Wild Cherry Bark

This kabakago, or back basket, is distinguished by its tightly woven outer layer of wild cherry (yamazakura) bark. Broad strips of bark are interlaced in an ichimatsu, or checkerboard, pattern, creating a richly textured surface with subtle variations in dark brown, reddish brown, and black. The natural irregularities of the bark remain visible throughout, giving the basket a tactile, highly individual character.

Traditionally, kabakago were constructed with an underlying structure of cedar or cryptomeria bark, over which the stronger wild cherry bark was applied. The material provided durability when fresh, although it becomes increasingly brittle as it dries and ages. The underlying bark used in this example has not been identified.

Surviving kabakago appear to be uncommon. A comparable basket from Tosa-gun in Kochi Prefecture, also known as a nekoda, is held by the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, underscoring the rarity of this distinctive form of Japanese basketry.