THE ENGLISH word "bamboo" probably came from the Malay language (bambu) an d it
brought with it in to English a strong exotic nuance. Though some Americans may nostalgically
recall. their childhood bamboo fishing pole, to some the very sound of the word may evoke a drumbeat echoing across a humid jungle valley. So when touring the northern countryside in Japan it is rather surprising to see bamboo groves covered with snow; the two do not seem to go together.
But more surprising is the fact that bamboo, an essential part of life in Japan and much
of Asia, is one of the most totally useful plants known to mankind. No part of the plan t need
be wasted and in the East its shoots are eaten, and its stalk is made into everything from eating
utensils, musical instruments and fans to brooms, fences and bridges. Its leaves are used
to wrap or decorate food. And the whole plant itself is an essential material employed to aesthetic effect in the art of ikebana as well as in numerous religious rituals and festivals such as Tanabata.
In Japanese bamboo is take, a word with a connotation of uprightness and resilience. It
bends easily in the wind and even when laden with snow snaps back as soon as the snow begins
to melt. Its growth rate is legendary, and observers have measured as much as four feet
of growth in a day. Some people claim in all seriousness to have actually seen bamboo grow
before their very eyes.
Some 400-500 species (of over 1,000 species worldwide) are found in the temperate and
subtropical regions of Japan. The tallest type of bamboo, which the Japan ese call take,
blooms rarely, on ly once in 10- 40 years. One of the largest species, madake, grows to a height
of 20 meters and provides the material used in the making of poles and shakuhachi flutes.
Naturally, plates, baskets, and screens made of bamboo are both light and extremely strong. Because of the beauty of the material itself, things made of bamboo appear not so much as man factored products but rather as natural objects molded or fitted into shape. Since bamboo does keep its natural character, it adds a distinctive feeling of warmth and texture to the simplest of everyday things. In the tea ceremony (chanoyu) bamboo has a starring role.
It is a central building material of the tea house (chashitsu) . The bamboo scoop for powdered tea (c hashaku) and bam boo water lad le (hishaku) both display bamboo's simple beauty.
The tea whisk (chasen) is certainly one of the most delicate, intricately made utensils. Some
have as many as 120 thin splines. Bamboo ch opsticks are also regularly used, and some
rough bamboo containers holding simple arrangements of seasonal flowers (chabana) date
back hundreds of years and are treasured heirlooms.
After living in Japan for a while one comes to notice little things like the fresh flowe rs arranged in a corner of an office or bank, or the real bamboo leaves (sasa ) used to decorate a
plate of sushi . These days many of the traditional uses of bamboo are being taken over by
metal or even plastic, with a definite loss of aesthetic appeal. The decorative bamboo leaves
are being replaced by a bright green, easily recognizable plastic imitation. Yet somehow the
real thing adds a mysterious freshness to sushi and a cool, clear accent to food that plastic can
never equal.
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