Tanabe Chikuunsai I (1877-1937), Feather-Light Basket, CF1999.5. Click here for larger image. Tanioka Shigeo (b.1949), Butterfly, 2000.10. Click here for larger image. Fujinuma Noboru (b.1945), Spring Tide, 2001.11. Click here for larger image.

Recent excavations indicate that utilitarian woven bamboo baskets date back in Japan to the Jōmon period (10,000-300 B.C.E.). Bamboo flower baskets of Japanese and foreign origin from the 6th and 7th centuries and used for Buddhist altars survive in substantial quantities the Shōsōin repository.

In China, the earliest baskets made specifically for cut flowers were produced during the 12th-14th centuries. Examples of these came to Japan during the Muromachi period (1333-1573), and thus began a long tradition of using woven bamboo to hold flowers. These were typically placed in the tokonoma (alcove) paired with a painting or calligraphy as a temporary tribute to a particular event season. Traditionally, baskets such as these were used for composing decorative arrangements reflective of the changing of the seasons and the simple elegance of nature in the Japanese home.

The front gallery exhibits contemporary baskets, made by living bamboo artists. The two artists showcased here both take traditional forms and styles and imbue them with a modernity and freshness while displaying exquisite skill and craftsmanship. The main gallery features traditional baskets, mainly late 19th and early 20th century in date, which illustrate some of the great variety and complexity of this art form.

Both traditional and modern Japanese bamboo baskets are made by artists who have been trained in the intricate techniques of splitting, stripping, polishing, weaving, and knotting. The typical training period to become an independent artist lasts for about ten years, giving rise to the "Ten years to split bamboo," suggesting the extreme importance of mastering the fundamental techniques before even making a single basket. Basket making is one of Japan's traditional craft-art forms in which pupils still learn by becoming apprentices. Form, texture and overall balance are all carefully considered by the bamboo craftsman in order to enhance the natural intrinsic beauty of bamboo.

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