harmonize with the Chinese-style tea utensils, karamono baskets were

10. Unidentified artist (Japanese, active late 17th century), calligraphy

by Mokuan Shōtō (Chinese, 1611–1684).

Portrait of Ingen (Ch: Yinyuan), Edo period (1615–1868), 1676. Hanging scroll: ink and color on paper, image 47 × 22 ¾ in. (119.4 × 57.8 cm). Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2015 (2015.3)

the preferred vessels for sencha ceremonies. Many sencha practitioners were wealthy townspeople, who, following the popularization of sencha, organized large tea ceremonies held over several days, often for hundreds of guests. These lavish displays required numerous high-quality, finely plaited large baskets for flower compositions, leading to a florescence of bamboo craft.

From the late Edo through the Meiji period, Osaka Prefecture, and in particular the cities of Osaka and Sakai, became noted for the production of Chinese-style bamboo works. The Kansai region, where Osaka is located, was home to many well-known Japanese literati and sencha aficionados, who patronized the region’s growing number of bamboo basket masters (kagoshi), primarily for flower baskets to be used in tea ceremonies. Although many of these works replicated Chinese originals, some reflected novel design ideas based on Japanese traditions. A fierce competition arose among the 11

master bamboo craftsmen of Kansai to see who could create the most elegant and refined works, from flower baskets and fruit trays to tea-ceremony utensils. Two of these “literati basket” master craftsmen became especially well known and eventually established the foundations of modern Japanese bamboo art.

In Japan, family affiliation or “bloodlines” have special importance in both the life of the aristocracy and the transmission of religious concepts in the various Buddhist schools. Similarly, in the art world, the basic form of passing down knowledge and experience was the formation of familial lineages. For lacquer, ceramic, metal, and bamboo craftsmen, this typically meant a lengthy apprenticeship with the master of the workshop, often the father of the young disciple. In the traditional world of bamboo art, a typical apprenticeship lasted as long as ten years or more, requiring hard work from the young apprentice almost every day in exchange for little or no pay. Living in the master’s household, participating in household duties, and running errands, apprentices carefully observed the master, senior students, and workshop before the beginning of any actual training. Even in the later stages of an apprenticeship it was common for a disciple to learn only through conscientious observation. The story of how Japanese bamboo art evolved in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is thus in many ways the story of these prominent artistic lineages.

Bamboo Craft in Kansai: The Hayakawa and Wada Schools Born into a samurai family in Echizen Province (part of present-day Fukui Prefecture), Hayakawa Shōkosai I (1815–1897) was sent as a child to Kyoto to study the traditional craft of rattan plaiting. Rattan, a collective name for species of spiny climbing or trailing palms grown mainly in Southeast Asia, is often used in basketry because it is more pliant than bamboo. As an imported material it was highly prized, and even today most

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bamboo basketmakers use rattan for the most delicate knotting and finishing techniques. Shōkosai later moved to Osaka, where, under the patronage of Yamatoya Matabei, an influential Osaka merchant, he established himself as one of the Meiji period’s most talented bamboo artists.4 Shōkosai is believed to be the first basket master craftsman to sign his name on his compositions (尚古斎造之, or “Shōkosai made this”), a custom probably inspired by Western artists amid the Meiji-period modernization of the Japanese decorative arts.

(Bamboo craftsmen in the Edo period did not sign their works, nor did any other craftsmen producing everyday utensils.) The signature would have also indicated that his Chinese-inspired karamono works were actually made by a Japanese master.

Shōkosai concentrated for the most part on making tea-ceremony utensils (primarily using rattan), reflecting the needs of the literati and other practitioners amid the period’s thriving sencha culture. He came to prominence in 1877 when one of his sencha works—a lidded basket with a handle, intended to carry a tea set to an outdoor event—received the Phoenix Prize at the first Domestic Industrial Exposition (Naikoku Kangyō Hakurankai), held in Tokyo’s Ueno Park. This national exposition was intended to promote industry and create a meeting place for modern Western technologies and their Japanese counterparts. The artists chosen to participate, selected from across Japan, were roughly categorized into six groups: mining and metallurgy, manufacturing, art, machinery, agriculture, and horticulture. Even today national exhibitions organized or sponsored by the Japanese government play a crucial role in the presentation and evaluation of bamboo art.

Shōkosai’s portable tea utensil basket was subsequently acquired by the Empress of Japan, bringing enormous prestige to him and to his workshop. A similar basket by Shōkosai, called a chakago, woven from honey-toned rattan, is in the Abbey Collection (fig. 11). One of his large karamono-style flower baskets (fig. 12) is a standout piece from 11. Hayakawa Shōkosai I (Japanese, 1815–1897). Basket for transporting sencha tea ceremony utensils (chakago), Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1877–80s. Rattan and brocaded silk, 12.2 x 12.6 x 8.3 in. (31 x 32 x 21.1 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 12. Shōkosai I. Large karamono-style flower basket ( hanakago), Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1870–80s.

Madake bamboo and rattan, H. 19 ¾ in.

(50.2 cm), Diam. 16 in. (40.6 cm).

Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.2068) 13. Shōkosai I. Bowler hat, Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1880–1890s.

Madake bamboo, rattan, and brocaded silk, 5 ⅜ x 12 in. (13.8 x 30.3 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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the first collection of bamboo art given to The Met: a group of nearly eighty baskets bequeathed to the Museum in 1891 by Edward C. Moore (1827–1891), the longtime artistic director and chief designer of silver manufacturing for Tiffany & Co., along with his extensive holdings of Japanese textiles, ceramics, and metalwork.

After winning another award for his work at the second Domestic Industrial Exposition (1881), Shōkosai employed his advanced plaiting skills to experiment with new shapes even while referencing his deep knowledge of karamono style and traditions. Among the more unusual works by Shōkosai in the Abbey Collection is a Western-style rattan bowler hat made with a combination of “plover” plaiting (chidori-ami, a characteristic Chinese style so named because its texture of fine crosses resembles the tiny tracks this small shorebird makes in the sand), tatami plaiting (tatami-ami), and other traditional techniques (fig. 13). Favored by Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838– 1903), the greatest Meiji-period star of the Kabuki theater, Shōkosai’s hats are a superb example of the careful balance he struck between the complex techniques of karamono and his own innovations inspired by Japanese and Western art. In addition to his unique style and approach to basketry, the recognition Shōkosai achieved, especially among the Kansai literati, stimulated the ambitions of a new generation of bamboo craftsmen and encouraged them to aspire to make “art baskets” that looked beyond the traditional boundaries and expectations of the craft.

Shōkosai’s eldest son, Shōkosai II (1860–1905), followed his 14. Hayakawa Shōkosai III (Japanese, 1864–1922). Dancing Frog flower basket with handle (hanakago), Taishō period (1912–26), 1918.

Henchiku (twisted) bamboo and rattan, 20 ½ x 8 ¾ in. (52.1 x 22.2 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 15. Hayakawa Shōkosai III. Fly whisk (hossu), Taishō period (1912–26), 1920.

Ladyfinger bamboo, rattan, and deer hide, 24 ¼ x 2 ¼ x 3 in. (61.6 x 5.7 x 7.6 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

father into the basketry trade with the support of an influential patron, the prominent politician Baron Shinagawa Yajirō (1843–1900), but died at an early age. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Shōkosai III (1864–1922), an accomplished sencha tea master, painter, and flute player. Shōkosai III developed a technically advanced (and uniquely Japanese) style of plaiting called coarse weave (ara-ami), which emphasizes the natural beauty of bamboo and rattan. The technique can be seen in Shōkosai III’s Dancing Frog basket from 1918 (fig. 14), which joins a coarse-woven rattan body to a handle made from twisted bamboo. The technique was a departure from the karamono-derived plaiting styles associated with the Hayakawa family, used to make such works as baskets in the shape of abacus beads; a style of peony basket associated with the renowned Kōfukuji Temple in Nara; or the technique known as armor plaiting (yoroi-gumi), which resembles traditional Japanese armor. Hayakawa masters also typically do not apply a lacquer finish to the surface of their baskets, since it can deteriorate with age. Instead, they submerge finished baskets in a dye bath made from plum tree bark and wood extracts.5

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Like his forebears, Shōkosai III created sencha-related works, including a fly whisk (hossu) in the Abbey Collection that is made of blonde, finely branching “ladyfinger” bamboo (fig. 15). The fly whisk is an attribute of Daruma (Bodhidharma), who according to tradition transmitted Chan (J: Zen) Buddhism to China; it symbolizes the sweeping away of mental distractions and ignorance. Chinese Daoist sages are often represented using fly whisks to brush away flies while engaged in “pure conversation” with their friends (see fig. 10). At literati gatherings they were hung next to the tokonoma to indicate that scholarly conversation was taking place.

After the Second World War, the next-generation Hayakawa bamboo master,

16. Hayakawa Shōkosai IV (Japanese, 1902–1975). Flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), mid-20th century. Smoked dwarf bamboo (hōbichiku), 20 x 9 ½ in. (50.8 x 24.1 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 17. Wada Waichisai I (Japanese, 1851–1901). Karamono-style flower basket ( hanakago), Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1890–1901. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 24 x 8 x 6 ⅞ in. (61 x 20.5 x 17.5 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Shōkosai IV (1902–1975), moved from Osaka to Kyoto, where he established the new family workshop. He closely followed many of the examples made by his father, such as a coarse-weave flower basket made of smoked dwarf bamboo (hōbichiku) salvaged from demolished farmhouses that were often hundreds of years old (fig. 16). The rich brown color of this recovered dwarf bamboo (typically nemagaridake) is the result of long-term exposure to hearth or kitchen fires.

