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JOK03.0038.xf1b

Many Okinawans used to work into their nineties, farming, and weaving bashofu, a fine fabric made from a local banana fiber. Bashofu weaving was a home-based craft, and highly valued, but there are few, if any, weavers producing the fabric at home anymore. The workshop of Toshiko Taira, 87, at left, with a young apprentice, in the northern Okinawa village of Kijoka, is virtually all that is left of the art. She has been designated a national treasure of Japan. She and her daughter are attempting to keep the fine practice alive. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats)

Filename
JOK03_0038_xf1b.jpg
Copyright
© 2005 Peter Menzel / Hungry Planet: What the World Eats / www.menzelphoto.com
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1024x682 / 312.0KB
www.menzelphoto.com
Contained in galleries
Japan, Hungry Planet: Japan
Many Okinawans used to work into their nineties, farming, and weaving bashofu, a fine fabric made from a local banana fiber. Bashofu weaving was a home-based craft, and highly valued, but there are few, if any, weavers producing the fabric at home anymore. The workshop of Toshiko Taira, 87, at left, with a young apprentice, in the northern Okinawa village of Kijoka, is virtually all that is left of the art. She has been designated a national treasure of Japan. She and her daughter are attempting to keep the fine practice alive. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats)
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