竹とともにあり、
その個性をいかし
暮らしになじむ
手仕事の道具を。
「竹と」の工房は、高知県高知市の中心部を流れる鏡川を、奥深くさかのぼった山あいにあります。この地で自ら切り出した竹を、自作の炭窯で燻し、真っ黒に色づいた煤竹を使って暮らしの道具を作っています。全てのプロダクトは、見た目の美しさを大切にしつつも、使い心地が良く、道具としての役割をしっかり果たすことにこだわっています。また、竹一本一本を余す事なく活用し、残った材料も燃料などに利用することで、無駄にしない工夫もしています。微力ではありますが「竹害」と呼ばれる放置竹林に新たな価値を見出し、暮らしに彩りを添えるような物に変えられたらと考えています。
Working together with bamboo, we use its unique qualities to create handcrafted tools that fit in with our daily lives.
The TAKETO workshop is located deep in the mountains, upstream of the Kagamigawa River, which runs through the center of Kochi City in Kochi Prefecture. The bamboo is cut here, smoked in a self-built charcoal kiln, and the resulting dark-coloured bamboo is used to make utensils for daily life. All products are designed to be visually pleasing, but are also comfortable to use and meet their practical function as utensils. Every single piece of harvested bamboo is used. If there is leftover material, it is burnt for fuel or used for other purposes, so that nothing goes to waste. It’s only a small thing but TAKETO hopes to renew the value in neglected bamboo forests, forests that can have a negative or damaging effect on the environment if not looked after, and turn them into something that adds color to people’s lives.
素材づくり
工房がある高知市鏡吉原地区の放置竹林や、所有する竹林から、仲間とともに竹を切り出します。切り出した竹は熱処理を施した後、自作した炭焼き窯でおよそ1週間かけて燻し、中まで乾燥させます。この工程により、竹の水分がしっかり抜けて、耐久性が高まります。燻された竹の外側は艶やかな黒色に。「竹と」の作品を象徴する煤竹の完成です。
Creating Materials
At TAKETO, we cut bamboo from abandoned bamboo forests in the Kagami Yoshiwara area of Kochi City, where the workshop is located, and from bamboo forests that we own. After heat treatment, the cut bamboo is smoked in a the charcoal kiln for about a week to dry out the inside. This process removes the moisture from the bamboo and makes it more durable. The outside of the smoked bamboo turns a lustrous black color. The dark-colored bamboo, that is characteristic of the work of TAKETO, is now complete.
地域の長老や仲間と自作した炭窯。土を掘り、その土地の赤土や木、石を積み、手作業で仕上げました。
The charcoal kiln was self-built with local elders and friends. The soil was dug up, then the local red clay was piled with wood and stones and finished by hand.
燻されて黒く変化した竹。竹を燻すことでカビや虫がつきにくくなります。この艶やかな黒色を残したアイテムは「竹と」の代名詞となっています。
Bamboo that has been smoked and turned black. Smoked bamboo is resistant to mould and insects. The items that retain this lustrous black colour are synonymous with Taketo.
デザインと形
機能的でありながら、端正な見た目と、主張しすぎないデザインを心がけています。道具づくりのきっかけはさまざまです。自分たちがほしいものを作ったり、取扱店や友人から「こんなものがあったらいいな」「既存のものをこういう形で作ってほしい」などのリクエストをもらい、それが定番商品になることも。スプーンひとつ取っても、人それぞれ思い描く形が違い、自分の中にはない発想をもらえます。また、竹の特性や形状を最大限に生かすのも、私たちのもの作りの大きな特徴。そのしなやかさや強さ、自然が生み出した形を利用し、竹ならではの魅力が息づく道具へと仕上げています。手入れはシンプルで、使った後は中性洗剤で洗い、しっかり乾かすだけ。日々使い込むことで愛着が湧き、暮らしに長く寄り添います。
Design and Shape
“TAKETO strives for items that are neat in appearance, not too over-bearing, and functional. There are many reasons why we have been inspired to make utensils. We make what we would like to use ourselves, or we receive requests from retailers or friends who have an idea for a product and request us to make it. Sometimes we receive a request to make an existing product a different way. Any of these can then become one of TAKETO’s standard products. When picking up a spoon, everyone envisions a different shape and this can lead us to new ideas that we have not come up with ourselves.