Another Kansai-based bamboo artist, Wada Waichisai I (1851–1901), established an equally important and long-lasting lineage of masters. Waichisai became a bamboo craftsman later in life in Osaka and was known for his precise, delicate plaiting techniques. Following in the footsteps of his father, he began by producing simple baskets for everyday purposes, such as carrying fruits and vegetables, but later made sencha-related karamono-style baskets and tea ceremony utensils that came to be in 15

high demand among literati circles. The body of a doublewalled karamono-style ikebana flower basket by Waichisai in the Abbey Collection is made of split madake bamboo; the outside layer is executed in tight “pine-needle” plaiting (matsuba-ami) and the inside is twill plaiting (ajiro-ami).

The fine details of the handle, rim, side edges, and foot are worked in rattan (fig. 17).

Waichisai’s works were recognized by leading members of the Japanese art world and awarded prizes at the second (1881) and fourth (1895) Domestic Industrial Expositions. (He initially used the artist name “Chikuunsai,” although in exhibitions he also used his given name, Ichimatsu; he changed to the artist name “Waichisai” later in his career after he had achieved greater renown, a common practice with Japanese artists.) A fruit tray by Waichisai was presented by the Sumiyoshi Shrine in Osaka to the Meiji Emperor in 1894, highlighting the importance of imperial patronage to the careers of Japanese artists. The Waichisai name was likely bestowed on Ichimatsu at this time.6 Among Waichisai’s numerous disciples were his son, Wada Waichisai II (1877–1933), Yamashita Kōchikusai (1876–1947), and Tanabe Chikuunsai I (1877–1937), all of whom carried on his tradition of meticulous, delicate plaiting. Tanabe Chikuunsai I was born in Hyōgo Prefecture, the third son of a local doctor. He began his apprenticeship with Wada Waichisai I in 1890 and became an independent master in 1901. Well educated and possessing refined cultural sensibilities, he was trained in sencha tea ceremony as well as traditional flower arrangement and became a prominent member of literati artistic circles, a social 18. Yanagisawa Kien (Japanese, 1704–1758). Landscape, Edo period (1615–1868), first half of 18th century.

Hanging scroll: ink and color on paper, image 53 ⅞ x 12 ½ in. (136.8 x 31.8 cm). Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.156) 19. Yosa Buson (Japanese, 1716–1783).

Autumn Flowers in a Bamboo Basket, Edo period (1615–1868), 1760s.

Hanging scroll: ink and color on paper, image 73 ¾ x 15 ½ in. (187.3 x 39.4 cm).

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 (2015.500.9.18)

network he used to advance recognition of bamboo craftsmanship. Chikuunsai, who was based in Sakai, was formally initiated as a tea master into the Kagetsuan school, one of the most prestigious in Osaka, in 1923. For his initiation ceremony, attended by hundreds of guests from literati circles, including well-known painters and calligraphers, Chikuunsai prepared the tea himself as well as the flower arrangements, which he arrayed in fifty of his own baskets.7 The mid-Meiji period was an important turning point in the history of modern bamboo art. Chikuunsai was among the most prominent leaders of a new generation of bamboo artist-craftsmen who, while they continued to produce functional, refined works and perpetuated inherited traditions, also began to modernize in terms of their individual tastes and levels of creativity. To that end Chikuunsai developed the so-called Ryūrikyō style of basketry, which he created after studying the paintings of Yanagisawa

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Kien (1704–1758), a famous Edo-period artist whose vibrant works often depict bamboo baskets filled with flowers or fruits.

“Ryūrikyō” refers to one of the artist names used by Kien, who achieved recognition as one of the pioneering artists of the literati, or Bunjin, style of landscape painting (fig. 18), but who also created still-life compositions showing bamboo baskets with flower arrangements. After studying much earlier Chinese painters, Kien influenced many of the leading literati painters in Kyoto, including Yosa Buson (1716–1783), who likewise painted flower compositions (fig. 19).

Many of Chikuunsai’s graceful Ryūrikyō works are hanging baskets, but he also made fan-shaped, round, and complex tiered examples, all executed in refined, minute plaiting and often integrating passages of openwork, such as a hanging flower basket in the Abbey Collection (fig. 20). In 1914 Chikuunsai presented two of his Ryūrikyō-style hanging flower baskets to the Taishō Emperor, and he later participated in numerous group and one-artist exhibitions, such as a 1922 joint show at the Takashimaya department store in Osaka with the painter and calligrapher Tomioka Tessai (1837–1924), a leading figure in literati painting circles who in 1917 had been given the prestigious title of Imperial Household Artist (Teishitsu Gigeiin). In fact, Chikuunsai’s Ryūrikyō baskets were often created explicitly for exhibition, including one that received an award at the influential Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et

20. Tanabe Chikuunsai I (Japanese, 1877–1937). Ryūrikyō hanging flower basket (Ryūrikyō tsuriki hanakago), late Meiji (1868–1912)–early Taishō (1912–26) period, ca. 1900–1920.

Smoked dwarf bamboo (hōbichiku) and rattan, 13 ¾ x 15 in. (35 x 38 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 21. Tanabe Chikuunsai I. Flower basket in the shape of a lily bud (yuri-gata hanakago), Taishō period (1912–26), ca. 1930. Madake bamboo rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 22 ⅞ x 7 ½ x 7 ½ in. (58 x 19 x 19 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925, which helped introduce the Art Deco aesthetic. This trend marked a significant shift in Japanese bamboo art, reflecting the ambition of Chikuunsai and other master bamboo craftsmen to achieve the same degree of recognition already accorded contemporary ceramic and lacquer artists.

Chikuunsai’s tall, elegant flower basket from 1930 (fig. 21), made at the peak of his career, reflects a refined literati sensibility in its graceful shape and complex plaiting. The 17

22. Maeda Chikubōsai I (Japanese, 1872–1950). Flower basket (hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–1989), ca. late 1940s. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 21 ½ x 14 x 14 ¼ in.

(54.5 x 35.6 x 36.2 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 23. Yamamoto Chikuryūsai I (Japanese, 1868–1945). Flower basket (tamasudare-ami Hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), first half of 20th century. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 17 ¾ x 9 in. (45.1 x 22.9 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 24. Katō Tōshōsai (Japanese, active early 20th century). Basket in the form of a flower cart (hanagurumagata hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1920–30s. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), L. 48 in. (124 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

body, which resembles a lily bud about to bloom, is made of madake bamboo woven in a compound lozenge-plaiting pattern (yotsume-gaeshi) and coated with lacquer. The details of the handle and mouth are worked in rattan, and the base is accented with a bamboo strip. Chikuunsai sometimes integrated the shafts of old bamboo arrows into his baskets, one of his signature styles. Worked rhythmically into the structure of Chikuunsai’s compositions, these arrows, some decorated with black or red lacquer or gold leaf and others possessing a deep brown patina, became a powerfully textural design element.

Among the many students of Chikuunsai I were his son, Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910–2000); Sakaguchi Sōunsai (1899–1967), one of his top disciples; Ueda Shōunsai 18

(1897–1990); and Maeda Chikubōsai I (1872–1950). Chikubōsai, who was from Sakai and established his own distinguished lineage of bamboo artists, began his career producing karamono and literati baskets but then developed a unique method of using natural bamboo branches and roots to achieve a more rustic effect. He eventually became one of the most acclaimed bamboo artists of the early Shōwa period (1926–89), and many of his works were presented to the imperial family and high-ranking officials. A rare peony

25. Kano Chikanobu (Japanese, 1660–1728). Seven Gods of Good Fortune and Chinese Children, Edo period (1615–1868), late 17th – early 18th century. One of a pair of six-panel folding screens: ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, 69 ¼ x 153 in. (175.9 x 388.6 cm). H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.498)

basket by Chikubōsai in the Abbey Collection (fig. 22), probably dating to the end of his career, is made with “thousand-line” construction (stiff strips aligned in a parallel structure) and has fine rattan details interwoven in embroidered plaiting (discussed below).

In 1919 another disciple of Wada Waichisai I, Yamamoto Chikuryūsai I (1868– 1945), played a leading role in establishing the Naniwa Ranyūkai, one of the first associations for Osaka-based bamboo craftsmen. Chikuryūsai (who after 1929 used the artist name “Shōen”) actively participated in the Domestic Industrial Expositions and exhibited abroad as well, receiving awards at the 1925 Paris Exposition, the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, and the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne, Paris. He was also one of the first bamboo craftsmen whose work was admitted to the government-sponsored Teiten exhibition, in 1929—a key development in modern bamboo craft, discussed in greater detail below—from which he received the First Entry Award (Nyūsen). Like many bamboo masters of the period, Chikuryūsai was influenced by literati culture and that of the sencha tea ceremony, as seen in his finely plaited flower basket made with thin strips of madake bamboo woven into “beaded bamboo-blind” plaiting (tamasudare-ami), derived from a karamono rattan technique (fig. 23). The basket has rattan accents and is finished with a coat of lacquer.

Katō Tōshōsai (active early twentieth century), a lesser-known bamboo artisan of the Kansai region, maintained a workshop in Tsu City, the capital of Mie Prefecture.

Although we know little about his life, his karamono-style works are of the highest quality, including a basket previously owned by the Imperial Household and now in the 19

collection of the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Tokyo. Among his more surprising constructions is a flower cart worked in tight plaiting (fig. 24) that recalls depictions of such carts in Edo-period paintings, where they are often shown hauling large ikebana baskets filled with flowers (fig. 25).

Following the upheavals of the Meiji Restoration, in 1867 (when authority in Japan was returned to the emperor after centuries of feudal rule under the shoguns), the traditional arts patronage system collapsed as the daimyo (feudal lords), Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines—historically the primary patrons of high-quality works of art in Japan— were stripped of their incomes and properties. Partly in reaction to this decline in support, in 1879 a group of government officials established the Dragon Pond Society, or Ryūchikai (the precursor of the Japan Art Association), to protect and exhibit Japanese traditional arts. The Ryūchikai gained the support of the Imperial Family and was granted land on which to build an exhibition pavilion, where annual exhibitions (Kan Kobijutsu Kai) were held. The society also introduced a system for designating and protecting important cultural properties that is still in effect today, though now modernized under the auspices of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. With a similar aim in mind, the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkō)—the forerunner of today’s Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku)—was founded in 1887 to educate young artists in the traditional crafts, painting, and the history of Japanese art.

