Noboru Fujinuma

Noboru Fujinuma initially took a keen interest in photography and engineering. Following a trip to Paris, where he discovered the importance placed on promoting French cultural heritage, he started to attend classes on Japanese heritage. Here he realised the rich and wide range of crafts found in the Japanese craft tradition. He soon left his position at Nikon to become an apprentice for bamboo master Yagisawa Keizo, deciding to dedicate himself to bamboo work because ever fewer people were pursuing this profession. He believes that his craft and art do not only encompass the physical production of a piece but also the capacity of an artisan’s object to speak to the onlooker through its invisible details. Fujinuma wanted to express the special character of bamboo throughout his works, including characteristics such as its great strength and delicacy.

Over his long career in bamboo craftwork, Noboru Fujinuma has developed a sensitivity for discerning, conditioning and processing materials. This experience facilitates the dexterous execution of the techniques transmitted to Japan from 8th-century Chinese Tang culture. Major steps include chopping bamboo into ultra-fine sticks and braiding or weaving them. For Noboru Fujinuma, creation means to express original ideas and to use a technique to express them. Artisans should be in tune with their materials and allow them to express their own individual characteristics, as felt by each artisan. The unique identity of the creator is expressed through their creation. He wanted to create artworks that express these two characteristics. The thinness or the delicacy of the bamboo as well as the great strength of this material.

When Noboru Fujinuma changed his career to dedicate himself to creating objects from bamboo he struggled at first. He worked on the creation of simple objects initially but did not believe his technical aptitudes to be on a par with the level of desired production. The issues created by this lack of confidence in his own abilities would pertly change in 1992 when he received the Tokyo Governor’s Prize at the 39th Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition. This public recognition gave him more confidence in his work and in his creative direction.

The Ateliers of Wonders Exhibition

12 Stone Garden Exhibition