For people in Japan, the beautiful colour and gentle whisper of bamboo have a special place in their hearts. Because it is so light, strong and easy to works, bamboo makes a very versatile material.
These baskets are for displaying flower arrangements. Bamboo's innate flexibility is put to superb use in weaving these elegant forms. The walls of many houses in kyoto have low curving fences known as inu-yarai,which protect the walls and stop them from getting splattered with mud. They make a graceful addition to these traditional street scenes.Shishi-odoshi are lengths of bamboo that slowly fill with water and then empty out, making a knocking sound. In the past, they were used to scare away animals and birds, but now people just like the rhythmic sound.
Bamboo grows very rapidly, with some species gaining a metre or more per day. Because of its remarkable vitality and strength, the people of ancient Japan revered bamboo as having mysterious powers. The tanabata festival is celebrated on July the seventh. Legend has it that two lovers, represented by the stars Vega and Altair in the milky way, are only allowed to meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.
On this day, people write their wishes for the future on slips of paper and tie them to bamboo branches. It is believed that ancestral spirits which dwell inside the bamboo leaves will make these wished come true.
In November, shrines across Japan hold festivals called Tori-no-ichi. Many people come to buy bamboo rakes adorned with models of objects of great value. Rakes are tools used for gathering things together, whether in cleaning up the yard or working in the fields. Eventually, they came to symbolize important amulets that bring success in business.
To this day, bamboo is still considered a symbol of good fortune and it features in many celebrations and rituals.
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