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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."

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."

Shôkosai was likely the first bamboo artist to sign his works. He rose to prominence producing [[tea ceremony|tea]] implements; in [[1877]], one of his works, a lidded basket, was awarded the Phoenix Prize at the First [[Domestic Industrial Exposition]] in Tokyo.

Shôkosai was likely the first bamboo artist to sign his works. He rose to prominence producing [[tea ceremony|tea]] implements; in [[1877]], one of his works, a lidded basket, was awarded the Phoenix Prize at the First [[Domestic Industrial Exposition]] in Tokyo and was then purchased and kept by the [[Empress Dowager Shoken|Empress]].<ref>Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, ''Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan'', University of Washington Press (2007), 15.</ref>

Two of his sons followed in his footsteps, producing bamboo works and taking on the names [[Hayakawa Shokosai II|Hayakawa Shôkosai II]] and [[Hayakawa Shokosai III|Hayakawa Shôkosai III]], establishing and continuing a [[Hayakawa school]] of bamboo art.

Two of his sons followed in his footsteps, producing bamboo works and taking on the names [[Hayakawa Shokosai II|Hayakawa Shôkosai II]] and [[Hayakawa Shokosai III|Hayakawa Shôkosai III]], establishing and continuing a [[Hayakawa school]] of bamboo art.