The Meiji government also organized annual exhibitions to promote the traditional arts, creating the Fine Arts Reviewing Committee in 1907, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, to establish standards of quality and provide a venue. The first exhibition organized by the committee, called the Bunten, was modeled after the Paris Salon and accepted only paintings and sculptures, not traditional crafts.

In 1913 the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce initiated another annual exhibition, called the Nōten (later the Kōgeiten), to feature design and applied arts along with practical and functional pieces. Restricted to exhibiting their works at the Nōten, some artist-craftsmen began to agitate for more attention and recognition from the government and established the Japan Craft Art Society (Nihon Kōgei Bijutsu Kai) to advocate for their inclusion in the Bunten.

The government eventually reorganized the Bunten, in 1919, and renamed it the Imperial Art Academy Exhibition, or Teiten. (The primary function of the academy, which was underwritten by the Imperial Household, was to oversee this national juried exhibition.) Not until 1927 was an art-craft section included, however, and bamboo works were not accepted until 1929, at the tenth such national exhibition to be held.

The first bamboo artists to exhibit in the Teiten were from Osaka, and both were disciples of Tanabe Chikuunsai I: Yamamoto Chikuryūsai I and Sakaguchi Sōunsai, whose modern-style fruit tray was considered an unexpected submission because flower baskets were the standard. Inspired by the reflection of the moon in water, this tray, which the artist called Suigetsu (or “water-moon”), is a recent addition to the Abbey Collection (not illustrated).

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The Revolution of Bamboo Craft in Kantō During the Meiji period Tokyo had gradually begun to outpace Kyoto, the old imperial capital, as the center of the Japanese art world. Most of the bamboo artists active in Kantō (eastern Japan) were based either in the greater Tokyo region or in Tochigi Prefecture (some were also active in Niigata Prefecture). Among those who helped transform Kantō, and especially Tokyo, into a locus of creativity and innovation in the field of bamboo art was Iizuka Hōsai II (1872–1934), eldest son of the Tochigi-based craftsman Iizuka Hōsai I (1851–1916). A master of refined plaiting, Hōsai II was awarded several prizes at the government-sponsored exhibitions, including the Nōten, and emerged as one of the representative artists of the Taishō period (1912–26). Like many bamboo artists of the time, he first produced karamono-style works but eventually developed a more individualistic style.8 Hōsai II moved with his family from Tochigi in 1910 and established his workshop in the Tabata area of Tokyo’s Kita Ward. In 1915, after the Taishō Emperor acceded to the throne, the Imperial Household Ministry commissioned a pair of ceremonial bamboo baskets from Hōsai I and his family: a major honor that brought great esteem to their workshop. A sencha tea ceremony cabinet by Hōsai II, made in the shape of a mountain monk’s backpack, was sponsored by the Japanese government as a submission to the 1925 Paris Exposition, where it was awarded an honorary prize.

26. Iizuka Hōsai II (Japanese, 1872–1934). Large flower basket ( hanakago), Meiji period (1868–1912), ca. 1910s. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 16 x 13 in. (40.6 x 33 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

A large flower basket by Hōsai II in the Abbey Collection (fig. 26), dating to the 1910s and made in the shape of an ancient Chinese bronze vessel, is a traditional karamono work, created with seamlessly intertwined, alternating plaiting patterns and rattan accents. In contrast, a document and writing-box set from 1923, complete with an inkstone and water dropper, seems to signal Hōsai II’s intentions to express himself creatively by making distinctly Japanese-style objects, as these types of writingbox sets were not used in China (figs. 27, 28). In Japan such boxes are typically made by lacquer masters, who embellish them with maki-e or mother-of-pearl inlay. The tight, meticulous plaiting of Hōsai’s boxes reflects the artist’s extensive experience with karamono, but the interiors are decorated with fine gold maki-e, an unusually luxurious finish for a bamboo work and one that is also unmistakably Japanese.

According to a note preserved with the boxes, Hōsai II made them as replicas of originals presented to the Meiji Emperor.

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27, 28. Iizuka Hōsai II. Inkstone box (suzuribako) and document box (ryōshibako) set, Taishō period (1912–26), 1923. Madake bamboo, rattan, lacquer (urushi), and gold powder, 1 ⅞ x 9 x 11 ½ in. (4.8 x 22.7 x 28.8 cm); 8 ⅛ x 11 ¼ x 14 ⅝ in. (20.6 x 28.6 x 37.3 cm). Promised gifts of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Hōsai II was one of five brothers who succeeded Hōsai I in the family trade.

Iizuka Rōkansai (1890–1958), the name adopted by Hōsai I’s sixth son, Yanosuke, was trained in many of the traditional arts, including calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement. Rōkansai became an independent artist at the age of twentyone and quickly rose to fame, winning an award at the 1925 Paris Exposition alongside his brother. Like Chikuunsai in Kantō, Rōkansai fought for greater recognition for bamboo art. As an advocate for his métier he became involved with the Japan Craft Art Society and, along with Hōsai II, helped found the Wood and Bamboo Craft Society. At the same time, he sought to modernize the craft by experimenting with new techniques and revolutionary forms.9 Rōkansai’s karamono-inspired baskets, technically perfect but still quite conventional, were rejected from the Teiten three successive times, compelling him to

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ask a member of the exhibition committee why bamboo craft was “not appreciated” as a decorative art. “Next time,” the official told him, “why don’t you try to weave bamboo using metal.” Undeterred, Rōkansai vowed never to employ any material in his work other than bamboo and to redouble his advocacy for the inherent natural beauty and unique characteristics of the medium.10 Rōkansai finally succeeded in having a work accepted to the Teiten in 1931: a square lidded box for accessories or documents called a tebako. He embellished the box with an interlocking-diamond pattern executed in a painstaking technique known as take sashi-ami, or “embroidered” plaiting, in which thin, round, pliable strands of finely split young bamboo are interwoven into a ground layer to create fine, often geometric designs. The technique, Rōkansai’s own invention, requires such precision that no more than a centimeter-long section can be produced in a day. Noted scholar Suzuki Satomi has suggested that the design and plaiting of Rōkansai’s tebako, as seen in a similar work by his son, Shōkansai, in the Abbey Collection (see fig. 37), might have been inspired by one of the treasured holdings of the Shōsōin: the so-called White Akebia Vine Box

(Shiro-kazura no hako, 白葛箱), which dates to the eighth century.11 Surrounded by the mainly karamono-style baskets that most artists of the period were submitting to the government-sponsored exhibitions, Rōkansai’s tebako was a masterstroke of innovation.

By adapting the traditional sashi-ami technique to contemporary bamboo art, he created a work that was at once steeped in tradition but boldly modern in execution.

Rōkansai’s tebako captured the attention of Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), the founder of the Mingei (folk crafts, or “people’s art”) movement, which extolled the virtues of everyday handcrafts. Yanagi particularly admired the box’s natural, geometric patterning, which he believed honored the innate qualities of the medium. Yanagi later criticized Rōkansai, however, when the artist charged the extraordinarily high price of 1,500 yen (at that time about half the annual remuneration paid to a member of the National Diet) for one of his exhibition pieces. Yanagi believed that Mingei objects should reflect a balance between everyday function and craftsmanship and that they should also be affordable. For Rōkansai, the lofty price was a means of elevating the status of bamboo craft to that of a “true” art form and was thus intended to signal the parity of bamboo with the other Japanese decorative arts.

Rōkansai’s achievements began to attract notice from Western observers as well. In 1933, shortly after the artist’s breakthrough at the Teiten, the prolific German modernist architect Bruno Taut (1880–1938) moved to Japan to escape the hostile political environment in Europe. After settling in Gunma Prefecture, Taut published several volumes on Japanese architecture and culture, highlighting the parallels between modernist aesthetics and the minimalism of traditional Japanese building. He apparently visited Rōkansai’s studio in Tokyo and greatly admired his works, favorably comparing him to Chikuunsai in his 1936 book Nippon Seen Through European Eyes.12 Rōkansai divided his oeuvre into three styles according to function and technique: shin (formal), gyō (semiformal), and sō (freestyle, or “cursive”). The system, formulated about 1937, was based on categories originally established to describe calligraphy, but 23

they were also applied to tea ceremony, garden design, flower arrangement, and the performing arts to indicate a degree of formality and personalization, with sō being the most individualistic. Rōkansai’s shin style is characterized by fine, minute plaiting and elegant, classical forms in which he prioritized technique over the expression of the natural qualities of the bamboo. Most of his embroidered-plaited and bundled-plaited (tabane-ami) works—one of his signature innovations, in which a bundle of finely split bamboo strips is held together and woven into the required shape, often a loop, to achieve textured, three-dimensional effects—belong to this category, as do all the works he submitted to the major national exhibitions. His gyō and sō works were generally saved for one-artist exhibitions; the former typically are more loosely plaited but still follow traditional or functional forms, whereas Rōkansai’s freestyle works—whether actual baskets or more abstract compositions—generally are either loosely plaited or made simply of bent and curved strips. Most of his pieces done in coarse weave (araami) and the technique known as parallel construction, or kumi—meaning works made primarily with parallel elements as opposed to plaiting, which involves the interlacing of components—belong to this category. Kumi, in particular, was his preferred technique for modern forms that broke from the traditional context of Japanese basketry (tea ceremony and flower arrangement) and tested the limits of bamboo as an artistic medium. Rōkansai was also one of the first bamboo artists to give poetic names or titles to his works, further underscoring their intended status as works of art.

