Toyooka willow craft

Toyooka kiryū craft is rooted in Toyooka and in kōriyanagi that grows in conditions associated with the Maruyama River. The riverbank setting matters in practical terms: the willow provides a material that can bend while holding the shape of baskets, storage cases, and bags.

Frequent Maruyama River flooding and unstable rice harvests form part of the local background for basketmaking in Toyooka. People turned to kōriyanagi suited to the climate and river ground, and the result was a working link between water-shaped land, willow growth, and handwoven containers.

Before a strip can be woven, kōriyanagi goes through seasonal preparation. Cut willow is temporarily set, peeled, washed, and dried in the sun, becoming ivory-toned white willow with a glossy, warm surface.

That preparation changes a riverbank plant into material ready for the hand. Some makers keep the whole route inside one practice, from cultivating kōriyanagi to finishing the work, so the final object carries the sequence of growing, preparing, weaving, and edging.

Willow kōri making follows a clear order of tools and movements. The maker selects willow, soaks it before weaving, prepares hemp-thread strings on a bamboo bow, inserts willow alternately, and weaves while controlling each strip and the tension of the thread.

The shape is then raised with a mallet and form, the corners are sewn with hemp thread, and bamboo edging wrapped in rattan skin is fitted along the rim. Sulfur smoking gives a bleaching effect and is used for insect- and moisture-resistant qualities, linking the pale surface to the container’s everyday durability.

Willow kōri belonged close to household storage. Long kōri and document kōri were used for clothing and books, while meishi kōri and related forms served as lunch-box containers.

In the Edo period, Toyooka willow containers also went on the road. Daimyo processions, merchants, Toyama medicine sellers, and people visiting Ise used willow kōri as travel gear; names such as medicine-seller kōri, ledger kōri, and small-goods kōri point to the person carrying the box and the objects placed inside.

Toyooka willow work kept changing with daily needs. In the Meiji period, hand-carried kōri bags appeared; willow-and-rattan baskets followed, wartime production included military kōri and lunch kōri, and postwar recovery centered on shopping baskets and colorful lacquered products.

Today the technique appears in willow bags, baskets, storage cases, eyeglass cases, and lampshades. In 1992, Toyooka kiryū craft received a national traditional craft designation, a context that gathers Toyooka, kōriyanagi, hand weaving, and changing everyday objects under the same name.

Toyooka also keeps the work moving through successor classes for local residents. The program runs roughly from June to March, with about 20 sessions a year, and teaches the path from kōriyanagi cultivation to basket finishing.

As of 2026, five of eight traditional craft specialists serve as instructors for about 30 students. The lessons are concrete: tending willow, preparing material, weaving the basket, applying the edge, and completing the finished piece.