Another important feature of our craftsmanship is to make the most of the characteristics and natural shape of bamboo. We use its flexibility and strength, and the shapes created by nature, to create utensils that have the unique charm of bamboo. Caring for our products is simple. After use, simply wash them with a mild detergent and dry them thoroughly. The daily use of these utensils will make you grow attached to them, and they will accompany you in your daily life for many years to come.”
節の部分を丸く削り出したお玉
A ladle using the rounded joint of bamboo
竹の弾力性を利用したトング
Tongs use the flexibility of bamboo
小さなものもしっかり掴める極細の箸
Chopsticks with thin tips for gripping small objects.
株式会社竹と
Taketo Inc.
2009年より個人でもの作りを行ってきた竹細工作家・下本一歩が、2022年6月に設立した会社及びブランドです。下本の作品は、おかげさまでこれまで多くの方が手に取ってくださり、取り扱い店も全国に広がりました。こうした状況の中、皆さまのお手元に商品をよりスムーズにお届けしたいとの思いから、スタッフを迎え、数人体制で製作に取り組む環境を整えました。今後は作家個人としても、また「竹と」というチームとしても、一歩ずつ丁寧に進んでいきたいと思います。
The company and brand was established in June 2022 by Kazuho Shimomoto, a bamboo craftsman who has been making his own products since 2009. Thanks to the many people who appreciate Shimomoto’s works, the number of shops handling them has spread nationwide. Due to this, we have decided to bring in new staff to make it easier for us to deliver our products to our customers. From now on, the products will be marketed under the brand name TAKETO, rather than under the craftsman’s personal name. With the establishment of the company, while continuing to work with bamboo, we will be ever more conscious of what we can do for our society and thoughtfully develop the brand one step at a time.
私たちの果たす役割
The Role We Play
もともと竹は、たけのこ栽培や、生活の中で役立つ資材として植えられたものです。竹は強くしなやかで、加工もしやすいことから、昔は日用品や建築資材など、暮らしのさまざまな場面で活用されてきました。しかし今は、時代の変化によって、国産の竹製品を目にする機会が減少。その結果、使われなくなった竹林は手入れが行き届かず「放置竹林問題」として社会問題に発展しています。
私たちは、こうした放置竹林の竹を中心に切り出し、暮らしの道具として生まれ変わらせることで、竹害の解決に少しでも貢献したいと考えています。また、手入れの行き届いた竹林は、美しい風景として地域の財産にもなります。「竹と」の作品を通じて、この問題を多くの人に知ってもらい、竹林の未来について考えるきっかけになれば。そんな願いを込めて、竹と向き合っています。
Bamboo was originally planted to cultivate bamboo shoots for food and also as a useful material for daily life. Bamboo is strong, flexible and easy to process, so in the past it was used in various aspects of everyday life, such as for day-to-day necessities and as a construction material. However, due to changing times, there are fewer opportunities to see domestically produced bamboo products nowadays. As a result, unused bamboo forests are not well cared for and have become a social problem known as the ‘neglected bamboo forest’ problem.
TAKETO would like to make a small contribution to solving the problem of takegai or ‘bamboo damage’ by cutting bamboo from these neglected bamboo forests and transforming it into utensils for daily life. A well-maintained bamboo forest creates a beautiful landscape and is an asset to the local community. We hope that through the work of TAKETO many people will become aware of this problem and that it will become a starting point for thinking about the future of bamboo forests. With this wish in mind, we are working with bamboo.