I am attracted to the passing of skills from parents to their children. This sculpture is a family history. Tanabe Tsuneo was born in 1877. At the age of 12 he became apprenticed to a master in bamboo art, Wada Waichisai. At 24 he opened his own workshop and Waichisai gave him the name Chikuunsai (bamboo cloud).

Born in 1910, Tanabe Shochiku (little bamboo) learned as a disciple of his father and later on practiced the art of basketry in the Chinese style. In 1937 when his father died, he took the name Chikuunsai ll and changed his style from works that were quite dense to those that were lighter, more open and sculptural.

Generation-three began in 1940 with the birth of Tanabe Hisao. He was the first of the family to attend university, following which he trained with his father and Tsukayoshi Tadayoshi. In 1991 his father ceded his workshop to him and bestowed the name Chikuunsai lll. His work distinguishes itself from earlier members of his family by following a more contemporary style and deviating more towards non-utilitarian forms on one hand, while maintaining the age-old traditions on the other.

The family, with roots in Sakai in the Osaka prefecture, continued its legacy in 1973 with the birth of Tanabe Takeo.  He studied at Osaka City Crafts High School and then received a degree in sculpture from Tokyo Art University, after which he settled into the workshop of his father. He waited three years after the death of his father in 2014 to assume the name Chikuunsai lV. He has developed an international reputation with his monumental ephemeral installations of woven tiger and black bamboo while still continuing to produce traditional forms.

The family legacy continues and his now 11-year-old daughter has begun to give demonstrations. Who knows, maybe she will become Chikuunsai V.