Nishikawanobori Takezaiku

Nishikawanobori Takezaiku is a bamboo craft passed down in Nishikawanobori, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, in which artisans hand-weave everyday items such as baskets, colanders, and lunch boxes from madake and hachiku bamboo. It is said to have begun in the early Meiji era as a side occupation for farming households, and developed into a local industry as the Nishikawanobori Village Bamboo Craft Association was established in 1909; from the early 20th century through the postwar years it grew into a major bamboo-craft production area with more than 500 artisans. However, from the 1950s onward, as synthetic resin products spread into furniture and farm tools, demand gradually declined, and today the craft is carried on by only a handful of workshops, foremost among them Kuriyama Shoten. Every step, from splitting the bamboo and shaping its width to weaving with its natural spring, is done entirely by hand, and unique techniques such as the chrysanthemum-base weave used for rice-washing colanders have been passed down. Designated a Saga Prefecture Traditional Local Product, in recent years the craft has also produced items suited to modern life, such as lunch boxes and lampshades, drawing renewed attention from younger generations from an SDGs perspective.