Basket of roughly spherical form, with large openings in the weave

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japan modernized and began to adopt Western concepts of art and craft, prompting those at the forefront of basketry to assert themselves as individual, creative artists, and to establish lineages in the tradition of other Japanese art forms. Among the most revered lineages of Japanese bamboo artists, the Tanabe family gained renown with Chinese style baskets made by patriarch Chikuunsai I for flower arrangements accompanying sencha tea practice. Unlike chanoyu, the tea ceremony that involves serving matcha (powdered green tea), the sencha steeped-tea tradition revolves around the appreciation of karamono (Chinese things). Tanabe Chikuunsai II carried this aesthetic further, employing thin strips of bamboo in precise regular patterns that elegantly incorporate open space. His highly refined works convey a delicate, airy quality.