[Iwadeyama, Miyagi Prefecture] Delicate and supple, yet durable! Get bamboo crafts from Iwadeyama!

Miyagi Prefecture is famous for a wide variety of foods, including beef tongue, rice, zunda, bamboo shoots, and seafood, as its catchphrase suggests, ``A food kingdom.''
However, did you know that it also has a reputation for crafts such as kokeshi dolls?

Miyagi's crafts, including kokeshi dolls, Sendai chests of drawers, and Sendai flats, are of high quality and have attracted national attention!
``Shino Bamboo Crafts'' that we will introduce this time is one of the crafts of Miyagi Prefecture.
In Iwadeyama, Osaki City, located in northern Miyagi Prefecture, Shino bamboo crafts have been passed down for over 300 years!

In this article, we will introduce bamboo crafts from Iwadeyama and the Bamboo Crafts Museum where you can see the craftsmanship up close!

What is Shino Bamboo Crafts, a traditional craft that has continued since the Edo period?

Iwadeyama.
The town, located in Osaki City in northern Miyagi Prefecture, is also an ancient capital where Date Masamune lived as a castle before becoming the lord of the Sendai domain.
Around 1720, the then lord of Iwadeyama Castle, Yasushi Datemura, invited craftsmen from Kyoto to promote certain crafts that were handmade by feudal retainers.
That is what ``Shino Bamboo Crafts'' is all about.

Shino Bamboo Crafts uses thinner bamboo than regular bamboo crafts, so it has a delicate and beautiful finish.
Although it is thin, it is elastic and pliable, so it boasts a high quality that is comparable to ordinary bamboo crafts in terms of strength.

A year's worth of bamboo is collected each December before the snow falls.
The harvested bamboo is split into four pieces lengthwise, the skin is carefully peeled off, and the bamboo is processed into bamboo strips called ``hege.''
The delicate and beautiful bamboo crafts are created by carefully weaving the materials made in this way.
Don't you want to see such craftsmanship for the first time?
In fact, there is a facility in Mt. Iwade where you can see Shino bamboo crafts up close!

See the craftsmen's handiwork up close at the Osaki City Bamboo Crafts Museum!

``I want to see Shino bamboo crafts up close!'' `
`I want to appreciate beautiful Shino bamboo crafts made by craftsmen!''
We recommend the ``Bamboo Crafts Museum'' on the main street of Mt. Iwade.

The Bamboo Crafts Museum is a facility where craftsmen demonstrate bamboo crafts.
We also sell everyday items made from bamboo such as bamboo baskets and rice ball plates, so it's perfect for looking for souvenirs!

As soon as you step inside, you will be greeted by the armor and helmets of military commanders.
Surrounded by armor and helmet, the only human object is our own Date Masamune.
This is unique to Mt. Iwade, the former castle of Masamune!

In the large space at the back, you can watch the craftsmen speedily weaving bamboo baskets.
If you look up from there, you'll notice that the lighting shade is made of bamboo!
At this bamboo craft museum, various things are made from bamboo!

The most noteworthy feature is the automatic performance machine made from bamboo.
The title of the work is ``Bamboo Ensemble.''
By blowing the wind through the regularly arranged bamboo, the melody that is played is strangely calming.
If you come to the Bamboo Crafts Museum, please take your time and listen.

In addition to traditional bamboo crafts, there are also contemporary works and objects combined with glass and ceramics.
We also offer handmade experience classes, so you can make your own one-of-a-kind bamboo crafts.
If you come to Iwadeyama, a bamboo craft museum where you can experience the charm of bamboo up close, please stop by!

summary

Shino bamboo crafts have been passed down since the Edo period.
The slender and delicate appearance contrasts with the strong and supple construction, and when you actually use it rather than just looking at it, you will begin to understand its deeper appeal.
In addition to selling bamboo crafts as souvenirs at the Osaki City Bamboo Crafts Museum, there are several bamboo craft shops on Mt. Iwade.

Why not stop by and purchase your favorite bamboo crafts?

INFORMATION