Latest news with #Fujinuma
04-06-2025
- Business
Fujinuma Noboru: Transforming Everyday Bamboo Craftwork into Globally Appreciated Art
More than 90% of Fujinuma Noboru's bamboo creations are snapped up by collectors from around the world. Along with his exhibitions, so many collectors visit his studio in person that it limits the ability to see his work in Japan. What is it about Fujinuma's work that attracts such high regard from overseas? The starting point was in 1997 when Lloyd Cotsen, an art collector and former president of the major cosmetics company Neutrogena, visited a solo exhibition Fujinuma was holding at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo and purchased one of his works. When Cotsen later introduced Fujinuma's work at an exhibition of his art collection in New York, it prompted other overseas collectors to start trying to acquire his pieces too. That first piece Cotsen had purchased was a bamboo flower basket titled Spring Tide . To create it, Fujinuma used nemagaridake , or nemagari bamboo, so-called because it is significantly 'bent at the roots' due to heavy snow over the winter months, weaving it together with significant strength using the free-style ara-ami rough plaiting technique to convey a vivid expression of the bamboo's energy. Spring Tide , a nemagari bamboo flower basket (2024). (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) ' Nemagaridake is such a tough material that I didn't know how to work with it at first,' recalls Fujimuna. 'It was too strong to weave, even with the help of others, and it took three years of attempts to succeed.' Fujinuma has a particularly deep connection with his work Spring Tide and continues to this day to develop it as a series. 'When I was 41, I won an award at the Japan Traditional Kōgei, or Art Crafts, Exhibition, but after that I fell into a rut. It was then I became aware of the importance of ki , because losing that inner energy caused my slump. Ever since then I have used ki as a theme in my work. Spring Tide was one of the first works I made during that time.' From the Kitchen to the Tokonoma The city of Ōtawara in Tochigi Prefecture, where Fujinuma is based, is a well-known bamboo production area with a long history of the local bamboo being used to make various household items. This made the fast-growing grass something that was always near at hand and deeply familiar to him. Fujinuma explains: 'I was good at making crafts, and as a child I made bamboo stilts and fishing rods. My father was a carpenter so I could use his tools, like saws and the traditional nata hatchet, whenever I wanted. I never thought about becoming a bamboo artisan, though.' Fujinuma in interview. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) As Japan was in a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, he chose to go to a technical high school. After that, he took on a position at a machine manufacturer. When he was 27, though, he took a trip to France that triggered a major turn in his life. 'There were so many Japanese people at the Louvre and along the Champs-Élysées, and I wondered why they had come all the way to Paris. I thought about it really seriously and the answer I came to was 'the power of culture.'' Despite having felt no kind of connection before, this was when he first became clearly aware of 'culture' as a concept. He immediately became caught up in exploring his own country's culture. This didn't mean though that he knew straight away what he wanted to do. He explored a number of fields like lacquerware, pottery, calligraphy, and tea ceremony, and it was during this time, while taking a culture class to study bamboo craftwork, that he came across a posthumously published collection of works by Shōno Shōunsai, designated as the first Living National Treasure for bamboo art in 1967. It was this photo book that helped him decide his path. Fujinuma's copy of the posthumously published collection of Shōno Shōunsai's works. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) 'I was shocked to see how much could be achieved with bamboo. It was something usually found in the kitchen, but here it had been transformed into display pieces for the tokonoma ornamental alcove. The moment I realized the possibilities, I decided I would quit working at my company. I thought if I could become as skilled as Shōno-sensei, I could do this too.' He waited until his thirtieth birthday in 1975 and then started becoming involved with bamboo crafts. Learning for Yourself Fujinuma studied basic techniques under Yagisawa Keizō, who was dedicated to training successors in the art. However, after just 18 months, Yagisawa told Fujinuma 'I have nothing more to teach you,' and so he became independent. Following that, accompanied by his copy of Shōno's photo collection, he built up his own skills. 