Tanabe Chikuunsai I (1877 - 1937)

This celebrated bamboo master was the third son of the physician to a lord of the Amagasaki domain, near Osaka. His interest in bamboo started at an early age and by twelve, he was apprenticed to the bamboo master Wada Waichisai I (1851 - 1901). The name Chikuunsai (Bamboo Cloud Studio) was bestowed upon him by his master in acknowledgement of his talent and by 1903 he had received an award at the Fifth National Industrial Exhibition. His study of the arts included attaining master status in both flower arranging and sencha tea ceremony, both of which also informed his bamboo creations and placed him at the heart of literati artistic circles in Sakai City, where he was based from 1910. Considered one of the founders of modern Japanese bamboo art, his work ranges from ‘Chinese-style’ baskets to innovative designs using his own styles and techniques. He is also celebrated for his baskets which recycle and incorporate old bamboo arrow shafts. His legacy is seen in his four-generational family lineage of bamboo artists bearing his name and his mentorship of younger artists including Sakaguchi Sōunsai and Ueda Shōunsai.