Yuko Tanaka - Mura-take I

Artist: Yuko Tanaka
Materials: yukata fabric, plastic, sterling silver, steel wire
Dimensions: 6” x 1” x ¼”,  16” neckwire

Artist Statement: Bamboo has long been an important resource in Japanese culture. In addition to its practical uses and in cuisine, bamboo motifs found in literature, proverbs, and art hold symbolic messages of luck, strength, humility, and growth. 

This piece features a bamboo motif on yukata fabric with dimensions that evoke for me fond memories of the Tanabata (Star) Festival, held on July 7. On this day, bamboo branches are decorated with colorful paper ornaments and wish notes, written on rectangular paper called tanzaku. 

On the back of the pendant is a hand-pierced poem in Japanese, written by a well-known aristocrat-poet, Ohtomo-no-Yakamochi in 753 AD. In it, the poet expresses appreciation of a peaceful evening marked by the faint and tranquil sound of bamboo leaves sighing in the breeze.

Artist Bio: Yuko Tanaka is a self-taught jewelry artist, originally from Tokyo, Japan.
Yuko handcrafts her jewelry with an emphasis on elements of contrast, negative/positive space, and minimalistic design. Thematic nature of her pieces are often enhanced with wood, shell, textile, and found objects.