'Thinking back,' says Fujinuma, 'I'm glad I didn't have to study long. After all, the only way to make the most of bamboo as a material is to work with it yourself and learn its 'character.' Plus, if you are taught, all you can do is imitate. When you produce something using only the traditional techniques you have learned, the designs and other elements will just end up resembling past works, and nothing new or original can be created.' Fujinuma at work. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) In 1992, Fujinuma created a truly unique technique. While making a piece using the traditional tabane-ami bundled plaiting technique, he accidentally twisted the bundles of bamboo strips. This twisting had a surprising effect. 'The traditional technique produces a basket rim that is straight', he explained. 'But by adding this technique of twisting, the rim can be formed into a wave.' One of his recent works that uses this unique technique is Gogyō , a tabane-ami flower basket. He created it by weaving finely split dyed bamboo strips into a two-layer structure. He used the traditional openwork technique ajiro-ami (herringbone weave) for the inner layer to convey the delicateness of the bamboo and his unique weaving technique of twisting the bundles for the outer layer to express the bamboo's strength. The unique shape, not seen in traditional flower baskets, further accentuates the organic beauty of the bamboo. Gogyō bamboo flower basket (2021). (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) A close-up of the bamboo work on Gogyō (2021). (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) Works Intended to Inspire the Next Generation Fujinuma's works, created with his own unique techniques and sense of aesthetics, have a distinctive charm. Ever since he began displaying them in the showcase of a friend's watch shop, there has been no shortage of buyers. His reputation continued to grow steadily and led to him holding an exhibition in Tokyo. From around 2000, he began exhibiting his works at overseas art shows, and in 2011 he held a solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the largest and most historic art museums in the United States. Then in 2012, at the age of 67, Fujinuma was designated a Living National Treasure. At the time of this recognition, he was praised for 'using traditional techniques while adding his own ingenuity through making use of the neat spaces and the intricate sensuji patterns created by the minutely fine ajiro-ami technique and the delicate tabane-ami technique, along with his free style ara-ami technique. His works, inspired by the concept of ki (energy), are highly regarded for their elegant and creative beauty, with generous forms that encompass an expansive space and incorporate powerful design compositions.' Says Fujinuma: 'I think I am where I am today because I came across Shōno-sensei's photo collection. That's why I want to leave works that will inspire the next generation to 'want to try making things.' To achieve that, I think it's important to focus purely on incorporating my own thoughts into my work, rather than worrying about how people will regard it.' Fujinuma himself admits that once he starts work on a piece, he becomes so preoccupied with it that he doesn't even spare time for sleep. During this creative process, he says that designs and ideas for pieces flow one after another. Fujinuma's designs pinned on the wall. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) In 2028, he is planning to hold a solo exhibition at TAI Modern, an art gallery dedicated to Japanese bamboo crafts and contemporary American art in Sante Fe, New Mexico. The theme will be 'strength.' Today, as every day, Fujinuma continues to work toward creating pieces in pursuit of that expression. A closer look at Fujinuma at work. (© Yokozeki Kazuhiro) (Originally published in Japanese. Interview and text by Sugihara Yuka and Power News. Banner photo: Fujinuma with one of his completed pieces. © Yokozeki Kazuhiro.)
