Hayakawa Shokosai I

A bamboo bowler hat by Hayakawa, c. 1880-1897. Metropolitan Museum.

• Born: 1815
• Died: 1897
• Japanese: 初代 早川 尚古斎 (shodai Hayakawa Shoukosai)

Hayakawa Shôkosai I is considered a pioneer of bamboo art, sometimes being described as "one of the founding fathers of modern bamboo art in Japan." Though trained and expert in the weaving of baskets, he applied these skills to the production of a number of other types of objects, paving the way for a shift of bamboo weaving from the field of craft, to that of "modern art."

References

• Gallery labels, Metropolitan Museum.[1]