Yufu Shohaku by TAI Modern

Y UF U S H O HA K U

Crouching, 2020, 22.5 × 22 × 21.5 inches

ARTIST STATEMENT I am not an artist who knows and utilizes a great variety of weaving patterns in my art baskets. I consider my greatest strength to be bamboo preparation. I do not believe that there are many artists who can split and slice bamboo as fast as I can. I was born into a basket - making family and was trained in the preparation of bamboo since my youth. When tourism was booming in Beppu, my father and I made countless small baskets and bamboo souvenir items. After the oil crisis of the 1970s, these inexpensive production items became less popular, but sales of high - quality art baskets and traditional craft arts increased. Because of this national trend, the way we made baskets in Beppu also changed. A turning point for me came when I was undergoing ascetic training at a mountain monastery. I saw a statue of Fudo Myoo, or Acala, standing in front of a waterfall with a flame on his back, holding a sword and clenching his teeth. The wind was blowing; the trees were swaying; the waterfall was flowing. Yet the statue of Fudo Myoo was motionless. Experiencing such a strong presence, I felt the urge to express the power of Acala through my art. After some struggle, I came up with a technique and style that I named “dragon pattern.” It became my signature: a basket that combines dragon pattern, bamboo rope, and half - split chunks of bamboo. Not so long after I started to create these original baskets, I met Mr. Coffland of TAI Gallery. He introduced my work to audiences in the U.S. The plaiting technique that I use the most is hexagonal - based random plaiting. I have created many flower baskets using that technique. I also prepare very thin strips of bamboo and twist them into bamboo ropes which I add to my baskets as decorative elements. The scale of my work is dictated by the elements I combine to create it. Creating a flower basket solely out of bamboo rope, it is hard to make a large basket. On the other hand, if I use my dragon pattern technique to create a basket, it becomes much bigger. However, it requires a lot of physical strength to create the type of work that I make. At my age, I can tell I will not always be strong enough. In the near future, while I can still work, I want to continue making different forms. n Yufu Shohaku

Photograph by Ann Atkinson

YUFU SHOHAKU Your first surprise when visiting the studio of Yufu Shohaku is that you must enter, not through a door, but by climbing through the window. Once inside the long, narrow room, you are welcomed by a large calendar featuring pictures of famous sumo wrestlers and a small television showing live broadcasts of the matches when the tournament is in session. The space is so full of bamboo stacks and half - completed baskets that it can be tough to find a place to sit. The artist often clears space for you by seizing the nearest basket and throwing it deeper into the studio. Despite the initial impression of chaos, Yufu is not only a master bamboo artist but also an immensely cultured man with a meticulous mind, a leader in his community, a certified master flower arranger, and head of a local Shigin (the sung or chanted performance of poetry in Japanese) group. Yufu Shohaku recently turned eighty - years - old. He is known for his commanding baskets with compellingly variegated surfaces and robust forms. Yufu starts every basket with a long section of freshly cut madake bamboo. With a simple handheld knife that he has used for decades, he repeatedly splits and slices the culm of bamboo to achieve strips of a precise width and thickness. Yufu is one of the few remaining bamboo artists who can comfortably work with bamboo strips over seven feet in length. After he has prepared the bamboo, Yufu weaves the base for his basket using hexagonal plaiting. He rarely measures, calculates, or plans his designs on paper, relying instead on the image in his mind and over seven decades of experience handling the material. When he is satisfied with the basic shape, the artist adds additional layers of random - weave bamboo strips, incorporating elements such as bamboo branches, roots and large chunks of half - split bamboo. He further wraps the surface with bamboo rope and sinuous bundles of flat bamboo strips to create flow and texture. The result is bold, vital and unmistakably Yufu’s.

Reiwa ( A Prayer for the New Japan in the Auspicious Month of Februar y ) 2019, 37.5 × 23 × 21.75 inches

Though Yufu’s works have sculptural presence, his personal belief is that beauty and functionality are at the core of his art. After completing a basket, he arranges flowers in it to determine whether he was successful in its exec tion. “When I make flower baskets, I always consider the size and balance of the baskets, as well as the type of flowers to be arranged,” Yufu explains. “For me, baskets and flowers are inseparable, and I get my inspiration from natural forms such as the earth and cliffs. I try to give my works an organic look, as if they are a part of nature.” Yufu was born into a basket - making family in Beppu, a city in Oita Prefecture. Both his father and uncles were trained professionals. Yufu grew up working with bamboo and formally began an apprenticeship under his father, Chikuryu, after graduating from high school. Through him, Yufu can be considered the last true successor of an artistic lineage which originated in Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku. The tradition of the “Matsuyama Literati - style Basket” began in 1896 with leading Shikoku basket artist Takahashi Ichijunsai (1865– 1933). It was brought to Beppu by Murozumi Kotaro (1877– unknown ) in 1904. The Matsuyama - style basket is typically (1) made of polished green bamboo; ( 2 ) woven with random - plaiting ( yachara- ami ) in organic forms; (3) a distinct reddish brown; (4) coated with a combination of urushi lacquer and powder which is rubbed into the surface to emphasize visual depth. Yufu’s randomly woven, asymmetric baskets share many of the characteristics of the original Matsuyama flower baskets. Yufu’s innovation lies in dramatically increasing the scale of his baskets and his original Dragon Pattern technique which mixes his own elements — spiraling bamboo ropes, loops of bundled bamboo, plaited stars, rings and kanji characters — with the lineage’s tradition. He creates visual movement and rich texture through this varied use of materials, techniques, and patterns. In 1988, Yufu was recognized as an important traditional craft arts skill holder by the Art Preservation Committee of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. When the Rugby World Cup was hosted in Japan, Yufu created a large - scale installation at the new stadium in Oita. Throughout his long career, Yufu’s interest has not been limited to pursuing his own artist career but

