TANABE CHIKUUNSAI II (1910 - 2000) is one of the most famous names in Japanese bamboo art. His father, Tanabe Chikuunsai I (1877-1937), is rightly regarded as one of the founders of modern Japanese bamboo weaving. Chikuunsai I started the family business by becoming an independent artist in 1901 after an apprenticeship with Wada Wachisai I, who gave him one of his own former names: Chikuunsai (“Studio of the Bamboo Cloud”). Along with Iizuka Rōkansai and Yamamoto Chikuryōsai I, “Chikuunsai, Master of the West” was even one of the bamboo artists mentioned by the German architect and design theorist Bruno Taut for his exceptional artistic abilities.

Chikuunsai II was born in Sakai City, Osaka, and began learning from his father at an early age. He first exhibited his works at the Teiten National Fine Art Exhibition in 1931. After the death of his father in 1937, Chikuunsai II took over the family name and began to work for a wider audience with frequent national and international exhibitions. Mostly admired for his personal style of openwork hexagonal weaving, Chikuunsai II is also applauded for his excellent minute technical skills in rendering the more austere, classical Chinese-style baskets. He passed the name Chikuunsai on to his eldest son in 1991 and, now in its fourth generation, Chikuunsai has become one of the most important names for bamboo works in the globalized art world.

(Source: Galerie Kommoss)