Lucky Bamboo, Craft Bamboo,
Building Bamboo

Bamboo has traditionally taken root in the warm and moist climate of Japan. The Japanese mainland is said to have around 100 varieties of bamboo. Among them, madake (Japanese timber bamboo), which is thin and dense, mosochiku (tortoise-shell bamboo), which is thick and soft, and hachiku (Henon bamboo), which can be split into thin strips, have commonly been used. All of these varieties are characterized by amazingly fast growth and very strong survival power. They grow into full-fledged bamboo plants in a few months.

We will delve into the history of Japanese culture nurtured by bamboo from three perspectives. First, we will examine the history of bamboo as lucky charms. When combinations of pine, bamboo and plum motifs were introduced as Saikan no Sanyu (The Three Friends of Winter) from China during the Heian period, the Japanese over time added their own interpretation of shochikubai (pine, bamboo and plum). “Pine” was popular as a lucky charm during the Heian period, while “bamboo” took on this mantle during the Muromachi period, and this was superseded by “plum” during the Edo period, together with the lucky charms crane and tortoise.

Second, is the history from daily necessities to craftworks made from bamboo. It is said that the use of bamboo in daily necessities dates back to the Jomon period, however, it was popularity of the chanoyu tea ceremony that elevated bamboo wares into the realm of arts and crafts. When the wabi-cha style of tea rose to prominence in the Muromachi period, Japanese style bamboo crafts with imaginatively shaped forms such as single-cut or double-cut flowers were developed. It was also around this time that tea whisks, tea ladles and other such items emerged.

Third, is the history of bamboo as a building material for use in tea houses and sukiya-style buildings from the Azuchi-Momoyama period onwards. The bamboo used in alcove posts, window lattices, ceilings and hedges was an important element in reflecting the owner’s preferences.

In this way, the Japanese have creatively utilized bamboo’s outstanding features, namely its mystery, hollowness, splitting qualities, tough elasticity and smoothness, in various crafts and structures. KAI has attempted to manufacture a set of tea implements from bamboo in effort to fully extract this appeal of bamboo.

“Set of tea implements” with pleasing
lightness and smoked aroma

The implements required for conducting a tea ceremony are broadly divided into five groups: namely, items for preparing tea, such as tea bowls, tea whisk and tea ladle; decorations, such as a hanging scroll and vase; kaiseki (meal eaten before tea is served) implements such as lacquered wooden tray and set of four bowls; kitchen implements such as water pail; and waiting implements such as round mats. Among those, KAI has here selected mainly the items for preparing tea and the decorations to make “wares using only bamboo”, namely the tea bowls, tea whisk, tea ladle, waste-water container, lid rest and vase.

Mosochiku (tortoise-shell bamboo) that grows deep in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture was used. Before cutting the parts from the bamboo, the bamboo was smoked by lighting a fire from morning to evening for around one week. The artisan Mr. Kazuho Shimomoto decided which parts to use in each implement while viewing the “smoked bamboo” with its distinct luster and intensity. In all the implements, he utilized the shapes formed when splitting the bamboo, without fastening the pieces.

Among the “set of bamboo tea implements,” Mr. Shimomoto’s spirit of playfulness is most clearly manifested in the tea bowls. Each bowl has its own unique expression, ranging from large, plump bowls to small, modest bowls, from those having a straight rim to those with a rim that curves gently inwards, from those with the smoked surface entirely planed away to those where it is only partially planed so as to accentuate the shape, and so on. These are the bamboo tea bowls that give a pleasing smoked aroma and has a soft palate with light weight and nice touch.

KAI-CHIKU: Made by Kazuho Shimomoto

“Tea whisk lights”
good for both hanging or placing

In addition to tea implements, “tea whisk lights” (lighting fixtures), which we previously manufactured in consultation with Mr. Shimomoto, will be put on display. As the name suggests, these lights are literally designed in the shape of tea whisks. They can be hung from the ceiling as chandeliers, or placed on the ground as lamps with paper shades. The light element is surrounded by strands branching upwards from the tea whisk node, and the light that filters out through them creates rhythmical linear shadows. Even a single such light has ample presence, however, when they are lined up, they are not intimidating but rather aesthetically pleasing like a bamboo grove.

KAI will continue to focus on bamboo as a material even moving into the future. Bamboo has overwhelming worldwide appeal both in the aesthetic and the practical senses. In 1882, Edison made an incandescent lamp with a filament made from a carbonized Japanese timber bamboo splinter. At KAI, we aim to uncover the undiscovered possibilities of bamboo in our own unique style.

Speaker: Shiro Miura Interviewer: Kanako Izumi