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MINGEIKAN 2010 EXHIBITS & EVENTS
Baskets and Straw works
-Skills of Weaving and Braiding
January 6 (Wed.) to March 22(Mon.),2010
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Daily wares produced by weaving or braiding with natural materials are called Henso-hin in Japanese.
Materials for making Henso-hin are regionally available and handy-bamboo, tree bark, grass, vines, roots and seaweed in particular have been used.
Bamboo has especially been favored over the centuries in Japan.
Using whichever of the materials are locally available to them, people have produced great varieties of baskets, straw rain-coats, back cushions to carry large baskets full of wood branches on one's back, hats, straw snow boots, zori (sandals), Shinto shimenawa (straw festoons), decorative caps for votive sake bottles, mats for kettles, and other locally used products.
Henso-hin are produced by natural techniques passed down through generations.
As such, they bring about the most natural qualities of the healthy power Yanagi identified in mingei. Because they are produced out of need, the forms and designs, produced by human hands, emerge as works of beauty in the world of nature.
This kind of form and shape is not limited only to Japan. Anywhere on the globe where people's native culture has been preserved, one may find shining examples of handmade woven or braided works.? They all reflect regional cultures, a precious inheritance and source of inspiration for all of us.
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