Documentation dating bamboo bags

hello everyone! I haven’t been here in a while but I have know you all can help. Does anyone have any documentation that proves that these half circle bamboo bags are from japan and their era? I’m working on a project. As far as I know they are Japanese and from as early as the 1940s but I have no physical proof other than my own knowledge.

Thanks Guild!

Sandra

 

Hi! I don't know about vintage examples but the bag in your pic looks like a new Cult Gaia purse. Hope someone else can help more!

 

Hi Robin! Yes it is more than likely the cult Gaia bag, just using the image as reference. I’m looking for any photos or clippings that show the original vintage version and its purpose or functionality.

 

Thanks Midge!
Yeah this is sort of why I’m looking for documentation that shows where they came from and how they were used. I can’t say much about the project. But I need like photos of folks in the 40s or 50s using them. Or published books describing the history of the bag. I have my own professional knowledge but need some photographic proof. Thank you for the link!

Sandra

 

I always thought they were Chinese, not Japanese, because they used to be sold in Chinatown in those same stores that sold peacock chairs, and rosewood buddhas... and they used to be cheap. I remember them being popular in the mid-late 70s (c. 1977ish) for summer, and they were often lined in a fabric, or plastic.

 

Hi Jonathan!
I’m suppose they have been copied in China, but they are originally from Japan.
They are even marked “made in occupied Japan” sometimes.

 

If they are marked occupied Japan they would date late 40s to early 50s.

 

correct

 

absolutely, just establishing that they date back to back then and are originally Japanese

 

Sandra, are you hoping to find a fashion advertisement for the bag during the 1940s to 1950s or are you looking more for geographical photos of Japanese fisherman actually using the bags as lunch boxes ?

 

Either one. Something establishing their original origin or use