Kazuho Shimomoto

Background

Kazuho Shimomoto was born in Kochi. He built a charcoal kiln in Kagamiyoshihara on land associated with his grandparents and began working as a charcoal burner. His grandfather had made charcoal there, and the inherited kiln lineage gave Shimomoto a working life organized around mountain fuel, heat and rural work before craft became his occupation.

The bamboo practice grew out of downtime and waste from that work. While tending charcoal he carved chopsticks and spoons from leftover bamboo. Those tools attracted attention, and he shifted from charcoal production toward bamboo as the center of his practice. He began independent production in 2009 and later established TAKETO in 2022, now working with a small team while preserving the hand knowledge developed during the one-person period.

Shimomoto harvests bamboo from local and often neglected groves, heat-treats it, then smokes it for about a week in the charcoal kiln to make dark susutake before cutting it into eating, serving and tea tools. The black surface is a residue of the earlier occupation and the same kiln infrastructure. Even scraps return as fuel.