"Following an essay outlining the evolution of bamboo art in Japan and a small section introducing earlier Chinese baskets and Japanese baskets in Chinese style, the bulk of the catalogue is organized by artistic lineages, starting with the founding father Hayakawa Shokosai I (1815–1897) and his successors and moving on to the other great craft dynasties based in Osaka, including large sections devoted to the Yamamoto Chikuryosai, Tanabe Chikuunsai, and Maeda Chikubosai lines. From catalogue number 192 the focus moves to the Iizuka line in Tochigi Prefecture and Tokyo, with numerous works by Hosai II, Rokansai, and Shokansai. The story is then continued into the post-war period when artistic basketry came to be practised in many other parts of Japan and a new generation of masters emerged, supported by patrons in both Japan and the United States. Each of the fourteen sections of dramatic colour plates (in most cases with both general and detail images) is followed by a section printed on matt paper with photographs of all the signatures and box inscriptions and biographies of each artist. The catalogue concludes with a bibliography, glossary, and artist index."--"It is with great pride and pleasure that the owner of the anonymous ‘Naej Collection’ announces the publication of a trilingual catalogue featuring three hundred and twenty-three masterpieces of Japanese bamboo art. Although the entire history of the genre is covered, the Naej Collection is especially strong in works by leading artists from the formative period 1850–1950, when Japanese basketry was established as an independent medium, the great craft dynasties were founded, and first Osaka and then Tokyo emerged as major centres of creativity. More than 90 per cent of the baskets are signed and the catalogue breaks new ground by providing full details and photographs both of the signatures and of the storage-box inscriptions, which include much precious documentary information. The catalogue is thus not merely the visual record of a great collection but the essential reference work for a developing field of study and connoisseurship.The year 2017 was pivotal in the international appreciation of Japanese basketry, old and new. In March, one of Japan’s most outstanding younger craftsman succeeded to the title of Tanabe Chikuunsai, becoming the fourth individual to hold that illustrious name (the Naej Collection includes the largest group outside Japan of works by all four generations of Tanabe Chikuunsai). May 2017 saw the opening of Japan House S©Đo Paulo, the first in an international chain of cultural centers sponsored by the Government of Japan, with zBamboo: The Material That Built Japany as the theme of the opening exhibition, including a selection of masterpieces from the Naej Collection and an installation by Tanabe Chikuunsai IV. More than 300,000 Brazilians flocked to Japan House during the run of the exhibition.On June 12, the Metropolitan Museum of Art inaugurated the exhibition ‘Japanese Bamboo Art: The Abbey Collection,’ widening the audience for Japanese bamboo art and, in the words of the distinguished Japanese curator Moroyama Masanori, introducing ‘Many more potential enthusiasts to the expressive power of this ancient and beautiful tradition.’ The Met exhibition closed early in February 2018, having been seen by 400,000 visitors.Looking ahead, around seventy works from the Naej Collection will form the major component of the exhibition ‘Fendre l’air—l’art du bambou japonais [Cleaving the Air: The Art of Japanese Bamboo]’ at the Mus©♭e du quai Branly in Paris from 27 November 2018 to 7 April 2019, the largest exhibition ever held of Japanese bamboo art."--