Keep it long, treasure it long.

Refined natural basket

Oita Prefecture is known not only as a hot spring destination but also as a major bamboo production area. This White Bamboo Four-Square Leather Basket is carefully hand-woven one by one using high-quality bamboo from Oita Prefecture. Combining the strength and flexibility of bamboo with the durability of genuine leather, it has been crafted into a beautiful and practical basket bag. The black leather handles are accented with gold rivets, maintaining bamboo's natural appeal while seamlessly complementing everyday attire.

The basket features different weaving patterns on the top and bottom sections. The upper portion uses a four-square weave that creates square gaps in a checkerboard-like pattern, while the lower section employs a close-woven goza-me (mat weave) using bamboo strips of varying widths with no gaps. The tightly woven goza-me pattern reinforces the bag's bottom, providing strength and preventing shape distortion. While its airy appearance is characteristic, if you're concerned about contents being visible, you can use a drawstring pouch or azuma bag inside to enjoy using the basket.

Basket bags carried with yukata often have a strong Japanese aesthetic that can feel challenging to incorporate into everyday clothing. However, this White Bamboo Four-Square Leather Basket works beautifully with both yukata and everyday clothing, eliminating the need to purchase multiple basket bags.

Traditional "Tools" Carrying Forward Heritage

The White Bamboo Four-Square Leather Basket is crafted using traditional techniques unique to Beppu bamboo craft. The material uses white bamboo (sarashi-dake), created by removing oils from green bamboo through fire treatment or boiling, then carefully sun-drying it. The beautiful white sarashi bamboo is characterized by its brightness and soft luster. Bamboo becomes even more durable when woven, and as an excellent material, it gradually develops an amber color with use, increasing in character over time. There's joy in nurturing it through daily life, and with careful use, it's said to last a lifetime. While this basket serves as a fashion item, we especially recommend it to those who view it as a tool and wish to cherish and use it for years to come.

Beppu bamboo craft has maximized bamboo's appeal throughout its long history dating back to the Heian period, with craftspeople passing down techniques through generations. Its origins are even more ancient, reportedly tracing back to the Kofun period. In the Oita Prefecture city of Beppu, where high-quality bamboo grows abundantly, bamboo craft took root in local life when a member of a visiting imperial entourage wove a tea bowl basket from bamboo.

During the Edo period, as Beppu became known as a hot spring destination, visitors from across the nation came for therapeutic baths. The bamboo products they used during their stays—rice baskets, grain strainers, and other practical items—were taken home as beautiful and functional souvenirs, spreading the reputation of bamboo craft. Beppu bamboo craft developed this way, adapting its forms and uses to changing times while carefully preserving bamboo's inherent flexibility and beauty.

Understanding Tools Rooted in Daily Life

Even for the same purpose, different materials, different shapes, and different weave patterns exist. Basket products from across Japan and around the world offer glimpses into regional characteristics, established lifestyles, and even the character of local people. Unlike expensive traditional crafts, these accessible pieces provide opportunities to learn about local history and techniques. They possess a warmth absent from modern, automated, perfect plastic or stainless steel products, with each piece retaining material individuality and traces of handcraft like unique works.

As natural materials require considerable effort to harvest, please understand that small cracks, tears, or twists in finished products that don't affect functionality are characteristics of handmade items, and appreciate the essence of handcraft.