If you see this distinctive shape, most people will know it, this is a fishing tool.

First, you put bait in this basket and throw it into a stream. When you come back to check later, eels and loaches will be in there without you knowing it, looking for bait. It is a very convenient and attractive fishing tool.

This is an ancient tool that takes advantage of the habit of eels and loaches to enter into narrow places.

In Japan, baskets were made in so many places
that their names changed from region to region.

Since it is intended to be used in a river and furthermore has a smooth outer skin on the inside,
there are parts of the outside that are roughly made.
Please be careful to avoid splinters.

These simple tools made of Shino bamboo indicate that not only children but also adults enjoyed nature in the past.

The bait that is put inside seems to vary from region to region and from person to person.
Some people put crushed shellfish, shrimp, worms, and even bread.

You can have fun with a variety of bait as long as you don’t pollute the river.
Why don’t you go back to playing with old-fashioned bamboo fishing tools once again?

In addition, according to the experience of those who have used it,
the basket itself can be stolen in the river.
Please be careful about this as well.

Some people use them as lampshades, objets d’art, flower vases, and stage props.
We hope you will enjoy these authentic tools
that have been used since ancient times from various angles.

— Lightness and Softness, Shino bamboo work in Miyagi —

In the Iwadeyama district of Osaki City, located about 50 km north of Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture,
basket and colander making is said to have started as an in-house occupation of samurai families during the Edo period.

They were made using the supple thin bamboo called “Shino bamboo”,
which grew wild in the area, for tools for daily life and for professional use, depending on the purpose of use.

At its peak, more than 80 types of baskets and colanders were made,
but with the passage of time, the variety and production has drastically decreased,
and only a few elderly people make simple, old-fashioned colanders and baskets using only Shino bamboo.

Miyagi Prefecture’s shinodake work is known for its lightness and softness,
making it very easy to use in the kitchen on a daily basis.