Oita: Japanese Bamboo Art from the Oita Area (Boudin Philippe)(Paperback)

Exhibition catalogue featuring works by 12 contemporary bamboo artists from the Oita region of Japan Fully illustrated throughout with accompanying biographies on each artist Oita Prefecture - and the spa town of Beppu in particular - has held a central position in the development and dissemination of the bamboo arts in Japan for more than a century. This cottage industry was promoted by central government at the end of the Meiji era (1868-1912) as it looked for ways to export handicrafts for display at world's fairs. Craftsmen were encouraged to produce high-quality pieces, some of their creations attaining the level of real artworks. The success of this enterprise relied fundamentally on the transmission of knowledge and the education of weavers in an academic setting. The first vocational school to offer this kind of training was the Beppu Advanced Industrial Arts and Technology