Toyooka Kiryu Zaiku

Strong, supple willow

Toyooka Kiryu Zaiku weaves koriyanagi willow and rattan, keeping the natural feel of the wood and its strong, supple, springy character. Makers can choose from 6 rope weaves, 33 side weaves and 18 rim finishes, so each piece reflects its maker. It is made in Toyooka, Yabu and Kami in Hyogo as yanagi-gori lidded trunks and baskets.

Soft when wet, hard when dry

The craft uses a property of willow and rattan: they soften in water and harden when dry. Yanagi-gori trunks are woven from willow with hemp thread and finished by binding the rim. Baskets start with the base, are fitted onto a wooden mould, the uprights are bent and fixed with rope weave, the sides are woven, and the mould is removed.

From the Maruyama River

Kiryu Zaiku is said to go back to the early 1st century, and the Shosoin treasury in Nara still holds a willow box from Tajima province. It began with baskets woven from willow growing on waste ground along the Maruyama River and took shape as an industry when Toyooka became a castle town. In the Edo period the lord protected it and set up a monopoly, which made Toyooka's willow ware known across Japan.