A semiformal (gyō) lidded document box by Rōkansai, dating probably to the 1930s and made of split smoked bamboo (madake susudake), is notable for its unusual “double” construction: a background or inner layer of twill plaiting topped by an outer layer of irregular plaiting (fig. 29). On the left side of the box, a wide, thin strip of split 29. Iizuka Rōkansai (Japanese, 1890–1958). Document box (ryōshibako), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. late 1920s–1930s. Susudake bamboo, rattan, lacquer (urushi), and gold brocaded silk, 6 ⅝ x 13 x 10 in.

(16.8 x 33 x 25.4 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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bamboo is woven into the outer layer. The edges are made of broad strips of bamboo decorated with rattan details. Rōkansai finished the box with lacquer and added a patina, or “dust” (sabi-tsuke), to the background layer to emphasize the plaited patterns. A tall, thin madake flower basket from the early 1930s made with coarse weave and nemagaridake accents (fig. 31) is representative of the artist’s informal style.

In 1939, in recognition of his talents and pioneering contributions to the field of bamboo art, Rōkansai was elected to be the first judge of the bamboo section of a reorganized version of the Teiten, now called the ShinBunten. Among the small group of bamboo artists accepted to the ShinBunten exhibitions were Tanabe Chikuunsai II and Shōno Shōunsai, discussed below, and Sakaguchi Sōunsai and Yamamoto (Chikuryūsai) Shōen. Rōkansai became a charismatic leader to this new generation, who continued to push the boundaries of the medium and develop a rich lexicon of novel shapes, techniques, and styles. Nakata Kinseki (1902–1959), for example, one of Rōkansai’s lesser-known disciples, created a tea ceremony chest, now in technique (take sashi-ami).

30. Nakata Kinseki (Japanese, 1902–1959). Tea ceremony utensil chest (take sashi-ami chadana), Shōwa period (1926–89), 1940.

Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 16 ¼ x 10 ½ x 15 ½ in. (41.3 x 26.7 x 39.4 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

The end of the Second World War brought about another reorganization of the

31. Iizuka Rōkansai. Flower basket (hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1932. Madake bamboo and rattan, 40 ¾ x 7 ⅜ in. (103.4 x 18.8 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

the Abbey Collection (fig. 30), using his master’s signature embroidered-plaiting

institutions and exhibitions associated with the traditional arts of Japan. In 1947 the Imperial Art Academy was renamed the Japan Art Academy, and its annual exhibitions

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were dubbed the Japan Arts Exhibition, or Nitten (replacing the Shin-Bunten), which focused more on individualistic expression as part of a fertile exchange of ideas with many other genres, including sculpture and painting. Rōkansai was a regular contributor to the Nitten exhibitions and, beginning in 1955, to the annual Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions (Nihon Dentō Kōgei Ten) as well, which were organized by the Japanese Art Crafts Association (Nihon Kōgei Kai) to advocate for and preserve traditional techniques. Whereas the Nitten included Japanese and Westernstyle painting, calligraphy, and sculpture and prioritized artistic creativity and design innovation, the Craft Association sought masterworks that were technical tours de force adapted for a modern lifestyle. The Craft Association has three levels of membership: student, junior, and finally full membership, achieved after four pieces have been accepted for the annual exhibitions. Even after full membership, there is no guarantee that a member’s work will be accepted again.

Rōkansai’s flower basket known as Hōden, probably made in the 1940s, is made of leached and split blond bamboo with rattan accents (fig. 32). The basket features openwork passages created with a combination of traditional techniques, including twining (nawame-ami) and hemp leaf–pattern plaiting (asa-no-ha ami). Its shape recalls that of an ancient ash-glazed pot or bronze urn, while the title, which means “holy shrine,” references the treasure house (or sanctuary) of a Shinto shrine. Rōkansai’s signature thousand-line technique (a variation on kumi, or parallel construction) is represented in the Abbey Collection by a flower basket from about 1950 with a lustrous 32. Iizuka Rōkansai. Holy Shrine (Hōden) flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1940s.

Madake bamboo and rattan, 7 ½ x 11 ⅝ in. (19.2 x 29.5 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 33. Iizuka Rōkansai. Thousand-Line (Senjō) flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), 1950.

Susudake and hōbichiku bamboo, rattan and lacquer (urushi), 13 x 15 ¾ x 14 in. (33 x 40 x 35.5 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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lacquer finish (fig. 33). The basket’s asymmetrically positioned handle contrasts with the parallel lines of smoked madake bamboo strips with hōbichiku accents. The distinctly modern feel of this basket and Rōkansai’s other thousand-line works, which he produced mainly in the middle of his career, derives from their simple shapes and even, rhythmic textures.

Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910–2000), from Sakai, was admitted to the Teiten exhibition as early as 1931 and participated in the Shin-Bunten exhibitions as well. He later became a leading figure of the postwar period and was honored with the Special

Recognition Award (Tokusen) at the 1952 Nitten.

Celebrated for his superb technique, which followed in the style established by his father, Chikuunsai II refreshed the visual vocabulary of such traditional forms as flower baskets and fruit trays.13 He excelled in light openwork (sukashi-ami), thousand-line construction, and seemingly simple but technically sophisticated coarse-weave works of smoked bamboo. He also experimented with unorthodox shapes, such as his flower basket in the Abbey Collection inspired by Chinese moon flasks, a type of porcelain vessel produced beginning in the fifteenth century (fig. 34). The basket’s flattened circular body has a narrow, cylindrical neck, flat base, and two arched side handles. The front and back of the body were made with circular plaiting, resulting in a bull’s-eye pattern typically seen on a basket’s base.

Bamboo Art On Kyūshū Another artist who regularly participated at the Shin-Bunten exhibitions, Shōno Shōunsai (1904– 1974), was based on the island of Kyūshū, whose long tradition of bamboo artistry is distinct from that of the Kansai and Kantō regions. With a warm southern climate ideal for bamboo cultivation, Kyūshū is responsible for more than half of Japan’s bamboo production.

Each local region has its own characteristic species, and the most sought after is madake, or Japanese timber bamboo, which grows in abundance in Oita Prefecture. The Oita town of Beppu, famous for its hot springs, became an especially well-known center of

34. Tanabe Chikuunsai II (Japanese, 1910–2000). Moon flask–shaped flower basket ( henko-gata hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1955–65. Smoked bamboo and rattan, 24 ⅜ x 11 ⅞ x 5 ½ in. (62 x 30 x 14 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

bamboo craft in the early twentieth century. The Beppu Technical Apprentice School, established in 1902, trained many bamboo artisans from across Japan; it was succeeded in 1938 by the Oita Bamboo Technical Training Support Center (or Occupational School), a publicly funded institution dedicated to bamboo craft. In 1979 the bamboo craft of Beppu was officially designated a “Traditional Arts and Crafts” by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.

The history of bamboo basketry on Kyūshū dates back much earlier, however, to the Muromachi period (1392–1573), when simple baskets were produced for local salt peddlers. In the Edo period the region’s thermal springs became a popular destination for visitors from across Japan, who purchased local bamboo products as souvenirs. Bamboo production gradually developed into a more refined craft on Kyūshū beginning about the late nineteenth century, as functional baskets as well as bamboo carvings, each characteristic of the different local regions (Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, 27

Kumamoto, and Saga Prefectures), were widely exhibited. The first Kyūshū bamboo artist-craftsmen to exhibit their works nationally were Murozumi Kotarō (1877–1919?) and Tsurugami Kakutarō (active early 20th century), both of whom had pieces selected for the Seventh Craft Exhibition (Kōgeiten), in 1919.

Although bamboo plaiting techniques were introduced to Oita from Kansai and Kantō, Kyūshū craftsmen quickly developed their own techniques and styles, particularly in their flower baskets, which were well received in the national competitive exhibitions. Among the first masters to help build a reputation for Kyūshū basketry was Satō Chikuyūsai (1901–1929), who studied in Tokyo and Osaka and whose refined karamono-style baskets won a bronze medal at the 1925 Paris Exposition and a gold medal at the 1926 Philadelphia Sesquicentennial International Exposition. Two other prominent Kyūshū craftsmen, Kadota Jirō (1907–1994), who later took the artist name “Nikō,” and his master, Iwao Kōunsai (1901–1992), were admitted to the Kōgeiten in 1934 and 1935, respectively.

Shōno Shōunsai was one of Chikuyūsai’s most accomplished students. Born to a farming family in Beppu, he decided at the age of seventeen to become a bamboo craftsman after seeing an exquisite karamono-style flower basket at a local exhibition.

The basket he saw was by Chikuyūsai himself, a young craftsman at the time, but Shōunsai had only two years to work with his master before the latter’s early death.

Eventually chosen to make basketry works for the Imperial Household, Shōunsai began participating in the Shin-Bunten exhibitions beginning in 1940 and, after 1947, regularly 35. Shōno Shōunsai (Japanese, 1904–1974). Offering or fruit tray (morikago) with intersecting circles (shippō) design, Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1947. Susudake bamboo and rattan, 4 ½ x 13 ⅝ in. (11.5 x 34.5 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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submitted his works to the Nitten as well, winning major awards (including several Tokusen prizes) and becoming one of the leading bamboo artists of the postwar period. A recent addition to the Abbey Collection is a fruit or offering tray (morikago) by Shōunsai made of smoked madake bamboo (susudake). The center plate of the four-lobe tray, which was likely exhibited at the 1947 Nitten, is twill-plaited (ajiroami), while the curved walls of line construction are decorated with rattan accents (fig. 35).

