The OITA BAMBOO ART & LIGHTS 2023

Oita PrefecturalArt Museum

The OITA BAMBOO ART &LIGHTS

2023/10/17-11/4＠Oita
Prefectural Art Museum
2-1 Kotobuki-Machi , Oita , Japan 870-0036
TEL : +81-(0)97-533-4500 FAX : +81-(0)97-533-4567*All free entry*For events that require advance registration, please visit the ‘Take-e’ official
website here (https://www.o-bje.net/lp/takee/). Alternatively, you can registerby telephone (0977-22-3560). Registrations are on a first-come-first-served basis.

Date: Fri
■Lighting ceremony[advance booking required/capacity up to 50 persons] ★ 27th Oct,from 18:00
To commence the breath-taking light-up, this extra-special demonstrationof agiant basket weaving Shinto ritual that has taken place in Beppu for more thansixty years will be accompanied by the elegant tones of a bamboo flute, madelocally in Oita.

■Live performance:‘Bamboo & Echoes of Japan’s Middle Ages’

Date: Fri 3rd November,from 18:00[advance booking required/capacity of up to 50 persons]★
A performance by the Caterina Early Musical Instruments Workshop based inYamaga-machi, Kitsuki, Oita Prefecture. Come and witness the rare beauty ofthe sound of bamboo when used as a musical instrument.

Date: Sat 4th November,■Finale event [no application required]from 18:00
A closing event featuring a bamboo flute
performance, as well as a special menu**at the cafe. **Special Menu
Local sake and Beppu jigoku-memma (‘hell’ steamed fermented bamboo shoots), served inbamboo vessels (500 yen each - limited to 50 sets).
Bamboo vessels can even be taken home with you afterwards!

Introduction

Adoration of Bamboo-Special Feature of Oita Bamboo Art and History

As the largest producer of madake bamboo in all of Japan, Oita Prefecture’s
bamboo craft industry has been well developed since ancient times. Taking
full advantage of the supple properties of bamboo, the hot spring resort ofBeppu, in particular, is known for its production of bamboo household utensils,and for providing daily necessities and souvenirs to its numerous visitors.
In 1902, the Beppu Hamawaki Industrial Apprenticeship school (now Oita
Prefectural Technical High School), became the first educational institution tooffer classes in bamboo basket crafts - history that lives on as the presentday Oita Prefectural Bamboo Crafts Training Centre, the only such centre inJapan.
Simultaneously, following the rise of eminent artists such as Ikuno Shounsai the first bamboo craftsman to be recognised as a Living National Treasure in1967 - activities in the field of arts & crafts began to flourish throughout Oita.
Centred chiefly around the city of Beppu, the prefecture quickly evolved into
one of the most diverse bamboo craft production areas in Japan.
To this day, the prefecture’s resident bamboo artisans remain active both
locally and internationally.
Against this unique cultural backdrop, the Oita
Prefectural Museum of Art (formerly the Oita
Prefectural Arts Centre), has continued to collectbamboo artwork both from within and outside theprefecture, with a focus on Shounsai's works, andboasts a collection of over three hundred articles.
Making use of Oita Prefecture’s unique cultural and industrial climate, The OITABAMBOO ART & LIGHTS 2023 event, ‘Take-e’, invites visitors to experience
the beauty and appeal of bamboo and its crafts in multiple ways, using all fivesenses.
How are bamboo crafts made? Bamboo craft demonstrations and explanations
by bamboo artisans will give visitors plenty of food for thought. Visitors can also
take part in workshops where they can try their own hands at bamboo craft. Bynight, the beautiful shadows cast by bamboo can be witnessed thanks toimpressive illumination, with visitors enjoying the rare chance to listen to theethereal sound of bamboo music, as well as taste Oita's food culture in theform of delicious bamboo dishes.
It is our hope that people will gather, get to know one another and experience
the essence of Oita prefecture through ‘Take-e’ - a celebration of the wonderfulworld of bamboo.
Just as bamboo takes root and grows, we hope that visitors to the Oita
Prefectural Museum of Art (OPAM) will experience an array of new encounterswhich, in turn, will take root and grow.