【 The Basket 】
A shallow draining basket, its base woven in tight rows of fine bamboo laid close against one another — no open pattern, just a dense green field that holds even a grain of rice while the water falls straight through. The bamboo is left as it came off the mountain: unboiled, unbleached. The colour is the plant itself, and it will deepen toward amber as the years pass.
【 The Craft 】
Katsuyama bamboo craft, from the mountains of northern Okayama, began around 1860 as the work of farming families. The madake bamboo is cut in autumn, split and shaved into strips entirely by hand, and the rim is bound with tsuzura, a wild vine gathered from the same hills. No wire, no plastic. It is this vine binding that the craft is known for, and the reason a basket lasts for generations.
【 How to Use It 】
Draining — rinsed rice, washed berries, herbs, or boiled noodles straight from the pot: somen, udon, soba.
Serving — onigiri, steamed buns, sliced fruit; food looks right on pale bamboo.
By the door — a low dish for keys, coins, and the small things of a day coming and going.
【 Care 】
If you use it with water, hang it in a sunny spot in the kitchen to dry. It will darken gently with the years. You are not buying a finished object — you are agreeing to carry one forward.
【 The Basket 】
A shallow draining basket, its base woven in tight rows of fine bamboo laid close against one another — no open pattern, just a dense green field that holds even a grain of rice while the water falls straight through. The bamboo is left as it came off the mountain: unboiled, unbleached. The colour is the plant itself, and it will deepen toward amber as the years pass.
【 The Craft 】
Katsuyama bamboo craft, from the mountains of northern Okayama, began around 1860 as the work of farming families. The madake bamboo is cut in autumn, split and shaved into strips entirely by hand, and the rim is bound with tsuzura, a wild vine gathered from the same hills. No wire, no plastic. It is this vine binding that the craft is known for, and the reason a basket lasts for generations.
【 How to Use It 】
Draining — rinsed rice, washed berries, herbs, or boiled noodles straight from the pot: somen, udon, soba.
Serving — onigiri, steamed buns, sliced fruit; food looks right on pale bamboo.
By the door — a low dish for keys, coins, and the small things of a day coming and going.
【 Care 】
If you use it with water, hang it in a sunny spot in the kitchen to dry. It will darken gently with the years. You are not buying a finished object — you are agreeing to carry one forward.
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