A Journey through Aesthetic Realms
 
The Treasured Bamboo of Japan: Natural Beauty and Sustainable Versatility      
Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Japanese, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Thai and Spanish.

Hallo special viewers and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms. Today we will show some of the scenery of the bamboo forests of Japan, as well as highlight various products made from bamboo, a versatile and eco-friendly material. From ancient times, bamboo has grown wild in all areas of the nation and has always been a familiar plant to all Japanese. Until several decades ago, beautiful bamboo forests could be seen almost everywhere.

Lately, the number of bamboo forests has decreased as they have been felled and replaced with housing and factory lots. However, every time Japanese people see a forest with rows of fresh, green bamboo, they feel peaceful and contemplative inside. For many years, bamboo has been used as a raw material in countless ways such as for building projects, creating arts and crafts, fashioning farm tools and utensils, constructing Japanese lanterns, and creating traditional musical instruments like the shakuhachi.

Bamboo is a light and strong material that not only comes from nature and also returns to nature after use. In addition, bamboo, a type of giant grass, can grow at a rate of one meter a day under ideal conditions and reaches its full height in three months. In ancient Japan the astonishing speed of growth was attributed to spirits dwelling within it and thus the plant was immensely valued and respected.

Let us now look at some beautiful bamboo scenery. The 2009 Michelin’s “Green Guide in Japan” gave two stars to this beautiful bamboo-lined walkway at Shuzenji in the Izu district. It is a refreshing experience walking over the bridge with red railings and observing the stone paved path, with lush, green bamboo on either side.

The Sun twinkles like stars through the leaves. A light breeze makes the bamboo leaves rustle and the sound makes you feel calm and elevated. Bamboo forests are simple and orderly. The straight and erect bamboo symbolizes righteousness – a personality trait very much treasured by the Japanese.

Next, let’s take a look at the “shishi odoshi” or deer scarer. Many Japanese gardens have shishi odoshis made of bamboo. When enough water accumulates inside the bamboo pipe, the pipe pivots downward and strikes a rock and then returns to its former position, again giving off a loud sound. In the past these bamboo devices were used by farmers to keep animals and birds away from the fields. Today, the Japanese people enjoy this repetitive sound in the quiet atmosphere of Japanese gardens. A shishi odoshi is simple, elegant and tasteful in design. Bamboo is also often used as a source material for numerous other garden-related structures and ornaments.

Since olden times, bamboo has been indispensable in Japan for making arts and crafts, farming tools, and daily utensils. Beginning with the nation’s economic boom in the latter part of the 20th century, items traditionally created with bamboo were instead made using plastic or other chemical-based materials. Today, however, people are taking another look at bamboo as they re-discover its beauty as well as its eco-friendly nature.

Fujikura Shoten, Limited in Narita City carries many bamboo products which were regularly used in Japan some 60 years ago, such as draining baskets, handbags, umbrellas, chop sticks, backpacks meant for farmers, lunch boxes and lampshades amongst many other things. We spoke to Mr. Yoshio Fujikura, president of Fujikura Shoten about the virtues of bamboo.

These are handmade quality products. Quality, authenticity, and value – I think these products can be described by using these three words. We sell a lot of such products. To use one sentence to describe the merits of bamboo products, one could say that they are durable and offer hassle-free disposal after use. After use, bamboo products can be burnt and used as fertilizer. In this respect, I think that these products could be desirable among eco-friendly products.

Besides, the longer you use these bamboo products, the more merits you will discover in them. I personally think that it is not exaggerating to say that they are extra value for the money. For example, please take a look over here. This was made about one year ago. But after a few years, it has become… This one which we used for ten years, the color became like this. This color was not painted on; it has naturally changed into this beautiful and vibrant color through normal use in daily life. So I think this is a value-added feature.

How many bamboo products do you have in this shop?

Well, I haven’t counted exactly how many, but there must be around 3,000 items.

If there are any you would recommend, or popular ones among these products, please let me know.

Okay. Here it is. A radish grinder made of bamboo. Not only good for grinding radishes but it can also grind all kinds of vegetables and fruits into mash. This one is completely made of bamboo, and it also uses a rabbet and tenon joint to keep the serration in place. It forms a double serration, one rough and one fine. The fine one is for grinding ginger or cucumber, etc. This rough one is for grinding Japanese radish, yams, apples, and even lotus roots. In conclusion, it can easily grind food ingredients into mash, thus making a great variety of delicious vegetable and fruit mashes. This is indeed our trademark product.

