加工性の高い竹は、手直ししながら長くご愛用いただけるのが、最高に素晴らしい点のひとつだ。いくら丈夫で堅牢な竹細工であっても、好きな籠ほど毎日使うので、十年、二十年と手元に置いているうちに、どうしても傷んでしまうことがある。そこで修理が必要となるのだが、昔と違って竹職人も少なくなり、壊れた籠の修理にはお困りの方も多いようだ。そこで、竹虎が一肌脱ごうと立ち上がり、全国各地の竹籠修理に取り組んでいる。

One of the best things about bamboo is that it is highly workable and can be used for a long time with some repairs. No matter how strong and sturdy a bamboo craft is, the more you like it, the more likely it is to be used every day, so after ten or twenty years of keeping it, it can become damaged. This is when repairs become necessary, but unlike in the past, there are fewer bamboo craftsmen, and many people seem to have trouble repairing broken baskets. That's why we at TAKETORA are working to repair bamboo baskets all over the country.

籠を作った本人がいれば、簡単に直してもらうこともできるかもしれない。ところが、古い竹製品は誰がどこで編んだものなのか分からないものがほとんどだ。現役の職人さんたちは、他の竹人が作ったものは、手間ばかりかかってしまう割に実入りも少ないので、案外触りたがらない。

If the person who made the basket is there, it may be easy to have it repaired. However, with most old bamboo products, it is difficult to know who made them and where they were made. Active craftsmen are reluctant to do work made by other bamboo craftsmen because it is cheap compared to the amount of work required.

いやいや、しかし、この竹魚籠は、普通の竹細工師のみならず、自分たちでも手に取るのを躊躇してしまいそうな壊れようだ。本体編みの大きな穴もそうだが、特に底編みはすっかり抜け落ちた形になって、向こうが見えてしまっているのだ。

However, this bamboo fish basket is so broken that not only ordinary bamboo craftsmen, but even us, would hesitate to pick it up. Not only is there a large hole in the main weave, but the bottom weave has completely fallen out, allowing you to see through to the other side.

口巻だってひどい状態だ。元々は若くて柔らかな竹を選び、表皮を薄く剥いだ竹ヒゴで、きつく巻かれていたはずなのだが、見る影がない。これは巻き直ししかないだろう。こんな感じで、ちょっと見には絶望的にも思える魚籠が、どのように修理されるのか？明日の30年ブログ「竹虎四代目がゆく！」をお楽しみに（笑）。

The entrance to the basket is also in a terrible state. It must have originally been made from young, soft bamboo that had been tightly wrapped with thin strips of bamboo that had had their bark peeled off, but it is unrecognizable. The only thing that can be done is to rewind it. How can a fish basket that at first glance seems hopeless like this be repaired? Stay tuned for tomorrow's 30th anniversary blog, "The Fourth Generation of Taketora is on the Move!"