His heartfelt weaving creates a soft light
Intricately woven bamboo blinds are the quintessence of handcrafting. From ancient times bamboo blinds have been used as room partitions and sunshades. They were used in the imperial palace as early as the mid-Heian period.
By the Edo period, bamboo blinds became a common household item for samurai warriors and merchants, as well as for shines and temples.
The technique for weaving bamboo blinds was fully developed during this time and has been handed down to the present day.
Recently there has been an increasing demand for Edo blinds, as they give our modern lifestyle an air of tradition and elegance.
Process of making bamboo blinds (Sudare)
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- Preparing materials
- Cut bamboo into equal lengths. Rub the cut lengths with rice chaff, sand, salt, etc. ; then rinse with water.
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- Shaving out nodes
- Plane away bamboo outer nodes to acquire a flat surface.
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- Cutting
- Stand the bamboo lengths upright and cut into halves with a hatchet. Cleave into pieces one to two cm wide, numbering each piece in order to reconstitute the original bamboo trunk. Shave the inner side of every piece.
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- Bundling pieces
- Bundle the pieces in order of the numbers marked in Step 3.
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- Drying
- Leave the bamboo bundles to dry in the sun for seven to ten days to eliminate moisture contained in the bamboo.
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- Preparation if reeds, “hagi” (Japanese bush clover) or “gogyo” (cottonweed) are used
- Eliminate curved or twisted stalks or damaged stalks such as those with peeling skin, scratches, insects or larva, then clean the good stalks with water.
- Selection
- Classify the stalks into seven categories according to thickness appropriate for different uses.
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- Connecting pieces
- Connect the bamboo pieces with thread by throwing the bobbins that hold the thread back and forth over a weaving stand (bobbin size and shape may vary depending on material)
**For reeds, “hagi” or “gogyo,” alternate butts and tips of stalks to be connected to accommodate the different thickness of the ends.
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- Finishing
- Cut off irregularities at both ends of connected pieces with a large pair of scissors. Attach a bar at the top and at the bottom of the Sudare.