Shōunsai’s unique sculptural forms emphasize the flexibility and strength of bamboo. Less bound to the Kansai and Kantō traditions, Shōunsai regularly experimented with new styles, crafting dynamic, original sculptures that departed from inherited concepts of functionality and elegance. In 1953, after seven successful submissions to the Nitten exhibition, a modern but also somewhat conventional flower basket by Shōunsai was rejected by the exhibition committee, whose jurors included Rōkansai. Three years later, no doubt motivated by his earlier failure, Shōunsai submitted to the 1956 Nitten a bamboo sculpture inspired by swelling ocean waves: a groundbreaking masterwork that won the exhibition’s prestigious Hokuto Prize.

Shōunsai continued to experiment with monumental bamboo sculptures in the years following his success in 1956, but beginning in 1965 he returned to making more tranquil, functional works, which he submitted to the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions. Shōunsai’s “quiet” pieces, such as his simple flower holder in the Abbey Collection, which was probably inspired by the wabi cha–style wall vases (ichijūgiri) pioneered by Sen no Rikyū (fig. 36), nonetheless possess a fundamental power. Called Kuinabue (“water rail flute”), the flower holder is characteristic of Shōunsai’s later works, in which he moved away from complex plaiting techniques and focused instead on the inherent natural beauty (or “spirit”) of bamboo. A plain but elegantly proportioned section of madake bamboo, with a node at its lower half and another one at the mouth, Kuinabue has a small window cut into it in a precise oval shape. The overall form resembles that of a bamboo flute used in Japan to imitate the cry of a rail (a type of skittish waterfowl) in order to attract the bird.

Shōunsai had numerous disciples over the course of his long career and served as

36. Shōno Shōunsai. Kuinabue (Water Rail Flute) flower holder ( hanaire), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1960–70s. Madake bamboo, 16 x 2 ⅞ in. (40.6 x 7.3 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

a charismatic mentor to generations of bamboo artists. In 1967, in a major breakthrough for the profession, he was the first bamboo artist honored with the title “Living National Treasure.” The system of designating master artisans as Living National Treasures (Ningen Kokuhō) was established by the Japanese government in 1950. Most are selected from among the artists who regularly exhibit at the annual Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions.

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Trends in Modern and Contemporary Bamboo Art Many of the leading bamboo artists who regularly exhibited in the Nitten during the postwar years included descendants of the established lineages, including Iizuka Shōkansai (1919–2004), from Kantō, and Maeda Chikubōsai II (1917–2003), Higashi Takesonosai (1915–2003), Suemura Shōbun (1917–2000), and Tanabe Chikuunsai III (1940–2014), all from Kansai.

Iizuka Shōkansai initially studied oil painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, but following the Second World War, when he served in the army, he began training in bamboo art under his father, the famous Rōkansai. He mastered traditional plaiting techniques and adopted his father’s shin-gyō-sō system; he also further developed the advanced techniques Rōkansai had pioneered, such as bundled plaiting (tabane-ami) and embroidered plaiting (take sashi-ami). Inspired by his background in oil painting, Shōkansai investigated flat, framed wall panels of bamboo comprising abstract, dynamic patterns. Admitted to the Nitten in 1947, he won numerous awards, including the Hokuto and Tokusen prizes, during his twenty years as a participant, mostly for his experimental works. Later in his career, however, his growing sense of bamboo’s inherent “craft nature,” as he saw it, led him to join the Traditional Art Crafts Association, which his father had helped establish. Designated a Living National Treasure in 1982, the second bamboo artist so honored, Shōkansai was employed from 1979 to 1981 by the Imperial Household Agency to catalogue and study the revered ancient bamboo works preserved in the Shōsōin Treasure House.

Shōkansai’s take on his father’s embroidered-plaiting technique is represented in the Abbey Collection by a box for accessories (tebako) similar to the piece for which his father was finally admitted to the Teiten, in 1931 (fig. 37). Meticulously plaited and embellished with geometric designs, it was made about 1972 to 1973, just as Shōkansai was transitioning from the Nitten world to that of the Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition,

37. Iizuka Shōkansai (Japanese, 1919–2004). Box for accessories (take sashi-ami tebako), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1972–73. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 3 x 12 x 10 in. (8 x 30.5 x 24.5 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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where he debuted in 1974 and won the prestigious Ministry of Education award for a similar box, now in the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. The covered box in the Abbey Collection was probably made in preparation for its awardwinning twin.

Shōkansai’s Calm Heart flower basket (fig. 38) is made of madake bamboo using a combination of complex techniques, including bundled plaiting on the lower half. The fine bundles are made of long, pliable strips of radial-split bamboo (masawari), which are held together and plaited into a rhythmic, wavy base. The artist then separated the

38. Iizuka Shōkansai. Calm Heart flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1970s. Madake bamboo and rattan, 13 ¼ x 10 ¼ in.

(33.7 x 26 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 39. Iizuka Shōkansai. Dragon in the Clouds (Unryū) flower basket ( hanakago), Heisei period (1989– present), 1990. Madake bamboo and rattan, 16 ⅞ x 24 ¼ in. (42.7 x 61.4 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

bundles as he worked up toward the basket’s rim, weaving the individual strips into intricate patterns. Dragon in the Clouds, a large-scale, globular flower basket from 1990 (fig. 39), is an example of a signature Iizuka family technique called tsubushi, in which

40. Hayakawa Shōkosai V (Japanese, 1932–2011). Fruit tray (morimono kago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca.

1965–77. Susudake bamboo and rattan, 6 ¼ x 17 ½ x 17 ¼ in. (16 x 44.5 x 43.9 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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41. Hayakawa Shōkosai V. Flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), 1965. Madake bamboo and rattan, 16 ½ x 13 x 11 in. (41.9 x 33 x 27.9 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 42. Maeda Chikubōsai II (Japanese, 1917–2003). Flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1980s. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), H. 14 in. (35.5 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 43. Tanabe Chikuunsai III (Japanese, 1940–2014). Delight for the Future, Heisei period (1989–present), 2008.

Madake and yadake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 31 x 27 x 10 in.

(78.8 x 68.6 x 25.4 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

the artist removes the oil from madake bamboo, splits it in half, and then flattens it by pounding to render the bamboo more pliable and so that the straight pieces can be manipulated into graceful curves. This technique highlights the natural beauty of the bamboo and makes visible reference to its famed resilience.

As with the Iizuka lineage, the traditions of the Kansai-based Hayakawa family were handed down from father to son through multiple generations. Shōkosai V (1932– 2011) began exhibiting at the Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions in 1966 and won several major prizes. Designated a Living National Treasure in 2003 and awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government in 2005, he explored further possibilities in armor plaiting, a type of parallel construction (yoroi-gumi) that is one of the traditional Hayakawa techniques. His split smoked-bamboo (susudake) fruit tray in the Abbey Collection (fig. 40) is a prime example of a modern application of armor plaiting. The origins of such fruit trays, which are used in ikebana to hold arrangements of fruits and vegetables (and sometimes flowers, roots, and branches), can be traced back to harvest festivals and to the ceremonial offerings of fruit set in front of Buddhist icons. A flower basket by Shōkosai V in the Abbey Collection has an unusually wide mouth and a dynamic profile (fig. 41). Made in 1965 for the artist’s first solo exhibition, held at the Osaka Mitsukoshi department store, the basket was probably inspired by the unconventional taste of an ikebana master.

Maeda Chikubōsai II (1917–2003) apprenticed with his renowned father in Osaka before the Second World War and began exhibiting at the Nitten in 1953, but like Shōkansai he eventually found the Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions a better platform for his vision and switched over in 1970. In addition to his modern baskets made from round strips of bent-and-gathered bamboo, Chikubōsai II produced baskets for the sencha tea ceremony, continuing this Osaka basketry tradition. One of his flower baskets was awarded a prize at the 1972 Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, and in 1995 he became the third bamboo artist to be named a Living National Treasure. He is perhaps best known for his layered structures and complex surfaces, as seen in an extravagant flower basket in the Abbey Collection (fig. 42).

Tanabe Chikuunsai III (1940–2014), who focused most of his activities on the Nitten exhibitions, employed dyed madake and yadake bamboo (the latter is called “arrow” bamboo because its stiffness makes it ideal for making arrow shafts) to create geometric, sculptural forms. Using the kumi technique, he juxtaposed lines of squares and triangles with circles to conjure a sense of depth and three-dimensionality. In Delight for the Future (fig. 43), the intricate cross sections are tied together with rattan and the completed work finished with a coat of lacquer.

Higashi Takesonosai (1915–2006), from Kyoto, began to exhibit works at the Nitten in 1952 and was admitted twenty-eight times. Beginning in 1990 he also submitted works to the Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions, whose jurors awarded him the Prince Takamatsu Memorial Prize in 1995 for a display box created with a combination of plaiting and parallel construction. A prolific, widely honored master, he is best known for his use of smoked bamboo (susudake) and his penchant for unique

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structural compositions made with parallel construction, such as Pair, from 1971 (fig. 44). This unconventional, large-scale sculpture is composed of two seemingly symmetrical, interwoven components and won the Special Recognition Award (Tokusen) at the 1971 Nitten.

In recent decades, the contemporary scene in bamboo art has reflected an even greater diversity in terms of technique and vision, and yet the same respect for tradition, terroir, and lineage that characterizes the history of the medium is still manifest in many ways. In Kansai, Maeda Chikubōsai II and Hayakawa Shōkosai V perpetuated the distinct stylistic heritages of their respective lineages but also revitalized bamboo art through formal innovation, reenvisioning it for modern lifestyles and contemporary tastes. Tanabe Chikuunsai IV (b. 1973; his previous artist name was Tanabe Shōchiku), based in Sakai, earned a degree in sculpture from the Tokyo University of the Arts but was also trained in bamboo art at the Occupational School in Beppu. One of the most talented and versatile bamboo artists of his generation—he made his first basket at the age of ten—Chikuunsai IV carried on the Tanabe family tradition after the death of his father, but he also experimented with combining lacquer (urushi) and bamboo as well as monumental sculpture and “organic” 44. Higashi Takesonosai (Japanese, 1915–2006). Pair, Shōwa period (1926–89), 1971. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 6 x 29 x 26 in. (15.2 x 73.7 x 66 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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installations made out of tiger bamboo (torachiku). His works, exhibited widely in Europe, the United States, and Asia, have received numerous awards, including a prize at the 2015 Kinki Regional Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition for Setting Sail (BoatShaped Flower Basket) (fig. 45).

