There are now less than a hundred working bamboo artists in Japan. The young people who have taken up the call to learn bamboo basket making make a commitment of time that is hard for us as Westerners to comprehend. The first ten years are devoted to learning the basic techniques of cutting, dyeing, and plaiting bamboo. After this is mastered, another one or two decades are spent developing as an artist. Artists begin to gain full recognition as they come into their fifties and sixties. There are a number of basket makers who are still working in their eighties. It is an honor for our gallery to represent some of the top living bamboo artists of Japan.

TAI Gallery Exhibition catalogs of many of the artists shown here are now available for online viewing on our Publications page; a link to the artist's catalog also can be found on the respective artists' pages.

Don't miss our visual presentation of the plaiting techniques, artist's signatures, and bamboo materials used in the craft of bamboo arts: Bamboo Arts Appendix.

Back to main Japanese Bamboo Arts Page