Collaboration with the finest bamboo master craftsman

“Take Action Foundation” was established by the director Hidetoshi Nakata in 2009. Its “Revalue Nippon Project” supports adding new value to Japan’s traditional craft and culture, and aims to gather the attention of an international audience.

Kashiwa Sato joined this project and planned the collaboration between the 19th generation tea ceremony whisk master Tango Tanimura and Takram’s Kinya Tagawa. By applying the masterly skill of shaving bamboo into a thin layer, members of the project designed a typography using extremely thin layers of bamboo to create a delicate and complex artwork called “TakeFino.” Furthermore, this work was sold at the “2013 Charity Gala with Gucci” and broke its highest price record.

Concept: Tradition and Newness

The tradition and skills inherited by the tea whisk master have a history of six hundred years. Of its many breathtaking qualities, the team was especially captivated by“aji-kezuri,” a technique to shave bamboo down to an extremely thin layer. “Aji-kezuri” is a skill that requires highly advanced expertise. Its outcome directly influences the taste of the tea in a Japanese tea ceremony. This simple technique is an embodiment of both an expert craftsmanship and the spirit of the tea master.

This work uses over 4,000 thinly shaved bamboo parts made by Tanimura using the “aji-kezuri” technique to express new typography. The words on a mirrored surface read the “Tangent Sculpture poem” related to the bamboo and its craftsman. The new typography was named “TakeFino” after this poem.

Detail: Tangent Sculpture Poem

"TakeFino"

“Devoid of concentric indices, my age only revealed in verticality,
Each joint records life in rhythmic stanza.
For myriads of ages, my kind has been swayed by tempest winds,
At times, we create harmonies that calm tempest minds.

The most beautiful of our kind is whisked away by master craftsmen,
Ones that survive, transform into hardened and bitter sage.
They teach us humanity, and we the sublimity of nature to them,
Here we remain today, and ever will, in your hands."

Detail: Poem, Love, Peace

“TakeFino” is an artwork made of over 4,000 parts using thinly shaved bamboo pieces made by Tanimura. It consists of three parts, “Poem,” “Love,” and “Peace.” Each work is placed on top of a mirrored stainless board of 1 square meter. The typography used in “Poem” was designed specifically for showcasing the unique curving bamboo material. “Love” and “Peace” are made of the feathery by-products of the “aji-kezuri,” and balances well with the handwritten letters of Kashiwa Sato.