Looking at the many clever tools made from bamboo, one can only marvel at the wisdom of the ancient Japanese people! We will be right back to learn more about the wide range of uses for the precious bamboo plant. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Let’s continue our exploration of Japan’s age-old and treasured plant, the bamboo. During Japan’s economic expansion, plastics and metals became the materials of choice for many products and this reduced the demand for the versatile plant. As a result, many bamboo forests were abandoned and in turn these neglected forests began to harm the mountains and their surrounding environment. This is due to the fact that the plant grows so quickly it can soon overtake entire areas in a very short period.

Lately, people are re-discovering the value and beauty of bamboo. With proper oversight and care they are excellent for the environment and bamboo products create jobs and enhance the economy. A group of people who strongly support bamboo plant cultivation and management are the concerned citizens who have formed Toziba, a non-profit organization and social venture that connects people and seeks sustainable communities through the promotion of harmony with nature.

One of Toziba’s main goals is to end the devastation of bamboo forests and for this reason, the group established the Bamboo Factory located in Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, to demonstrate the many uses of bamboo and thus foster public support for bamboo forest protection. Let us now meet Mr. Norio Mochizuki, who works with the Bamboo Factory.

Could you explain to us what the Bamboo Factory is?

Toziba, a non-profit organization, is a parent organization, and the Bamboo Project is one of its activities. This factory which makes many kinds of bamboo products is called the Bamboo Factory.

Bamboo forests in this area have been badly ruined. Our aim is to resurrect the forests through the effective use of bamboo. We want to maintain these regional forests, make bamboo products, and exhibit them at shows associated with ecology.

I used to come here to fell bamboo trees and make fences around my house. Then one day, The Toziba non-profit organization suggested that I make bamboo tents for the monthly Earth Day Market (morning market) at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. This is how I got started with the Bamboo Factory.

What advantages do bamboo tents have?

First, they are lightweight. And in summer, bamboo offers a cool and refreshing sensation to viewers. Bamboo products go very well with the present eco-friendly trend. If we make up our mind, we can all do this. Our project proves that anyone can cut bamboo and make tents and other products.

Did you have any special challenges while working on this project? Our material comes from nature and every tent is handmade. One challenge was how to combine different bamboo pieces to form a tent.

After starting this project, how has the bamboo forest changed?

Today, many different types of volunteers support us. There is a limit to what one or two people can do. Now, we sometimes get 20 to 30 volunteers to help. Volunteers experience here the process of felling bamboo trees and later making them into finished products such as tents. I think it is good to see how the bamboo, which they cut, is transformed into a piece of art.

Do you plan to continue this activity? What are your future plans?

Basically, you have to maintain bamboo forests. If you neglect them for two to three years, the forest will be ruined. Therefore it is important to continue the upkeep every year. For example, if you don’t get rid of bamboo shoots, they keep growing. It’s best to dig them out. You have to go to the forest every year and take care of it. I would like to come up with many new bamboo products.

Besides tents and tongs, are you making anything else?

Now we are making speakers. The speakers you see here are actually recycled speakers. These speakers are used ones. There are all kinds of parts, but speakers are still good when the rest of the stereo system components fail. So we get many abandoned speakers. Our latest project is to take out some parts in the old speaker, replace them with bamboo and sell them as recycled speakers.

Do you want to share any other message with our viewers?

Bamboo has immense vitality of its own. If left unattended, they cause immense damage to mountains and fields. Japanese have been using bamboo for years. But when oil became popular, plastic goods took the center stage and bamboo products faded away. Just several decades, 60 years ago, Japanese regularly used bamboo. I would like to examine this material once again, in this new age. There is an unlimited amount of bamboo. Perhaps we can use it as a source of energy even. Our dream is to reconsider this traditional material and come up with new products which fit well in our modern lifestyle.

That is very true indeed. We salute Toziba, Mr. Norio Mochizuki and the Bamboo Factory for striving to repair the remaining bamboo forests in Japan and for promoting sustainable living by creating various eco-wise bamboo products.

We also thank Mr. Yoshio Fujikura, president of Fujikura Shoten, Ltd. for showing us the many wonderful items that can be made of bamboo. Let the bamboo forests in Japan and elsewhere in the world continue to grow tall and proud by loving management.

For more details, please visit the following websites: Toziba Fujikura Shoten

Beloved viewers, we appreciate your presence today on A Journey through Aesthetic Realms. Up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. May your days be enriched with the countless pleasures derived from the love of Nature.

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