Other notable bamboo artists of recent years have come to the craft from outside the traditional family lineages. Many have a background in fine arts, while others found themselves attracted to the ancient practice after having worked in an unrelated field.

Tanioka Shigeo (b. 1949) worked in advertising after graduating from design school but realized his true vocation was bamboo art after seeing a photograph of a basket by Shōno Shōunsai in a book. Following an apprenticeship with Tanabe Chikuunsai II, he became an independent artist in 1984 and now regularly submits to the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions; he won the Lloyd Cotsen Bamboo Prize in 2004. For Sacred Trees (fig. 46), he juxtaposed two types of smoked bamboo (hōbichiku and susudake).14

45. Tanabe Chikuunsai IV (Japanese, born 1973). Setting Sail (Boat-Shaped Flower Basket), Heisei period (1989–present), 2015. Madake bamboo, rattan, and bamboo branches, 11 ½ x 16 ½ in. (29.2 x 41.9 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 46. Tanioka Shigeo (Japanese, born 1949). Sacred Trees flower basket ( hanakago), Heisei period (1989–present), 2006. Smoked bamboo (hōbichiku and susudake) and Takano bamboo, 19 x 9 x 6 in.

(48.3 x 22.9 x 15.2 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

47. Tanabe Yōta (Japanese, 1944–2008).

Earth Dedicated to Children, Shōwa period (1926–89), 1975. Shichiku bamboo, 9 x 38 x 38 in. (22.9 x 96.5 x 96.5 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

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48. Torii Ippō (Japanese, 1930–2011).

Swirl of Blue Water (Sōkai no Uzu), Heisei period (1989–present), 2006.

Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 21 ⅝ x 17 ¾ x 25 ⅝ in. (55 x 45 x 65 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Tanabe Yōta (1944–2008), a younger brother of Tanabe Chikuunsai III, studied oil painting at Musashino Art University but after graduation decided to devote his attention to bamboo art. As the second son of Chikuunsai II, he was permitted more artistic freedom than his older sibling and could experiment with new ideas and unconventional works. Admitted to the Nitten exhibition in 1976, Yōta received the Asahi Shimbun Award in 1975 at the 14th Japanese Modern Craft and Art Exhibition (Nihon Gendai Kōgei Bijutsuten) for Earth Dedicated to Children, a large coarse-weave sculpture (and functioning flower basket) that resembles a volcano but actually represents children playing in a sandbox (fig. 47).

Torii Ippō (1930–2011), born in Aichi Prefecture, was the son of a local bamboo craftsman and began making copies of his father’s baskets after the latter’s death. A visit in 1959 to an exhibition of works from the collections of the Shōsōin Treasure House was a watershed moment for the young artist, in particular seeing an eighth-century ceremonial basket (keko) still in perfect condition. Inspired to commit himself to his father’s profession, he eventually submitted works to both the Nitten and the Japanese Modern Craft and Art Exhibitions. In 2006, Swirl of Blue Water (Sōkai no Uzu), an imposing sculpture made of contrasting dyed and undyed madake (fig. 48), won the Special Recognition Award

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(Tokusen) at the Nitten. Short vertical strips are tied on both sides to long, wide strips and overlaid on either side with irregularly plaited wider pieces. These layered bands were then coiled into complex, dramatic shapes and finished with a coat of lacquer.

In Kantō, the creative traditions of the Iizuka family were transmitted to Katsushiro

49. Katsushiro Sōhō (Japanese, b. 1934).

Double Bellflower (Yaekikyō) fruit or offering tray (morikago), Heisei period (1989–present), 2012. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 6 ¼ x 17 in. (15.9 x 43.2 cm).Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Sōhō (b. 1934), who was honored with the title of Living National Treasure in 2005 after receiving several awards at the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions. Growing up on a farm, Sōhō watched his father produce simple baskets for the local people during the winter months. He later lived with a bamboo craftsman, Kikuchi Yoshii (active mid-20th century), who taught him the basics of basketry. Sōhō apprenticed with Kikuchi for six years and underwent the typical workshop training regimen of the time, watching his master produce baskets (rather than receiving explanations or demonstrations, novices were expected to learn from their mistakes after carefully observing the master’s technique). Sōhō later studied with Yagisawa Keizō (1927–2006) and supported himself by taking on agricultural work while producing commercial flower vases and brooches. He first gained recognition only in 1966, when he was awarded a prize at the Tochigi Art Festival for one of his flower baskets.

After finishing his apprenticeship with Yagisawa, Sōhō went on to study with 37

50. Fujinuma Noboru (Japanese, b. 1945). Peerless ( Musō) fruit or offering tray (morikago), Heisei period (1989–present), 2012. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 8 ⅝ x 15 x 14 in. (22.2 x 38 x 37 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Saitō Bunseki (1910–1991), a student of Rōkansai’s, who taught him the techniques developed or used by his master. Studying Rōkansai greatly influenced the development of Sōhō’s style, which often draws inspiration from nature, evoking waves breaking on rocks or shafts of sunlight filtered through trees. Double Bellflower, made in 2012 for the 52nd Eastern Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition (fig. 49), is a poetic ode to the simple beauty of an autumn flower. Worked in bundled plaiting (tabane-ami), an Iizuka family tradition, the double-layered madake basket is finished with a coat of lacquer.

Fujinuma Noboru (b. 1945), from Tochigi Prefecture, another student of Yagisawa Keizō’s and, consequently, a member of the Iizuka family lineage, began his career in engineering and photography before discovering his true métier was bamboo. Traveling in Paris in 1974, Fujinuma felt compelled after his immersion in European artistic traditions to find out more about his own culture and the traditional arts of Japan.

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Inspired by the works of Shōno Shōunsai, he began by making simple bamboo objects.

As his exceptional talent for bamboo manifested itself and he grew more devoted to his studies, Fujinuma quit his job at Nikon, apprenticed with Yagisawa, and later continued working as an independent bamboo artist, consulting with such well-known masters as Iizuka Shōkansai. He first submitted his work to the Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition in 1980 and in 1992 was awarded the Tokyo Governor’s Prize at the same exhibition.

Fujinuma generally creates two types of baskets: rustic, bold, and experimental ones for himself, and refined, finely plaited, traditional works for public exhibition. His signature palette emulates the deep brownish-red color of the smoked bamboo called susudake, an expensive, rare material usually obtained from old straw-thatched farmhouse ceilings, where smoke absorbed from the hearth below over the course of decades or even centuries changes it to an auburn color. Peerless, a fruit or offering tray (morikago) in the Abbey Collection, was made in 2012—the year Fujinuma was

51. Nagakura Ken’ichi (Japanese, b. 1952). Woman, Heisei period (1989–present), 2004. Madake bamboo, rattan, lacquer (urushi), and powdered polishing stone and clay, H. 32 ½ in. (83 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

designated a Living National Treasure—using elegant diamondtwill plaiting (ajiro-ami) in the center and bundled plaiting with a swallowtail design for the sides and base (fig. 50).

The organic, sculptural baskets and sculptures of Nagakura Ken’ichi (b. 1952), an independent artist based in Shizuoka Prefecture, are inspired by a variety of traditions. Nagakura began his career as a textile craftsman, making paste-resist-dyed (yūzen) fabrics, but he soon realized that he was more interested in three-dimensional works. After assisting his grandfather, a bamboo wholesaler, with splitting bamboo, he started to experiment with compositions characterized by unusual textures, fine plaiting inspired by the graphic arts, and the inclusion of bamboo roots. The influence of twentieth-century Western sculpture (Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore, and Jean Arp), American Pop art, and even prehistoric art forms is also evident throughout his oeuvre, although many of his compositions are equally inspired by nature, especially decaying vegetation, roots, fallen leaves, or animals. Nagakura often seeks to deconstruct the traditional Japanese idea of a vessel, and his works are generally abstract in terms of composition, but many still function as flower vases, such as Woman (fig. 51). In 2000 Nagakura became the first recipient of the Lloyd Cotsen Bamboo Prize, established by the well-known collector of bamboo art.15 Honma Kazuaki (b. 1930), based in Niigata Prefecture, was a disciple in the 1950s of the Tokyo-based artist Hayashi Shōgetsusai (1911–1986), who specialized in bent bamboo works. Kazuaki, who also worked in bent bamboo, became renowned for his abstract, large-scale compositions, which he submitted to the Japanese Modern Craft and Art Exhibitions and Nitten beginning in 1965 39

and 1966, respectively. Breath (illustrated on front cover), the artist’s entry to the 7th Japan Modern Craft and Art Exhibition, was made using unsplit stems of smoked dwarf bamboo (hōbichiku), which the artist bent over a gas burner, and thin strips of madake.

Kazuaki also makes “plaited paintings,” further developing Iizuka Shōkansai’s idea of framed, two-dimensional bamboo works. He was awarded two Special Recognition Awards for his plaited paintings at the Nitten exhibitions, including one in 1983 for Flowing Water (fig. 52), whose bold colors and rhythmic texture were inspired by the yellows, golds, and reds of autumn leaves reflected in the waves of a river.16 In 1994 the artist won the Minister of Education Prize at the Japan Modern Craft and Art

52. Honma Kazuaki. Flowing Water (Shōshō) framed panel, Shōwa period (1926–89), 1983. Madake bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 75 ⅝ x 44 ⅛ x 3 ⅛ in. (192 x 112 x 8 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 53. Honma Hideaki (Japanese, b. 1959).