Asahi Shimbun
08-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Suspect accused of trafficking teenager to scam ring in Myanmar
Tomu Fujinuma, second from left, is escorted by police officers on May 7 at Sendai Airport. (Kei Teshirogi) Miyagi prefectural police arrested a suspected recruiter-trafficker for an international scam operation in Myanmar on May 7 over the disappearance of a 17-year-old high school student from the prefecture. According to police, Tomu Fujinuma, 29, met the teenager at an airport in Thailand on Jan. 10 and lured him to Myanmar, where he was forced to work at an international scam center. The teenager was initially contacted through an online game by Fujinuma or an associate who promised easy money for simple tasks in Thailand, police said. Police have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted to or denied the allegations. Investigators believe the high school student was trapped at the crime hub in Myanmar near the Thailand border, where he was forced to make fraudulent calls to victims in Japan. He was rescued by Thai authorities in mid-January and returned to Japan. This is the first arrest made by Japanese authorities of a suspected recruiter connected to Myanmar-based international scam operations. Fujinuma was initially apprehended by Thai authorities in February when he tried to enter the country from Myanmar. After being deported to Japan, he was arrested by Osaka police in March on suspicion of unlawful confinement in a separate case that occurred last year. He was indicted in April. OVER 7,000 'RESCUED' Reports surfaced in January that thousands of people from Asia and other regions were being held hostage in the Myanmar area bordering Thailand, where international crime syndicates operate scam centers. In the months following those reports, an ethnic minority militia in Myanmar that controls the border area reportedly intervened and 'rescued' more than 7,000 foreign workers. The militia held onto the workers while they awaited relocation to Thailand. To date, 10 Japanese nationals have been detained or taken into protective custody by Thai authorities before being repatriated. They include five individuals arrested in Japan for their suspected involvement in scams and other criminal activities. Fujinuma's arrest, along with the rescue of the 17-year-old student, highlights the success of the growing collaboration between Thai and Japanese authorities. Earlier crackdowns on international scam operations in countries such as the Philippines and Cambodia have led to the repatriation of several Japanese suspects and victims. (This article was written by Kei Teshirogi and Shimpachi Yoshida, a senior staff writer.)
Japan Times
25-03-2025
- Japan Times
Osaka police arrest Japanese man linked to fraud group in Myanmar
Osaka police on Tuesday arrested a 29-year-old Japanese man who had been detained in Thailand for allegedly tricking a Japanese high school student into committing fraud from Myanmar. The suspect, Tomu Fujinuma, was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police after being transported to Kansai International Airport from Bangkok. Fujinuma was arrested on initial charges of abducting an acquaintance in his 20s from a street in Osaka and assaulting and confining him in August last year. The suspect allegedly stole ¥2.6 million in cash and a watch from the acquaintance and fled Japan after the incident, police said. Japanese police are also investigating Fujinuma for allegedly tricking the high school student and kidnapping him to Myanmar. According to Thai police and other sources, Fujinuma was held at an airport in Bangkok on Feb. 13 this year for his alleged involvement in managing a fraud scheme in Myanmar. Fujinuma is believed to have been involved in a fraud group targeting Japanese nationals that was operating from a Chinese-affiliated crime group's base near Myawaddy, eastern Myanmar. He allegedly forced the high school student from Miyagi Prefecture, whom he met in an online gaming community, to commit fraud. Fujinuma may have also been involved in a Japanese scam group operating from Cambodia, Thai police and other sources said.
Japan Times
18-03-2025
- Japan Times
Osaka police to arrest Japanese man detained in Thailand
Osaka prefectural police said Monday they plan to arrest a Japanese man — currently detained in Thailand for allegedly luring a Japanese high school student to Myanmar and forcing him to take part in a fraud scheme there — on suspicion he imprisoned an acquaintance in the city of Osaka last year. The arrest could happen as early as March 25, according to investigators, after he is transferred to Japan from Thailand. The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old Tomu Fujinuma, investigators said. On Aug. 20, 2024, Fujinuma allegedly abducted a male acquaintance in his 20s in Osaka's Nishi Ward, forcing him into a car and assaulting him with a stun gun. Fujinuma fled overseas after the incident. Thai police said he was apprehended at an airport in Bangkok on Feb.13 on suspicion of running a fraud ring in Myanmar. The high school student reportedly met Fujinuma through an online game and confided in him about personal troubles. Fujinuma allegedly coaxed the student to travel to Thailand, only to take him to a criminal base in Myanmar. The student was rescued in January. Japanese authorities are also investigating Fujinuma for allegedly luring the student to Myanmar under false pretenses and kidnapping him. Translated by The Japan Times
