Akebi-tsuru Zaiku

Akebi-tsuru Zaiku is a Tsugaru basketry craft that traces its origin to the late Edo period, when charcoal baskets and hand baskets woven from the vines of the akebi plant growing wild in the surrounding mountains were made as souvenirs for visitors to Dake Onsen hot spring at the foot of Mount Iwaki. Using akebi vine gathered around the Hakkoda mountains and Lake Towada and around Mount Iwaki, as well as the bark of the yamabudou (a wild grape), every process from selecting the vine to shade-drying, soaking in water, and weaving is done by hand by the artisans. It is characterized by sturdy, skillfully woven texture and a natural sheen, and part of its appeal is that it develops more luster and fits the hand better the more it is used. From the Meiji era onward it was exhibited at exhibitions in Japan and abroad and gained wider recognition, and in March 1996 it was designated an Aomori Prefecture Traditional Craft. Today, hand baskets, baskets, and trays that make the most of the natural texture of materials gathered from the mountains and fields continue to be made mainly in Hirosaki City.