Basket materials used from the Jomon period to the Muromachi period in Japan

Abstract

To clarify materials and weaving technique, 1146 baskets excavated from 123 archaeological sites of the Jomon to the Muromachi periods are complied. No baskets were made of straw, and it was unknown when straw was began to be used for basket weaving. Baskets made of bamboos increased around the Kofun period, but it did not lead to any drastic change in basket making after this period. Regional difference in basket materials clearly existed, bamboos in the Tohoku and Kanto districts and plants other than bamboos in the Hokuriku district. Baskets were mostly woven by various wickerwork except for the Hokuriku district.