Flowing Pattern, Heisei period (1989–present), 2014. Madake, men’yadake, and hōbichiku bamboo, rattan, and lacquer (urushi), 25 x 32 x 8 in. (63.5 x 81.3 x 20.3 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Exhibition.

Kazuaki was followed into the profession by his adopted son Honma Hideaki (b. 1959), who began studying with him after losing sight in one of his eyes while serving in the Japanese Air Force. Working on Sado Island, off the coast of Niigata Prefecture, he employs men’yadake, a local variety of bamboo that is extremely soft and flexible, in works inspired by the island’s flora and fauna. Hideaki’s dynamic sculpture Flowing Pattern was awarded the Special Recognition Award at the 2014 Nitten (fig. 53). Another important Sado Island lineage was established by Kosuge Chikudō (1895–1966), whose sons Kosuge Shōchikudō (1921–2003) and Kosuge Kōgetsu (b. 1932) both became active participants in the local bamboo art scene. A student of tea ceremony, Kōgetsu won a number of prestigious awards for his flower baskets (fig. 54), and in 1967 one of his works was accepted to the Nitten. Although he became a member of the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Association in 1978, Kōgetsu eventually rejected the association’s rigid system of public exhibition and became an independent artist, producing works for his clients and tea masters. Shōchikudō counted among his students Hatakeyama 41

Seidō (b. 1930) and Baba Shōdō (1925–1996), both of whom rose to prominence; Shōdō also trained the Kanagawa-based bamboo artist Fujitsuka Shōsei (b.

1949), who quit his job to begin his apprenticeship after seeing bamboo works displayed in a shop window. A highly individualistic artist whose style is difficult to categorize, Shōsei supported himself for many years by producing bamboo lampshades, unable to gain admittance to the prestigious exhibitions. He later participated in and won awards from numerous solo and group exhibitions, however, both in Japan (including the 1991 Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition) and in the West.

Tide, a dynamic, airy sculpture from 1978, is made with a version of thousand-line construction called comb plaiting (kushime-ami) (fig. 55).

On Kyūshū, Iwao Kōunsai (1901–1992), an influential bamboo craftsman known for his

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high-quality flower baskets, established a lineage that included Kadota Nikō (1907–1994), who became one of his disciples after moving to Beppu to learn bamboo craft. A basket

by Kadota in the Abbey Collection is made with armor plaiting (yoroi-gumi), characteristic of Kyūshū bamboo craft (fig. 56). In contrast, Honda Shōryū (b. 1951), one of Kadota’s younger students, creates undulating, complex sculptures with light, openwork textures. Dance (fig. 57), made of thinly twined bamboo that has been dyed and lacquered in warm colors, is composed of two sections twisted together to suggest the frisson of a pas de deux. Meticulous twining (nawame-ami) was required to join the thin bamboo strips, each of which is a fraction of an inch (1 mm) wide but 10 feet long. Once the netlike structure was prepared, the piece was softened in hot water and kneaded into shape. Rejected as a full member of the Japanese Art Crafts Association, Shōryū was admitted to the Nitten exhibition in 2000, the same year he made Dance.17

54. Kosuge Kōgetsu (Japanese, b. 1932).

Flower basket ( hanakago), Shōwa period (1926–89), 1976. Madake bamboo and rattan, 14 ¾ x 13 ⅛ in.

(37.6 x 33.5 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 55. Fujitsuka Shōsei (Japanese, b. 1949).

Tide, Shōwa period (1926–89), 1978.

Madake bamboo and rattan, 17 ½ x 33 x 22 in. (44.5 x 83.8 x 55.9 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 56. Kadota Nikō (Japanese, 1907–1994).

Armor-plaited flower basket (hanakago) in the shape of a jar, Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1980s.

Smoked bamboo (susudake), madake bamboo, and rattan, 15 ½ x 14 ½ x 13 ¼ in. (39.4 x 36.8 x 33.7 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

Kibe Seihō (b. 1951), one of Shōryū’s students, prefers functional vessels and employs classical plaiting techniques, albeit in the service of unexpected and innovative effects. The outer layer of Echo of Water (fig. 58) is made of thousand-line construction, while the inner structure is a type of mat plaiting. Remarkably, Kibe 43

57. Honda Shōryū (Japanese, b. 1951).

Dance, Heisei period (1989–present), 2000. Madake bamboo and rattan, 19 x 18 ½ x 24 in. (48.3 x 47 x 61 x cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 58. Kibe Seihō (Japanese, b. 1951).

Echo of Water flower basket ( hanakago), Heisei period (1989– present), 2009. Madake bamboo and rattan, 13 x 7 ½ x 6 in.

(33 x 19.1 x 15.2 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey 59. Shōno Tokuzō (Japanese, b. 1942).

Shining (Kō), Heisei period (1989–present), 1993. Madake bamboo and rattan, 13 x 19 in. (33 x 48.3 cm).

Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey

began his career as a bamboo artist later in life after working as a gas station attendant and had no previous art education. He nonetheless mastered the traditional techniques and nurtured a distinctive, award-winning style characterized by a quiet subtlety and complex, layered textures.

Shōno Tokuzō (b. 1942), son of the renowned Kyūshū master Shōno Shōunsai and heir to the family tradition, studied sculpture at Musashino Art University and after graduation apprenticed with his father. He exhibited at the Modern Craft and Art Exhibition in 1978 and was admitted to the Nitten for the first time in 1979; he won the exhibition’s Tokusen prize in 1998. Tokuzō typically uses leached bamboo, which he splits into wide strips, and combines parallel construction with plaiting to achieve a textural, multilayered effect. After harvesting the bamboo himself, Tokuzō leaches it over a gas flame, repeatedly wiping it so that the bamboo attains a clean ivory color. In Shining, which was selected for the Nitten in 1993 (fig. 59), the geometric, rhythmic construction highlights the natural beauty of the bamboo’s skin.

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Learning the basic skills and techniques of Japanese bamboo art generally takes about five to ten years, but mastering the craft and developing an individual style require decades of intense practice and dedication. A common question from those new to bamboo art is, how long does it take to create a given piece? Countless hours of patient observation are needed to develop the manual skills necessary to realize an artistic vision. While some works can be completed in several weeks, others can take many months, and exhibition pieces often require even longer, sometimes even a year or two. Most of these baskets and bamboo sculptures are thus labors of love, and their appreciation by growing numbers of Western collectors and museum audiences serves as encouragement to the young artists carrying on the traditions of this ancient craft.

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Japanese Bamboo Art in the West moroyama masanori In 1985 the first comprehensive exhibition of Japanese bamboo art opened at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. The exhibition featured pioneering works by major artists from the Meiji and Taishō periods as well as by later masters, such as Iizuka Rōkansai, who helped establish the foundations of modern bamboo craft. The exhibition also included notable examples from the history of Japanese bamboo art, such as baskets (keko) from the Shōsōin Treasure House at Nara dating to the seventh and eighth centuries, Chinese-style (karamono) baskets from the Muromachi period, and bamboo teaceremony flower holders made by the founder of the tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyū.

Among the visitors to that exhibition, which I organized, was Guillermo Bierregaard, an Argentinean resident of Japan who built a significant collection of Japanese bamboo works, which he installed outside Buenos Aires in the Minka Museo Casa de Japón, a museum created from an old Japanese farmhouse (minka) dismantled and brought over from Fukui Prefecture. Another prominent Western collection of Japanese bamboo art was formed by Lloyd Cotsen, including works by modern masters (Hayakawa Shōkosai I and his son Shōkosai III, Tanabe Chikuunsai I, and Iizuka Rōkansai) as well as contemporary artists such as Shōno Shōunsai. An exhibition of the Cotsen Collection at the Asia Society, New York, in 1999, dramatically raised the profile of Japanese bamboo art in the United States and introduced the genre to a much wider audience of enthusiasts, including Stanley and Mary Ann Snider, whose collection is now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the New York–based collectors Diane and Arthur Abbey.

The Abbey Collection contains many significant works by the foundational artists of modern bamboo craft. It is especially strong in its representation of artists who have been designated by the Japanese government as Living National Treasures (Iizuka Shōkansai, Hayakawa Shōkosai V, Katsushiro Sōhō, and Fujinuma Noboru) and those who apply traditional techniques to make modern, functional works (Buseki Suiko and Tanabe Chikuunsai IV). The Abbey Collection also includes masterpieces by experimental bamboo artists whose creations tend to be more sculptural and abstract, such as Honma Kazuaki and his son Hideaki, Tanabe Chikuunsai III and his brother Tanabe Yōta, and Nagakura Ken’ichi, known for his organic, seemingly “deformed” compositions.

In recent years both traditional and contemporary Japanese decorative arts have been reevaluated by the international art community, resulting in a greater appreciation for the creative potential of bamboo. Most Japanese bamboo artists still display their works either at the annual Nitten exhibitions, which emphasize artistic expression, or the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions, which promote the transmission of craft skill and artistic beauty. Recently, a growing international interest in modern and contemporary Japanese decorative arts has resulted in bamboo works being more widely collected and exhibited in the West, providing bamboo artists with much-needed international exposure and prestige.

This exhibition of the Abbey Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a new opportunity to broaden the global audience for Japanese bamboo art and introduce many more potential enthusiasts to the expressive power of this ancient and beautiful tradition.

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Selected Bibliography

notes

Achenbach, Nora von. Kagoshi: Japans Meister der Bambusflechtkunst. Exh. cat. Hamburg: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, 2009.

1.

Bess, Nancy Moore, and Bibi Wein. Bamboo in Japan. Tokyo, New York, and London: Kodansha International, 2001.

2.

