Is creating beautiful things a joyful experience?

Shosei Fujitsuka says of his creative process, "I've never thought of it as fun." Beyond his outstanding technique lay an endless question: what does one express through bamboo? Here, we look inside the inner struggles of an artist who pioneered a revolutionary technique.

His Master's Teaching: "Is It Interesting or Not?"

After diving into the world of bamboo crafting at age 23 and enduring a long 15-year period of rejections after entering major public exhibitions, Shosei Fujitsuka finally achieved his first selection at the Traditional Crafts Exhibition. From then on, acclaim grew steadily, yet the works he created with bamboo departed significantly from conventional, practical bamboo craft.

When visitors saw Fujitsuka's work at exhibitions, what first astonished them was the dizzyingly fine weave.

"Wow, that's amazing. How many hours does that take?" people would ask with admiring sighs.

Yet Fujitsuka himself flatly dismisses such pure praise for technical skill as "irrelevant."

"Creating a piece is a given. What matters is whether what you want to express is truly reflected in the work."

For an artist, possessing exceptional skill is a prerequisite. But Fujitsuka aimed not for a mere display of technical mastery, but for elevation into fine art craft. Serving as his constant compass was a lesson from his master, Shodo Baba.

"He would say, 'Look, it's about whether it's interesting or not. It's about whether someone looks at it at a glance and thinks, "Now that's interesting."'"

Copying what others have already done isn't interesting. That is precisely why Fujitsuka pours an almost obsessive passion into doing "what no one else has done."

"An artist, after all, is an expresser. When you create something, you have to express through the object."

What do I express using bamboo? Confronting this fundamental question forms the core of Fujitsuka's creative philosophy.

Weaving the Cosmos and Nature: "彩変化" (Saihenka) and the Fight Against a Conservative Industry

As an expresser pursuing the "interesting," Fujitsuka established his unique technique, "彩変化" (Saihenka), in which colors shift depending on the viewing angle. This magical visual effect is backed by a level of meticulous handwork that borders on obsession.

First, bamboo split to a certain width is dyed black. Next, by shaving its thickness and both sides, a square strip (higo) is created with one black side and three white sides. This strip is then shaved diagonally—leaving the one black face intact—to form a triangle. The strip is then dyed purple, reddish-brown, or green, and assembled with the pointed apex facing forward. By dyeing the left and right sides in different colors, an effect is created where the colors reverse whenever the viewer shifts perspective.

Using this innovative technique, Fujitsuka renders grand scenes of the cosmos and nature that he loves—such as "天の川" (Milky Way), "流れ星" (Shooting Star), "海辺の波" (Coastal Waves), and even "赤富士" (Red Fuji) inspired by Katsushika Hokusai—entirely through bamboo.

However, challenging conventional norms with new forms of expression met with fierce resistance within the conservative craft world. In 1989, when Fujitsuka submitted a work featuring purple dye to a traditional craft exhibition, it was rejected on the grounds of "Who ever heard of purple bamboo?" At the time, when natural bamboo tones—or brown and black at best—were the standard, vibrant colors were dismissed as looking like "cheap, disposable baskets."

"I think if a young artist submitted a green piece even today, it would still get rejected. The industry holds fast to rigid conventions, and anything outside them draws frowns."

Even so, he refused to abandon his distinct style. Pushing through the backlash year after year, he finally won an award for a piece using purple in 2009—20 years later.

"It took 20 years of relentless effort just to get recognized with an award for a piece in that color. It takes that many years before people around you finally accept it."

Tradition that lasts a century isn't forged by merely clinging to old forms, but by continually incorporating new expressions of each era.

"Today's boldest innovation becomes tomorrow's tradition years down the line."

Driven by this conviction, Fujitsuka kept challenging himself with new colors and new shapes.

"I've Never Thought of It as Fun"—The Unvarnished Agony of Creation

Having reached the pinnacle of bamboo artistry with his unique techniques and novel motifs, one might imagine Fujitsuka overflowing with the pure joy of bringing beauty to life. Yet when former Japanese national soccer team player Hidetoshi Nakata asked him in an interview, "Do you enjoy your work?" he gave a blunt reply:

"I’ve never once thought my work was fun. Honestly. Creating things isn't enjoyable. In fact, it's painful."

For Fujitsuka, creation was an uncompromising, continuous battle to turn the images in his mind into tangible forms. The most grueling part, he says, is the initial stage of coming up with a design.

"Until the design is settled, it's absolute agony. I'm in a terrible mood and constantly frustrated during that phase. That's why my wife can't stand it."

There are no thick, grand sketchbooks in his workshop. Instead, his space is filled with scrap paper and misprinted pages.

"It's much easier on my mind to sketch on the back of trivial flyers like these."

He aggressively scribbles rough ideas in colored pencil on these scraps, scattering them all over the room. Surrounded by endless ideas, he holds his head in frustration, wrestling with what works and what doesn't, enduring the agony of creation to the point of sleepless nights.

This is the raw, unglamorous reality of creation as shared by a Living National Treasure. It represents the endless question of "what to express" that artists face precisely after mastering exquisite technique.

Continuing to express himself through this pain, Fujitsuka was officially designated a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) in 2023. Yet, this pinnacle of honor brought him a major dilemma of a whole new dimension.