The Art of a Bamboo Craftsman

A worker uses his chisel to cut in one of a pair of thick bamboos in a lumber yard in Tokyo. The bamboos are used as part of the stage settings in Kabuki plays, said Takashi Hoshino, a skilled worker for a lumber/bamboo company in the capital’s eastern city of Koto. In the world’s great city of Tokyo, it is a very rare scene that you can observe a craftsman in the works in the open air.

Located just east of the capital, the waterfront area, called Fukagawa, lumber/bamboo business was one of the most lucrative industries during the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868).

Today, bamboos are crafted into a bamboo fence, a bamboo screen, a fishing rod, and ceremonial use such as utensils for the tea ceremony and New Year’s ornaments.
The bamboo yard in the photo is located near the Basho Memorial Museum in Koto City.

(by Kozo)

Basho Memorial Museum:

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