This brings us to the final installment of our column on the 5th World Wicker and Weaving Festival in Poland.

After two full days of live demonstrations came to an end, the participants’ faces showed clear relief.
However, when the organizers announced that the award ceremony was about to begin,
the atmosphere once again became filled with a distinct and unmistakable sense of tension.

Awards were presented category by category, and as soon as the first name was called,
the venue erupted in cheers and applause.
A spontaneous wave of excitement spread through the hall,
and the tense atmosphere gradually softened.

As each name was announced by category, the recipients stepped up onto the stage, where they were presented with a certificate, a prize money panel, and a trophy woven from basketry.

And then, Toshio, who participated as a representative of Japan,
was awarded a prize in the demonstration basket category!
It seems he did not expect his name to be called at all, and he hurried from the back of the audience to the front in surprise.
I still remember how happy I felt at that moment—almost as if it were my own name being called.

After the awards for each category had concluded,
it was finally time for the announcement of the overall Grand Prix,
which transcends all categories in this year’s competition.

The winner of this year’s overall Grand Prix was this person!

The winner was Jefke from Belgium. He is only twenty years old.
Yet in this competition, age is irrelevant.
His technique and the level of finish were recognized as the very best of the entire event.

I had been watching him from the very first day, including the way he prepared his materials.
The intensity of his focus, and the way he confronted the basket as it gradually took shape, was almost overwhelming.

When he began to speak, he returned to being a gentle twenty-year-old young man.
But the moment he turned back to basket making, it was as if something possessed him—
using his young, supple body with precision and speed, he prepared the materials with sharp, rhythmic movements.

The venue rose in a standing ovation,
and the cheers and applause—full of certainty—continued for a long time without fading.

It was applause filled with warmth and respect,
clearly showing that everyone present truly acknowledged his skill.

With the announcement of the festival’s overall Grand Prix, the event reached its grand finale.
At that very moment, heavy rain began to fall.
Large, forceful raindrops continued to strike the roof of the venue,
as if mourning the end of the festival itself.

After the festival came to an end,
members from each country exchanged words of farewell and promises to meet again,
as commemorative photographs were taken one after another.

After embracing one another wholeheartedly, shaking hands, and promising to meet again,
each group headed off in very different directions.
Members from neighboring countries, traveling overland,
began loading their vehicles—and before we knew it, they were already on their way home.

As for us, the Japanese team,
a long, long flight awaited.

For Toshio, who devotes his life to basket making,
this festival became a truly significant milestone.

“It may have been the most interesting experience of my life.”

Those words he shared with me
have stayed in my ears ever since.

Thank you very much for accompanying us through this long series of columns.
With this entry, we bring our coverage of
“The 5th World Wicker and Weaving Festival 2023 in Poland”
to a close.

Cherishing the connections we have made with participants from this festival,
we will continue—little by little—to do our best
to introduce truly fine baskets to you.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude
to everyone in Poland who organized this festival,
to all the participants,
and to Sasaki, who joined us on this journey,
as well as to everyone who supported us along the way.

Tomotake Ichikawa

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“The 5th World Wicker and Weaving Festival 2023 in Poland” — End