Traditional craft
Beppu Take Zaiku
別府竹細工
Bamboo baskets and wares from Beppu in Oita, a craft that grew with hot-spring guests and now has more than 400 weave patterns.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 3 August 1979
- Type
- Wood and bamboo
- Region
- Kyushu & Okinawa
- Official name in Japanese
- 別府竹細工
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 大分市、別府市、日田市、杵築市、由布市、速見郡日出町
Over 400 weave patterns
Beppu Take Zaiku is made mainly from Oita madake bamboo. Makers combine eight basic techniques into more than 400 weave patterns. It is made in Beppu, Hita, Kitsuki, Yufu and Hiji in Oita.
Preparing the bamboo
- Bamboo has its oil removed and is bleached.
- It is dried in the sun.
- Culms are split and stripped into thin strips.
- The strips are woven using the basic techniques and patterns.
Born with the hot springs
The craft began in the Muromachi period with baskets made for peddlers to sell. In the Edo period, bamboo kitchenware was made for guests staying at Beppu's hot springs, and it later became a popular souvenir. In the late Meiji period a bamboo course was founded at the Beppu Industrial Apprentice School, training makers for generations.
Good to know
- Ask makers to show a few weave patterns side by side; the variety is the point.
- Bamboo baskets are light and pack well in a suitcase.
Questions travellers ask
What bamboo is used?
Mainly Oita madake bamboo.
How many weave patterns are there?
More than 400, built from eight basic techniques.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.