Warazaiku Takubo – Handwoven Straw Amulet – Iwai Musubi – L
260,00 €
incl. VAT plus Shipping Costs
Among Takubo’s works, the Iwai Musubi stands as the workshop’s signature piece, a striking wall ornament rooted in mizuhiki, the traditional Japanese art of tying decorative paper cords. Two lengths of rope, each twisted in the opposite direction, are drawn tightly together to form an interlocking pattern that resists coming loose. In Japanese tradition, this firm, unbreakable bond represents a wish for a secure and protected home, and for a family held closely together. Beyond everyday use, it is also given as a gift to mark a wedding or a new home.
The piece is made using warazaiku, a straw craft technique passed down through generations. Its foundation is nawanai, the practice of rolling rice straw between the palms until it forms a single twisted cord, a slow, repetitive motion often compared to the rhythm of prayer. Craftspeople describe the process as one where personal wishes are worked into the material itself. For the Iwai Musubi, two such cords, twisted in opposite directions, are then braided together by hand, a step that demands real skill to keep the tension and thickness even throughout. That careful counter-twisting is what produces the ornament’s distinctive rhythm of movement and stillness.
The rope is made from aowara, rice straw harvested while still young, before the grain has fully ripened, which gives it a fresh scent and a vivid green hue. Over time, exposure to light and air gradually shifts that green toward a warm, golden beige, so the piece continues to change quietly with age.
Every Iwai Musubi is handmade at the Takubo workshop, now led by third-generation craftsman Kai Yoichirō. The workshop sits in the mountain village of Hinokage in Miyazaki Prefecture, close to Takachiho, a region woven into Japanese mythology. On the steep rice terraces surrounding the workshop, the family has grown its own straw for generations, tending every stage from planting to harvest to ensure the material’s quality and to help preserve the surrounding landscape. Through this work, Kai Yoichirō and his team keep a rare and quietly disappearing craft alive.
Because each piece is shaped entirely by hand, small variations in tone and texture are part of every Iwai Musubi rather than a flaw. They are what make each one genuinely one of a kind.
Features:
– Design: Kai Yoichirō
– Material: Aowara, young harvested rice straw
– Size: Large
– Dimensions: approx. L 70cm x W 60cm
– Made in: Miyazaki, Japan
– Handle With Care – This is a natural, handcrafted object, and its woven details are delicate. Please handle it gently, as the decoration can break under rough handling.
Care Instructions:
– Keep out of direct sunlight, which can fade or dry out the straw over time
– Store in a dry place, away from humidity, to prevent mold or discoloration
– Dust regularly with a soft brush or a dry cloth
– Avoid any contact with water or cleaning products
– With this care, the weave and structure of the piece will hold up beautifully for years to come.
Pre-order! Ships in October 2026!
Standard delivery: 3-7 DAYS
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About the Artist / Designer / Brand
Warazaiku Takubo – Handwoven Straw Amulet – Iwai Musubi – L
TAKUBO STRAW
A Craft as Old as Japan Itself
Warazaiku, the art of weaving rice straw by hand, is one of Japan’s oldest crafts, mentioned as far back as the Kojiki, the country’s foundational chronicle compiled in 712. For centuries it grew alongside rice farming and Shinto belief, practiced by farmers who turned the straw left over from each harvest into sandals, storage baskets, ropes, and ritual ornaments. Woven by hand, coil by coil, each piece was understood to carry a quiet prayer for good fortune, worked into the material by the maker as they twisted it.
Rooted in Takachiho
Takubo is based in Hinokage-cho, a mountain village in the Takachiho region of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, a landscape held sacred in Japanese mythology. Local legend tells of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, descending from the heavens here carrying a sheaf of rice, a blessing meant to ensure the land would always be abundant. That old promise still shapes the region today: Takachiho’s terraced rice fields, carved into steep mountainsides over generations, remain some of the most striking in the country and are recognized internationally for their agricultural heritage.
From Farmers’ Side Trade to Living Craft
Takubo’s own story began in 1957, when local farmers wove shimenawa ropes and straw ornaments during the quiet months between harvests, a modest source of extra income built on generations of shared knowledge. What started as seasonal work grew, over decades, into a dedicated workshop, becoming a full-time operation in 2016 and formally incorporating as Takubo Co., Ltd. in 2024. In 2022, the craft was officially recognized as a traditional handicraft of Miyazaki Prefecture, a rare distinction for a practice so many feared was disappearing.
That fear was not unfounded. Modern, machine-driven rice harvesting cuts the stalks far too short for weaving, which has left this kind of straw craft increasingly hard to sustain. Today, Takubo is led by Yoichiro Kai, a third-generation craftsman who has spent years working against that trend, growing rice by hand specifically to be harvested long for weaving rather than for grain alone. Roughly three quarters of every year go into cultivating and preparing the straw itself, a slow, seasonal rhythm that often means working around an unpredictable mountain climate long before a single piece is woven.
Two Kinds of Straw, One Technique
Every Takubo piece begins with nawanai, the fundamental technique of rolling rice straw between the palms until it twists into a single, even cord, entirely by hand and without machinery. From there, cords are shaped, bent, and bound into finished forms, whether a hanging ornament, a wreath, or a trivet. The workshop grows and prepares two varieties of straw for this work: inawara, harvested after the grain has ripened and valued for its strength and texture, and aowara, cut while still young and green, prized for its brighter color and faint natural fragrance. Aowara in particular continues to change after weaving, mellowing gradually from green to a warm golden beige as it meets light and air over time.
More Than an Object
Yoichiro Kai and his team don’t separate the craft from what it’s for. Growing their own straw, training newcomers who are drawn to a slower pace of life, and weaving every piece by hand are all part of the same effort: keeping a centuries-old technique in daily use, giving the region around Hinokage-cho a reason for young people to stay, and sending out objects meant to feel like they were made with someone specific in mind.
