A Journey to Wakayama in Search of Kurochiku Bamboo (Part 1)
Hello. This is Tomotake Ichikawa.
August is drawing to a close, but it looks as though the hot weather will continue for a while longer.
I hope you have been keeping well.
In this journal, I would like to introduce a type of bamboo known as “Kurochiku” (black bamboo).
In early summer 2026, I visited a bamboo supplier in Wakayama Prefecture with whom we have worked for many years.
At 1basketry, we introduce baskets and trays made from bamboo and other natural materials.
From time to time, customers ask us,
“Is it possible to purchase bamboo itself?”
“Can I order bamboo materials from you?”
These are questions we receive quite often.
Our shop space is already limited even for displaying baskets and trays,
so it has been difficult for us to offer bamboo materials themselves in the store.
Even so, for some time I had been wondering whether there might be a way for us to make high-quality
Japanese bamboo available to those who need it.
With this in mind, I visited Kanasaki Bamboo Materials,
a specialist in black bamboo in Wakayama Prefecture, earlier this summer.
We have worked with them for some time,
and during this visit I had the opportunity to learn more about black bamboo.
I also spoke with them about how we might be able to deliver bamboo materials directly to customers
who are looking for them.
Along with the story of this visit,
I would like to introduce black bamboo itself and the qualities of this distinctive material.
From Tokyo, I travelled to Wakayama by Shinkansen and local train.
When I arrived, I was greeted by Hiroaki Kanasaki of Kanasaki Bamboo Materials.
He welcomed me with a wonderful smile.
During this visit, I spoke with Hiroaki and his father, Akihito Kanasaki,
the third-generation owner of Kanasaki Bamboo Materials.
They shared many stories and insights about black bamboo.
Hiroaki drove me to the workshop, which I was visiting for the first time in about eight years.
The first thing that caught my eye when we arrived was row after row of bundled black bamboo.
Black bamboo is harvested each year from around mid-September through February of the following year.
However, this does not mean that the bamboo can be cut at any time during those months.
Even today, the Kanasaki family follows the traditional Japanese calendar, avoiding certain periods known as “Otsuchi” and “Kotsuchi” when harvesting bamboo.
According to an old Japanese tradition, these are periods when people were advised to refrain from working the soil or cutting trees and bamboo.
It has also long been said that bamboo cut during these periods is more susceptible to insect damage.
At Kanasaki Bamboo Materials, this knowledge has been passed down through generations, and the family still consults the traditional calendar when deciding the right time to harvest their bamboo.
Freshly harvested bamboo contains a great deal of moisture and is extremely heavy,
so it is left in the mountains for a while to dry naturally.
During this time, the leaves gradually fall away on their own.
They are left where they fall, eventually returning to the soil and becoming nourishment for the bamboo grove.
After that, the bamboo is transported to the workshop.
The branches are removed from the thicker pieces, and while the bamboo is stored inside the workshop,
preparations begin for turning each piece into a finished product.
At Kanasaki Bamboo Materials, bamboo is harvested not only locally in Wakayama Prefecture,
but also in Kochi Prefecture, with permission from the landowners.
Kochi is by no means close to Wakayama,
but they travel there by truck to maintain the bamboo groves and handle the entire process themselves,
from harvesting to transportation.
After showing me around the workshop, Hiroaki took me to a restaurant run by a younger acquaintance of his, where we had lunch together. 
After lunch, we also tried this shaved ice, proudly advertised as “the best in Japan.” There was something delightfully Kansai-like about making such a bold claim. And of course, the shaved ice itself was delicious. After tasting it, I could understand why they might want to call it “the best in Japan.” Thank you for the wonderful treat.
After we finished our meal, Hiroaki said to me,
“If you’d like, there’s a place nearby where black bamboo is growing. Would you like to go and see it?”
Until then, I had never actually seen black bamboo growing, so I gladly accepted his invitation.
The place he took me to was once abandoned farmland in the local area,
which Kanasaki Bamboo Materials has been making use of to plant and grow black bamboo.
When I imagined black bamboo,
I had pictured it growing in a dense bamboo grove, so seeing the actual setting changed my impression of it.
Wire fencing has also been put up around the area to prevent wild boars and other animals from eating the young bamboo shoots.
In recent years, flowering of Hachiku bamboo, which is closely related to black bamboo,
has been observed in many parts of Japan.
Depending on the species, bamboo is said to flower only once every several decades, or even after more than a century.
After flowering, the bamboo may die, and once a grove has died back,
it can take many years for it to become established again.
For those who hope to continue working with black bamboo in the years ahead,
it is important to prepare for changes such as these.
With the future in mind, Akihito, the third-generation owner,
has been gradually planting black bamboo and tending this land over the years.
On this visit, I was also given the special opportunity to step inside the black bamboo grove.
The first thing that caught my eye was a young black bamboo shoot. Although it was still at an early stage of growth, its outer sheath was already a dark brownish black. With wire fencing installed around the area, the shoots were protected from animals and were growing steadily without being eaten. 
Looking around, I could see black bamboo growing freely here and there, its branches and leaves spreading out widely. 
Then I noticed something. As you can see in the photograph, some of the bamboo stems were still green. At first, I assumed they were a different kind of green bamboo. But when I asked Kanasaki about them, he explained that black bamboo is also green during its first year of growth. 
These green bamboo stems gradually turn a dark brownish black as they are exposed to sunlight. 
In other words, black bamboo remains green during its first year after the shoot emerges, and gradually begins to turn dark brownish black as it enters its second year. In this bamboo grove managed by Kanasaki Bamboo Materials, they harvest bamboo from its second year onward. The green, first-year bamboo growing here now will turn dark brownish black by the following year and then be ready for harvesting. In this way, they continue a cycle of allowing new bamboo to grow while harvesting the older bamboo. 
It was striking to see branches growing from each node of the bamboo, with fresh green leaves spreading out from them. 
These are the leaves of black bamboo. While the stems gradually turn dark brownish black, the leaves remain green.
They had a fresh, vivid green color, almost translucent in the light.
Smaller branches extended from the main branches, spreading outward as if reaching for the sunlight.
Since I visited in early summer, I was not able to see the bamboo being harvested.
Even so, I came to understand just how much time and work goes into the process
before the black bamboo even reaches the workshop I had visited earlier.
From here, the black bamboo goes through several more stages of preparation
before it is finally ready to be shipped as a finished product.
Please watch the video above to see Hiroaki Kanasaki guiding me through the black bamboo grove.
(* Music will play.)
In the next journal, I will continue the story by looking at the process the harvested black bamboo goes through
before it becomes a finished product.