Fudo B, 2019, 24 × 13.25 × 13 inches

included promoting the local bamboo craft industry, particularly as the head of the Beppu Bamboo Craftsmen’s Association from 2003– 2012. Yufu has generously shared his knowledge with others, teaching hundreds of aspiring students who went to Beppu to study bamboo craft. Yufu is often inspired by the imagery and deities of Japanese religion and mythology. The artist’s popular Fudo series, wide-based and substantial in feel, anchored by two angled chunks of bamboo and crowned with an arcing handle, is inspired by Fudo Myoo, the immoveable Wisdom King of Japanese Buddhism. Some of his baskets reflect the times we live in. On May 1st, 2019, the new Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan, and Japan officially began the Reiwa era. Yufu, commemorating this new era, created an over - sized basket entitled Reiwa ( A Prayer for the New Japan in the Auspicious Month of February). In addition to weaving the two kanji characters of Rei - Wa, meaning Beautiful Harmony, into its body, Yufu placed layers of many elements on this double - walled basket to symbolize Japan’s diversity and togetherness. Yufu is a traditionalist but is not rigid. He has occasionally created nonfunctional pieces. Meoto Iwa ( The Wedded Rocks ) is a magnificent example of this. According to Shinto belief in Japan, certain pairs of rocks represent the marriage between Izanagi and Izanami, the two central deities in Japan’s creation myth. There are over sixty pairs of rocks in Japan consecrated as symbols of this mythic union — the most famous being in Ise, Mie Prefecture. Yufu spent much of 2020 working on his sculpture of these sacred rocks. After connecting the two bamboo rocks with a handmade rope to complete the piece, he temporarily added white zigzag - shaped papers (shide ) to the rope, marking the boundary to something sacred, gave it his prayers, and sent it off to the United States. The year 2020 was largely defined by the pandemic. As its impact spread throughout the world, it is perhaps not a coincidence that Yufu chose a theme of hope that the world would begin anew. n Koichiro Okada

Reiwa (detail)

Meoto Iwa (The Wedded Rocks), 2020, 24 × 61 × 59 inches

The Spring Breeze Brings Blessings, 2021,35.5 × 23.25 × 20.5 inches

Agura (Relaxing at Home after Work ), 2019 19 × 25.5 × 25 inches

Fudo, 2019, 30 × 19.5 × 19.5 inches

Celestial Maiden, 2021, 42.5 × 15.5 × 18 inches

Genbu (Black Tortoise), 2021,17.5 × 21 × 19.75 inches

Great Prosperity, 2021, 38.25 × 24 × 23 inches

Shining Dragon, 2021, 25.5 × 15.5 × 14.25 inches

Barbarian Sitting B, 2019 20 × 21.25 × 19 inches

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Sunrise Over the Ocean, 2020,14 × 13.25 × 12.5 inches Fudo, 2021, 27.5 × 17.5 × 16.5 inches

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Changing Eras, 2021, 21.5 × 28 × 24.5 inches

L IST OF WORKS

Crouching, 2020 22.5 × 22 × 21.5 “

Reiwa 2019 37.5 × 23 × 21.75 “

Fudo B 2019 24 × 13.25 × 13 “

Meoto Iwa (The Wedded Rocks), 2020, 24 × 61 × 59 “

The Spring Breeze Brings Blessings 2021 35.5 × 23.25 × 20.5 “

Agura 2019 19 × 25.5 × 25 “

Fudo 2019 30 × 19.5 × 19.5 “

Genbu (Black Tortoise) 2021 17.5 × 21 × 19.75“

Celestial Maiden 2021 42.5 × 15.5 × 18“

Shining Dragon 2021 25.5 × 15.5 × 14.25 “

Barbarian Sitting B 2019 20 × 21.25 × 19 “

Great Prosperity 2021 38.25 × 24 × 23“

Fudo Sunrise Over the Ocean 2021 2020 27.5 × 17.5 × 16.5“ 14 × 13.25 × 12.5 “

Rising and Setting Sun, 2021, 13.5 × 17.5 × 14 “ Mass, 2021, 17.5 × 10.5 × 9.75 “ Changing Eras 2021 21.5 × 28 × 24.5 “

Metamorphosis, 2021, 8 × 8 × 8.25 “ Catalogue Photography by Gary Mankus

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