Hello, this is Tomotake Ichikawa, owner of 1basketry.

Starting Thursday, July 3rd, 1basketry will host

“The One Table” Exhibition
Design to Hold — Kazuho Shimomoto: Kiln-smoked Bamboo Cutlery —

We look forward to welcoming you.

According to the maker, Kazuho:
“After cutting the bamboo, I first apply heat treatment, then smoke it for about a week in a kiln I built myself.
This process fully dries the bamboo from the inside out, improving its durability.
The outer surface takes on a rich, glossy black color—this is what defines the material I use.”

Kazuho refers to this material as susudake (“soot bamboo”),
but at 1basketry, we already use the term “soot bamboo” to refer to another specific type of bamboo used in basketmaking.
That’s why we’ve chosen to call this variety “smoked bamboo” instead.

We’ve carried Kazuho’s bamboo cutlery for quite some time now,
but this will be his very first solo exhibition with us.

Before the exhibition, I had the chance to visit Kazuho’s workshop in Kochi Prefecture,
where he crafts his bamboo cutlery.
This was actually my second visit to his place.

The first time I visited Kazuho was in the fall of 2017.
As I write this, I realize with some surprise that nearly eight years have passed since then.

Since we’re close in age, every time we meet—
and he’s also visited our store in Tokyo several times—
our conversations go beyond bamboo and cutlery, touching on work, family, and all sorts of things.

Whenever we meet, I look forward to the evening meals we share—
talking over good food, local sake, and all the rich flavors of Kochi.

This time, too, we talked about what has stayed the same, what has changed, and what had to change—
things we’ve each experienced over the past eight years.
It became a time of reflection and sharing, quietly and deeply.

Kazuho’s workshop is tucked deep in the mountains,
far upstream along the Kagami River, which flows through the center of Kochi City.
It had been a while since my last visit, and my memories of the place were vague—
but returning there reminded me just how remote it really is.

It’s not actually that far from the city, at least in terms of distance,
but the road winds further and deeper into the mountains than I remembered.
The further I went, the more the human presence faded, giving way to a quiet, natural world.

This is a cherished place, carefully tended by Kazuho’s grandparents before him.
Today, he carries it forward as the place where he crafts his cutlery,
quietly continuing what has been passed down.

On the way to the workshop, I rode in Kazuho’s car.
As we made our way along the steep mountain roads, our conversation turned to the landscape around us.

“That part of the mountain—some of the hachiku bamboo there has started to die.”
Hachiku is one of the types of bamboo Kazuho occasionally uses for his cutlery.
It’s said that bamboo blooms only once every 120 years, after which it dies back—and it takes many years before it can be used again for craftwork.

“This year, the heat came earlier than usual. The grass is growing faster than I expected.”
Along the way, we passed someone Kazuho knew, out cutting grass before the scheduled date for the community’s regular maintenance.
It had grown so quickly that it couldn’t wait.

“On these narrow mountain roads, where only one car can pass, you can tell who’s from the area by how they handle a face-off.”
Local drivers know, almost instinctively, which car should back up at each curve—a kind of unspoken rule shaped by years of living there.

After driving through the winding mountain paths for a while, the trees suddenly parted, and there it was—Kazuho’s workshop, opening up into view.

Surrounded by mountains, the area is filled with a refreshing breeze,
the constant murmur of the nearby Kagami River, and the songs of birds echoing through the trees.

I learned that Kazuho had built a new workshop here a few years ago.

The building isn’t large—it stands with quiet presence,
accepting the landscape around it and blending gently into the scenery.
It seemed to reflect Kazuho himself in spirit and scale,
and I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow…” when I first saw it.

Eight years ago, on my first visit, he was still working in a smaller structure,
just a little down the road, facing the charcoal kiln he had built himself.

The bamboo Kazuho uses for his cutlery is harvested from abandoned groves
in the Kagamiyoshiwara area of Kochi City, where his workshop is located,
as well as from bamboo forests he owns—cut with the help of friends and fellow craftsmen.

Just a short drive from the workshop lies one of the bamboo groves.

When we think of bamboo groves, we often imagine dense, shaded places—
but what struck me here was how open and full of light it felt.

Countless tall Mōsō bamboo stood in neat rows,
and at my feet were many stumps from bamboo that had been cut.
Kazuho told me that each of those stumps marked where bamboo once stood, now removed.

The reason it felt so open was because Kazuho had spent years
cutting bamboo, processing it, and crafting cutlery—one piece at a time.

Through that slow, steady work, the space had become what it is now—open and clear.

“Though it may be a small contribution,
I hope to bring new value to what are called ‘bamboo-damaged’ forests—
transforming them into something that adds beauty and meaning to everyday life.”

Kazuho has said this before.
And standing there, surrounded by all those bamboo stumps and that quiet, open scenery,
I was moved by how clearly his words and actions were aligned.

Of course, there are still many neglected bamboo groves across Japan,
and it’s not a problem that can be solved easily.

But in Kazuho’s work, I believe there is a quiet, steady form of engagement with bamboo—
something real and grounded that continues day by day.

And perhaps most wonderful of all is this:
thanks to Kazuho’s work, we get to enjoy using bamboo cutlery in our daily lives.

The exhibition will feature more types of cutlery than ever before—
a whole table lined with Kazuho’s work.
We hope you’ll come and take a look.

To be continued.

Tomotake

Photography: Nobuyoshi Kawakami
First and last photos: 1basketry

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“The One Table” Exhibition
Design to Hold – Kazuho Shimomoto’s Smoked Bamboo Cutlery

July 2025
Thu 3, Fri 4, Sat 5, Sun 6*
Thu 10, Fri 11, Sat 12
Thu 17, Fri 18, Sat 19
→ The exhibition has been extended by one week!

*Kazuho will be in the store on Sunday, July 6.

Open | 11:00–16:00
In person at our shop in Minami-Senju, Tokyo: 1basketry