Microseason: Bamboo Shoots Arise
SUMMER
SUMMER RISES
BAMBOO SHOOTS ARISE
15 - 20 May
Young bamboo spears push through the earth during this microseason. With their tensile strength, rapid growth, and elegant verticality, bamboo has long played a foundational role in Japanese life, not only for its aesthetic appeal but for its utility across architecture, craft, cuisine, and ritual. Its cultural presence is firmly rooted in folklore, including tales like Kaguya Himé, and in animistic traditions, where bamboo amulets serve as conduits for welcoming deities and protecting the home.
Of the approximately 1400 species of bamboo found worldwide, Japan is home to around 600. These are broadly classified into two categories: sasa and také. Sasa are native to Japan and flourish in cooler, mountainous regions with heavy snowfall. Characterized by their smaller size, soft stalks, and persistent leaf sheaths, sasa are often used in seasonal decorations, especially in Summer festivals and purification rituals. Their leaves are commonly used to wrap sweets, and their rustling sound evokes the arrival of Summer. Notable species include kumasasa, chishimazasa, némagaridaké, and médaké.
By contrast, také thrive in warm, temperate climates with ample rainfall and mild Winters. These taller, more rigid species shed their leaf sheaths as they mature, leaving smooth, upright nodes that symbolize integrity and resilience. Také are integral to tea ceremony, martial arts, and crafts. While species such as hachiku and touchiku are considered native to Japan, madaké, mousouchiku, and kurochiku were introduced from China between the 1st - 18th Centuries. Madaké, in particular, has been cultivated in Japan for over 2000 years and remains one of the most widely used species today.
The tender young shoots of bamboo, known as takénoko, are a seasonal delicacy harvested in late Spring. The most commonly consumed species is mousouchiku, prized for its thick, fleshy shoots and subtle, earthy sweetness. Takénoko are best harvested at dawn before sunlight initiates growth above the surface. By the time this microseason arrives, the optimal window for harvest has come to an end, as takénoko must be dug out from deep within the earth, well before even the inklings of the spears surface. Only the cracking of the soil hints that the spears are below.
Beyond cuisine, bamboo has long been used to craft tools and objects central to daily life, such as baskets, flutes, and umbrellas. In architecture, bamboo serves both functional and symbolic roles. Its strength and flexibility make it ideal for latticework, garden fencing, ceiling panels, and even rain gutters. Historically, bamboo was also employed in scaffolding and temporary structures, valued for its ability to bend without breaking which is an attribute particularly suited to Japan's geographic location.
Bamboo’s growth rate and regenerative capacity have renewed interest in its potential as a sustainable building material. It requires no replanting after harvest, regrows rapidly from its root system, and contributes to soil stabilization, especially in areas prone to erosion. In recent decades, neglected bamboo groves have expanded, outcompeting other flora and encroaching upon nearby villages. However, we are not interested in cutting down large sections of bamboo forest. It is said that yokai, our dear mischievous spirits, live in these forests and ridding of bamboo areas means displacing the yokai. We cannot make these decisions just for ourselves. Sustainable bamboo use in Japan depends not only on responsible harvesting but on active land stewardship that requires practice of ecological balance based on heritage practices.
Photo credit: Kana Anzai