Baskets from prehistoric site

Thousands years ago, people were living in huts like this in Japan. 

At least archeologists reconstructed using their imagination.

Japan is very humid. 

Organic material is usualy decomposed in years.

So discoveries like this basket is very rare.

This is a basket made from walnut bark in Jomon era.

Other evidence of basketry in prehistric Japan is found on the bottom of the pots.

They used baskets when making pot, similarly to bread dough to avoid sticking.

Transfering the pattern on the surface of the bottom of the pot.

They already had hexagonal pattern some 5000 years ago.

We don't know how it was developed or where it came from.

We don't know where they came from.

Are they our ancestors?

Sannai-Maruyama Prehistoric Site

Carrier

I was initially making a simple basket. Just the body with a handle.

But then, I realized that my teacher had a little bit different picture.

His told me that I should add more details.  

Well, why not?

Asanoha-ami (hemp pattern)

Tsuka-maki (grip binding)

Uzumaki-dome (swirl binding)

Komenoji-dome (rice binding)

Nagashi-maki (slanted binding)

Tasukigake (bracing)

I learned several rattan techniques making this basket.

It is typical to Meisters.

Artisans don't share these complicated rattan techniques.

I think they have different quality that we can appreciate.

Hexagonal Pattern Variations

Hana-mutsume (decorated hexagonal)

Mutsume (hexagonal)

Sashi-mutsume (stiched hexagonal)

Asanoha (hemp leaf)

Tessen (clematis)

Hand Bag with Stitched Hexagonal Pattern

Bamboo hand bags are popular accessory for kimono and yukata fashion.

But the basic hexagonal pattern is not. 

Probably it's not fashionable...

So, for hand bags, stitched hexagonal (sashi-mutsume) and decorative hexagonal (hana-mutsume) are used instead.

Stitched hexagonal has a few variations.

This is the simplest one.

Additional sticks are inserted only in one direction, producing checker pattern over hexagons.

Thick bamboo sticks are attached and bound with rattan.

Handles are attached using rattan.

Kamogawa

Kamogawa is a type of flower vase for tea ceremony. 

It was originally just a gabion, until someone found the beauty of the rustic simplicity in the constructing material and brought it in the tea ceremony hundreads years ago. 

The base is formed with a single hexagonal motif.

The top part is very similar to the base part.
There is no rim or bindings.
The material is simply woven into the body part.

Cocoon Basket

Tadashi Yagisawa is a basketry meister in the lineage of bamboo artists in Kanto region.

He has his own studio with apprentices, but he is also regularly teaching at culture centers in Tokyo.

That's where I learned how to make this basket.

It looks random but actually carefully designed to form the structure with minimum number of thick bamboo sticks.

The base is formed with a few hexagonal patterns.

There is no binding at the rim. 

The material is woven into the body part.

Asa-zaru in Tessen Pattern

Asa-zaru is almost flat dish like shape basket.

Tessen is a variation of hexagonal pattern named after clematis flowers. They saw clematis in it.

(Umm..., maybe at the center. Dunno...)

In the basic hexagonal pattern, material is locked at every step. It produces star like pattern.

In the clematis pattern, however, material is never locked. It produces the triangle pattern that is dense yet loose.

So it is better tied before trimming.

The body part is then fitted into a smaller hoop.

It is difficult to to give enough pressure manually.

In manufacturing process, probably more sophisticated jigs are used.

But on my kitchen table, casseroles do the same job.

I used two casseroles as a press machine. Vertically pressed the part with my weight between two casseroles.

Finally, thick rim is attatched to keep it in a shape.