Do you know where the most beautiful bamboo forest is in Kyoto?
A bamboo forest that has been handed down for about 300 years
When you hear the word "bamboo forest," many people will think of Kyoto's Arashiyama. Indeed, Arashiyama has beautiful bamboo forests that attract many tourists. However, Kyoto has many other beautiful bamboo forests as well.
This bamboo forest is carefully maintained by bamboo shoot farmers, and delicious bamboo shoots can be harvested in the spring. It is a very clean place with no weeds growing, and the smell of the bamboo leaves is very pleasant. To me, this is the most beautiful bamboo forest.
Have you ever eaten bamboo shoots ?
I've heard that there aren't many countries in the world that eat bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots are mainly eaten in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Thailand, and Japan, but the cultivation and cooking methods are different in each country.
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In Japan, bamboo shoots are used in a variety of dishes, including tempura, simmered dishes, grilled dishes, and salads. However, the salad in this case is a little different from overseas, and in Japanese it is called aemono or ohitashi. These photos are my favorite bamboo shoot dishes, boiled and topped with wasabi and soy sauce. It's similar to how you eat it as sashimi. The other is steamed in sake, steamed in a broth made from seaweed and sake. Both are delicious with the sweetness of the bamboo shoots. However, not all bamboo shoots have a sweet taste or a good aroma. What do you think is the difference?
Bamboo shoot cultivation began in the Edo period
It is said that bamboo shoot cultivation in Japan began in the Edo period. Here in Kyoto in particular, bamboo shoot farms that have been in operation for generations since that time still carefully protect their bamboo forests. The bamboo shoots harvested from these forests are whiter than regular bamboo shoots and have a stronger fragrance and sweetness, and are called "shirako bamboo shoots." The bamboo shoots in the photo were harvested at a bamboo shoot farm I visited.
The bamboo shoots grown here are known for their deliciousness, and every spring they receive a flood of reservations from long-established traditional Japanese restaurants, Michelin-starred restaurants, and traditional inns. But how do they grow these bamboo shoots?
All you need is knowledge to make fluffy soil
The bamboo farmer who owns the two bamboo forests we visited lives in the western part of Kyoto City, and his younger brother also grows bamboo shoots in another location. He has been a bamboo farmer since the Edo period. The bamboo forest he owns originally had acidic clay soil. He mixes organic compost with soil of various qualities to improve drainage and ventilation. In addition to that, he carefully removes weeds, thins out the bamboo so that the ground receives sunlight evenly, and breaks off the tips of the bamboo so that they do not grow too long, and there are many other things that need to be done throughout the year.
These tasks are very time-consuming, but they are the culmination of wisdom passed down from generation to generation, and are essential for growing delicious bamboo shoots. The ratio of fertilizer to soil varies from farm to farm, and this is what creates the difference in taste. The only way to keep the condition of the soil constant, which is affected by the weather, is to gain experience and get the hang of it, but even after more than 30 years as a farmer, he said he still finds it difficult.
There is another secret to delicious bamboo shoots. It is the way you dig them up.
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Small bamboo shoots that sprout from the soil are carefully dug up using a tool called a "hori" to avoid damaging them. When bamboo shoots come into contact with light and air, they turn black and hard. At the same time, they lose moisture and become more bitter. For this reason, they are dug up early in the morning when it is still dark. To predict where bamboo shoots will appear in the vast bamboo forest and dig them up without damaging them requires knowledge of bamboo ecology gained from experience.
Something to pass on to the next generation
It was five years ago that I first visited a bamboo forest.
I still remember being impressed by the ecology of bamboo and the depth of knowledge and techniques of bamboo shoot cultivation that have been passed down to the present day. At that time, there were very few articles written about bamboo cultivation, but now there are surprisingly many. While I think it is a good thing that so many people are writing about bamboo shoots, some of them explain the process in detail, and I am worried that knowledge and techniques that have not been talked about much until now will be widely leaked.
Some local governments are actively making this knowledge and technique available to more people, and the government is also supporting them. It seems that they are feeling a crisis about the decrease in bamboo shoot farmers and the lack of successors, but unfortunately there is no sign of any intention to solve the fundamental causes of this.
I feel that agriculture, which has been carried out in a way that suits Japan's topography and climate since ancient times, is about to be greatly changed again. The knowledge and techniques that people have cultivated for thousands of years while respecting nature and living in harmony with the cycle of the four seasons are a precious treasure. We must think deeply about what we should pass on to the next generation and make careful choices.
竹の子も掘るのが楽しかったです。我が家は味噌炒めでした、和食は世界に誇れると思います、
はじめまして、私は東京にすんでいます。趣味の書道を25年ぐらい続けています。いまはボランティアで集会所で教えています。書道を教えてくださった先生との話を書きました。厳しいけど優しい、筆耕会社をしていましたので、上達すれば、働けるようにと、厳しく教えてくださいました。 現在、先生は
ご病気が悪化してお辞めになりました。それからは少し元気になられたようです。私は、素晴らしい先生との、楽しい時間を忘れず、いまも、書道を続けて別の教室に通っています。 興味がございましたら、ぜひ、読んでいただきたいと思います。宜しくお願い致します。日本語でもよろしいでしょうか?翻訳しています。