一番最初にする事は切ってきた竹を丁寧に、綺麗に洗う事。それから必要な長さに切って、「墨付け」という作業から始める。どれくらいの幅で割るかの印を付けていく。

The first thing to do is wash cleanly the bamboo carefully and cleanly. Then cut it to the required length and start with the work "sumituke". I will mark how much to divide by the width.

次にするのが「荒割り」。付けた印の通りに竹筒を縦に割っていく。簡単そうだが、長くなるほど幅が不均一になるので調整が難しい。

The next thing is "arawari". I break the bamboo pipe vertically according to the mark attached. It seems easy, but the longer it gets, the more difficult it is to adjust because the width becomes uneven.

続いて行うのが「荒剥ぎ」と「うす剥ぎ」。縦に割った竹の「皮」を剥いでいく。一般的な「竹ひご」の厚さは0.6ｍｍほど。一回では剥げないので、数回に分けて剥ぐ。基本的に使うのはこの竹皮の部分だけで、内側は捨てる部分の方が多い。伝統工芸ではこの後に「うら鋤き」という専用の道具で厚みを揃える工程を行う事も多い。

Next on is "arahagi" and "usuhagi" I peel off the "Bamboo skin" vertically split. The thickness of common "takehigo" is about 0.6 mm. Since it will not peel off at once, peel off in several times. Basically it uses only the bamboo skin, and the inside is more discarded. In traditional crafting there are many things to do the process of uniforming the thickness with a special tool called "urasuki" after this.

※"takehigo"＝a thin strip of bamboo

厚みを揃えたら「幅取り」。二本セットの刃物の間を通し、ひごの幅を揃える。刃物を正確に打ちこんだり、刃の間を早く正確に通す技術が難しい。

Once you have the thickness, "habatori". Pass between the two blades, aligning the width of the "takehigo". It is difficult to strike the blade accurately and to pass through the blades quickly and accurately.

ひご取り最後の工程が「面取り」。にぎりっちゃのように直接手に触れる部分が多い作品では特に気を使う部分。作品を持った人がひごの端で手を切らぬよう、また、光の屈折が作品をより美しく見せるよう、全てのひごに行う。

The final step of making "takehigo" is "mentori" Parts that particularly care about pieces that have direct contact with hands like "nigirittya". Do not let people with the work cut their hands at the edge of the chin, and also refract light so that the work looks more beautiful.

いよいよここから「編み」という工程が始まる。

一本の竹から長い工程を経て、多彩な作品を創りあげていく。厚さ、幅、長さの違う様々な竹ひごを用いて、全く表情の違う作品を仕上げていく。

これが職人の手仕事。職人の技。

The process of "ami" at last.We knit many diverse "takehigo" and create one art.A variety of art is born from one bamboo.This is the work of a craftsman. Skill of a craftsman.