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Tanabe Chikuunsai I

Japanese, 1877 - 1937

(not assigned)Japan, asia

BiographyTanabe Chikuunsai I was born Tanabe Tsuneo in 1877. His ancestors were doctors who served the Matsudaira clan of Amagasaki. When Tsuneo was twelve, he apprenticed to the great Osaka bamboo artist Wada Waichisai I, with whom he trained for eleven years. In 1901, he received the art name Chikuunsai, meaning “Bamboo Cloud Master,” from Waichisai I and became an independent bamboo artist, establishing his studio in Sakai in Osaka prefecture.

Considered the most cultured bamboo artist in Osaka, Tanabe Chikuunsai I was also the headmaster of the Seifu Aoyama school of ikebana, a full sencha tea master, and an active and important member of literati artistic and social circles. He was inspired by the literati paintings of Yanagisawa Kien (1704–1758), who often depicted luxuriant flower arrangements in woven baskets. Chikuunsai’s flower baskets were modeled on Chinese baskets, or karamono, which feature tight weaves and formal shapes. However, many of his works have a Japanese sensibility, incorporating Edo-period ceremonial arrow shafts, decorated with gold and lacquer, or smoked bamboo from the rafters of traditional Japanese houses. He received many awards at public exhibitions and some of his baskets became part of the Imperial Household collection.

Source: Japan House, Los Angeles
https://www.japanhousela.com/exhibitions/tanabe-chikuunsai-bamboo-life-cycles/about-four-generations/

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