𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐈 𝐁𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐎𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐙𝐄.

𝐎𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏 𝐭𝐨 𝟏𝟑 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞́𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐢 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐲 – 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜

HIGASHI Kiyokazu (born 1950, Kyōto)

Shichiku ikada-gumi moriki “Nami”
“Wave”, a raft-shaped basket in shichiku bamboo

Ikada-gumi, “raft” assembly, rattan bindings; urushi finish

A discreet yet important figure in contemporary Japanese bamboo art, Higashi Kiyokazu works in continuity with the Kyoto school.

For his first participation in the Mingei Bamboo Prize, he presents Nami (“Wave”), a basket in shichiku, or kurodake, bamboo, conceived according to an assembly logic known as ikada-gumi, or “raft” construction.

Fine bamboo rods are arranged in parallel, then joined by rattan bindings. Long and almost flat, the form rises into a wave before concentrating its movement in a large terminal spiral. The urushi finish unifies the whole and reveals the depth of the black bamboo.