Brauen, Martin and Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz. Bambus im alten Japan: Kunst und Kultur an der Schwelle zur Moderne; Bamboo in Old Japan: Art and Culture on the Threshold to Modernity; The Hans Spörry Collection in the Ethnographic Museum of Zürich University. Exh. cat. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers, 2003.

3.

Coffland, Robert T., and Donald Doe. Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Bamboo Art. Exh. cat. Chicago: Art Media Resources; Grinnell: Faulconer Gallery; Santa Fe: TAI Gallery, 2006.

6.

Coffland, Robert T., Pat Pollard, and Art Streiber. Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Arts. Chicago: Art Media Resources; Santa Fe: TAI Gallery, 1999.

8.

9.

Cort, Louise Allison, and Kenji Nakamura. A Basketmaker in Rural Japan.

Exh. cat. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; New York: Weatherhill, 1994.

10.

Cotsen, Lloyd E., et al. Japanese Bamboo Baskets: Masterworks of Form and Texture from the Collection of Lloyd Cotsen. Los Angeles: Cotsen Occasional Press, 1999.

Cotsen, Lloyd [E.], Robert T. Coffland, and Pat Pollard. The Bamboo Basket Art of Higashi Takesonosai. Los Angeles: Cotsen Occasional Papers; Chicago: Art Media Resources, 2002.

Earle, Joe. New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters. Exh. cat. New York: Japan Society, 2008.

4.

5.

7.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Martin Brauen and Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz, Bambus im alten Japan: Kunst und Kultur an der Schwelle zur Moderne; Die Sammlung Hans Spörry im Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich/Bamboo in Old Japan: Art and Culture on the Threshold to Modernity; The Hans Spörry Collection in the Ethnographic Museum of Zürich University, exh. cat. (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers, 2003), p. 51.

Nancy Moore Bess and Bibi Wein, Bamboo in Japan (Tokyo, New York, and London: Kodansha International, 2001), pp. 26–36.

Melissa M. Rinne et al., Masters of Bamboo: Artistic Lineages in the Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Basket Collection, exh. cat. (San Francisco: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2008), pp. 28–29.

Masanori Moroyama and Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection (Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 2003), pp. 154–59.

Rinne et al., Masters of Bamboo: Artistic Lineages in the Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Basket Collection, pp.

20–24.

Moroyama and Kahlenberg, Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection, pp. 155–57.

Masanori Moroyama, Masami Oguchi, and Satomi Suzuki, Japanese Bamboo Baskets: Meiji, Modern, Contemporary (Tokyo, New York, and London: Kodansha International, 2007), pp. 114–16.

Ibid., pp. 116–20.

Moroyama and Kahlenberg, Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection, pp. 160–62.

Satomi Suzuki, “Iizuka Rōkansai: The Evolution of Modern Bamboo Art” (in Japanese), The Journal of Human and Cultural Sciences 38, no. 2 (2006), p. 97.

Ibid., p. 99.

Moroyama, Oguchi, and Suzuki, Japanese Bamboo Baskets: Meiji, Modern, Contemporary, pp. 119–20.

Moroyama and Kahlenberg, Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection, pp. 162–64.

Robert T. Coffland, Pat Pollard, and Art Streiber, Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Arts (Chicago: Art Media Resources; Santa Fe: TAI Gallery, 1999), pp. 78–83.

Joe Earle, New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters, exh. cat. (New York: Japan Society, 2008), pp.

90–95.

Coffland, Pollard, and Streiber, Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Arts, pp. 98–103.

Earle, New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters, pp. 100–105.

Faulkner, Rupert. Japanese Studio Crafts: Tradition and the Avant-Garde.

London: Laurence King, 1995.

Kahlenberg, Mary Hunt, and Mark Schwartz. A Book About Grass: Its Beauty and Uses. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1983.

Kanai, Tadao, et al. Take no sōzō: Kindai take-kōgei no keifu to Nasu (Creation of Bamboo: Lineages in Modern Bamboo Craft of the Nasu Region). Exh. cat.

Nasushiobara: Nasunogahara Museum, 2006.

Kaneko, Kenji, and Masanori Moroyama. Take no kōgei: Kindai ni okeru tenkai/Modern Bamboo Craft: Developments in the Modern Era. Exh. cat.

Tokyo: National Museum of Modern Art, 1985.

Marks, Andreas, and Margalit Monroe. Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art. Exh. cat. Washington, D.C.: International Arts and Artists, 2012.

McCallum, Toshiko M. Containing Beauty: Japanese Bamboo Flower Baskets. Exh. cat. Los Angeles: UCLA Museum of Cultural History, 1988.

Moroyama, Masanori, and Mary Hunt Kahlenberg. Take no zōkei: Roido kottsuen korekushon ten/Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection. Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 2003.

Moroyama, Masanori, Masami Oguchi, and Satomi Suzuki. Japanese Bamboo Baskets: Meiji, Modern, Contemporary. Tokyo, New York, and London: Kodansha International, 2007.

Rinne, Melissa M., et al. Masters of Bamboo: Artistic Lineages in the Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Basket Collection. Exh. cat. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2008.

Suzuki, Satomi. “Iizuka Rōkansai ni miru kindai chikukōgei no geijutsusei” (Iizuka Rōkansai: The Evolution of Modern Bamboo Art). The Journal of Human and Cultural Sciences [Society for Human and Cultural Science in Musashino University, Tokyo] 38, no. 2 (2006), pp. 93–122.

Suzuki, Satomi. Take no mezame: Tochigi takekōgei no seika/Masterpieces of Bamboo Art in Tochigi. Exh. cat. Tochigi: Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, 2014.

Author’s Acknowledgments I am very grateful to the many colleagues, curators, collectors, artists, and dealers both in Japan and the United States who assisted with the realization of this exhibition and publication. Moroyama Masanori’s groundbreaking research on the history of Japanese bamboo art helped shape the framework of the project, and I am grateful for his guidance. At The Met, I wish to thank Maxwell K. Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Department of Asian Art; John T. Carpenter, Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese Art; Jill Wickenheisser and our Collection Management team; the registrar, conservators, and technicians; and my volunteers, Kawada Makiko and Kubo Yukiko, who provided steady support. Daniel Kershaw created a beautiful design for the exhibition, and Oi-Cheong Lee captured the spirit of bamboo in his photography. I want to thank my editor, Dale Tucker, for his insightful comments and steadfast attention to details, and Paul Booth and Makiko Katoh for their work on this beautiful publication. In Japan, I am grateful for the advice and assistance of Iizuka Mari, Fujinuma Noboru, Suzuki Satomi, Oguchi Masami, Saito Masamitsu, and Travis Lundy. I also want to acknowledge Robert T. Coffland and Koichiro Okada, who were mentors to the Abbeys as they built their collection. Most of all I would like to express my deep gratitude to Diane and Arthur Abbey for their unwavering enthusiasm and unstinting generosity as collectors of Japanese bamboo art.

This publication is issued in conjunction with the exhibition “Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection,” on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from June 13, 2017 to February 4, 2018.

The exhibition and accompanying Bulletin are made possible by Diane and Arthur Abbey.

The Metropolitan’s quarterly Bulletin program is supported in part by the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, established by the cofounder of Reader’s Digest.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Spring 2017 Volume LXXIV, Number 4 Copyright © 2017 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (ISSN 0026-1521) is published quarterly by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028-0198. Periodicals postage paid at New York NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Membership Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028-0198. Four weeks’ notice required for change of address. The Bulletin is provided as a benefit to Museum members and is available by subscription. Subscriptions $30.00 a year. Back issues available on microfilm from National Archive Publishing Company, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Volumes I–XXXVII (1905–42) available as a clothbound reprint set or as individual yearly volumes from Ayer Company Publishers, Suite B-213, 400 Bedford Street, Manchester, NH 03101, or from the Metropolitan Museum, 66–26 Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village, NY 11381-0001.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Mark Polizzotti, Publisher and Editor in Chief Gwen Roginsky, Associate Publisher and General Manager of Publications Dale Tucker, Editor of the Bulletin Paul Booth, Production Manager Makiko Katoh, Designer Penny Jones, Bibliographic Editor Josephine Rodriguez-Massop, Permissions Typeset in Minion Pro, Archer, Separations by Professional Graphics, Inc., Rockford, Illinois Printed in the United States of America Front cover: Honma Kazuaki (Japanese, b. 1930), Breath, Shōwa period (1926–89), 1968. Smoked bamboo (hōbichiku), dyed madake bamboo, and rattan, 35 x 24 x 12 in. (88.9 x 61 x 30.5 cm). Promised gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey. Inside front and back covers: details of Bamboo in the Four Seasons, attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu (Japanese, 1434–1525), Muromachi period (1392–1573), late 15th–early 16th century (see page 8).

Back cover: detail of Iizuka Shōkansai (Japanese, 1919–2004), Box for accessories (sashi-ami tebako), Shōwa period (1926–89), ca. 1972–73 (see page 30). Page 2: detail of Iizuka Shōkansai, Dragon in the Clouds (Unryū), Heisei period (1989–present), 1990 (see page 31). Page 46: detail of Hayakawa Shōkosai III (Japanese, 1864–1922), Dancing Frog flower basket (hanakago) with handle, Taishō period (1912–26), 1918 (see page 14).

Photographs of works in The Met collection are by the Imaging Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, unless otherwise noted. Additional credits: © Uematsu Chikuyū. Image © Metropolitan Museum of Art, photograph by Oi-Cheong Lee: fig. 36. Image © Metropolitan Museum of Art: figs. 2, 3, 5–7, 9, 18, 19, 25. Image © Metropolitan Museum of Art, photograph by Oi-Cheong Lee: figs. 1, 4, 10–17, 20–24, 26–35, 37–59 The Metropolitan Museum of Art endeavors to respect copyright in a manner consistent with its nonprofit educational mission. If you believe any material has been included in this publication improperly, please contact the Publications and Editorial Department.

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