Dai Williams, Estate of Karin Nelson, and Karin Nelson
Collection place:
Fukushima Prefecture, South Tohoku, Tohoku region
Verbatim coll. place:
Unknown but probably Fukushima or Akita Prefecture
Culture or time period:
Japanese
Collector:
Dai Williams
Collection date:
December 27, 1997
Materials:
Linden (wood) (bast, also called, tilia japonica. wefts), Linden (wood) (bast, carrying cord), and Wild grapevine (inner bark, also called budo. 2 ply cords on warp)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Baskets (containers)
Function:
1.2 Gathering
Accession date:
March 20, 2012
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Dimensions:
whole and parts— depth 8 centimeters, whole and parts— volume 7600 centimeters, whole and parts— thickness 3.5 millimeters, whole and parts— circumference 76 centimeters, whole and parts— weight 710 grams, whole and parts— width 38.5 centimeters, whole and parts— thickness 1.1 centimeters, whole and parts— thickness 5 millimeters, and whole and parts— height 24 centimeters
Comment:
Probably woven on a wooden or box form although a skilled craftsman or woman could have made it without such a device. If a form was used, it probably measured about 37cm wide by 24cm high by 6cm deep. In either case, construction began by laying 45 budo warps, each about 60 or 70 cm long, on a flat surface and securing them in some way as to prevent shifting. While construction and form of this seoibukuro, backpack, appears to be entirely consistent with comparables, the use of grapevine for the warps is suspect. Firstly, it never appears in any comparable. Second, as the poor weight to capacity ratio suggests, the bag would have been considered too heavy for everyday use when lighter materials like wara, rice straw or sedge were available. Budo was usually used as it was stripped from the vine. In that case, it is strong, light and durable. However, when processed into cord and used in such quantity as it is here, the resultant bag becomes heavy. This drawback would surely have outweighed its durability.