Flexibly changing the form of wood
”Tatsuo Haisoto, Woodcraft Artisan”

Woodcraft with gentle expression

In 2003, well known woodcraft artist Tatsuo Haisoto was awarded the NHK Chairman Award at the 50th Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition for ”Jindai Nirehiki Magezukuri Jikirou”.
As the name ”食籠 Jikirou” implies, it is a food container, and is round making it look like an ”ohitsu rice container”.
Ordinarily a number of boards are combined for the sides, but surprisingly, this only uses one sheet of wood. Using a saw, slight lines are made in the wood so it can be folded to create the circular shape. The round form is exquisitely gentle giving it a soft expression.

Works reflecting ideas

Haisoto is full of innovative ideas, and this technique is one of his inventions. His ideas are not limited to woodcraft. For instance, his innovative ideas were used for ”keishodo: diatomaceous earth” bowls. ”Keishodo” is earth, mainly accumulated fossils, and is abundant in local Suzu city. It is definitely not fit for pottery.

Upon request from Suzu city, Haisoto took years and years of experimentation to successfully complete a bowl made of ”keishodo”. The bowl made of fossils is remarkably light in weight compared to ceramic bowls, though the appearance is the same.
He also made the largest plate in the world, measuring 3.5 meters x 2.5 meters, using ceramic boards, which is recorded in the Guinness World of Records. This was obviously very difficult to make.
The work by Haisoto demonstrates his vibrant energy, reflecting how much he enjoys his work. We could feel his enthusiasm as he talked with Nakata.