Bamboo Lights the Way - Zero Waste Life

Since ancient times, the Japanese have believed that a life force resides in all creations. Valuing and caring for the things we use, a zero-waste life. Pointing the way to better living for a new era. A charming hot spring town some 100 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The promenade is lined with distinctive art objects. As the sun sets, the promenade lights up. Warm light spills through holes in bamboo. They're called Takeakari bamboo lights. The bamboo lights are the creation of Ohmura Daisuke. It used to be a very dark street. We installed the bamboo lights so that tourists could walk around. A forest some 70 kilometers to the west. This is Ohmura's base of operations. He's worked in forestry for many years. He cuts down the bamboo he uses in his work with his own hands. Ohmura is after a specific bamboo variety known as Morso bamboo. It's thought that large quantities were transplanted from China sometime in the 18th century. The young bamboo shoots are tender, loved as an edible delight. They harden as they grow, becoming an ideal building material. But as the times changed, demand declined and groves were abandoned. Morso bamboo is incredibly prolific. Left untended, it can block out the sunlight, stunting the growth of the other plants around it. It also has shallow roots and can easily be washed away by heavy rains, making landslides more likely to occur. To preserve the health of the forest, periodic harvesting of Morso bamboo is essential. Ohmura's workshop. Here, using this nuisance bamboo, he produces the Takeakari. Scorching removes surface oils, making the bamboo more resistant to breakage. The remaining production work is left to the skilled hands of his co-worker, Arao Ayumi. She carefully drills the holes using a template, transferring the pattern to the bamboo. Installing the lightbulb is the final step. The pattern of holes in the shape of a lotus blossom emerges from the bamboo. This pattern has a firework motif. Ohmura comes from a Shizuoka farming family. He spent his childhood surrounded by nature. After working as a mountain guide all over Japan, he came back to his hometown and became a forester. It was then that the impact of overgrown bamboo on the forest became apparent. Ohmura began to cut down the bamboo while also looking for ways to use it. After experimenting with tableware and other possible uses, he settled on Takeakari. The patterns also incorporate knowledge gained from road survey work he did as a forester. When making a road, there are curves that make it easier for people to turn. When driving a car, there are curves that make it easier for people to turn. I use those curves to create designs. His Takeakari became a hit, installed in more than 100 locations all over Japan. They were used at this local shrine, a recognized national treasure. At this local hotel, Takeakari also adorned the lobby and other spaces. I decided to install Takeakari because I hoped it would reach my customers. When you look at it from a person's perspective, you can see the outside. But when you look at it from the environment's perspective, it grows so fast. It absorbs a lot of CO2. In that sense, there are many good aspects of the environment. It's not a bad thing, it's a troublesome thing. Omura performs regular maintenance on the Takeakari installations. When it gets old, there are some parts that break. I replace them in order. This time, this part is about to break, so I decided to replace it first. Here, Omura keeps Takeakari too damaged to use, as well as scraps generated in the manufacturing process. Rather than throwing it away, he does his best to find other uses. Controlled burning produces bamboo charcoal. By then cooling it with water and leaving it to ferment in the barrel, it's transformed into high-quality fertilizer. He uses the fertilizer he produces in his own paddies for growing rice. I recycle it and turn it into charcoal. It's like this. By using charcoal, I don't use fertilizers, I don't use pesticides, and I don't use fertilizers. I only use bamboo charcoal. But it's like this. Omura leads a group into the bamboo forest. He's holding a Takeakari making workshop. Participants first come here to learn about the issue of bamboo overgrowth. If you look over there, you can see a lot of bamboo growing. This phenomenon is very common in Shizuoka City. I heard about this problem from Mr. Omura. It's the first time I've seen a place like this. I was surprised to see how much it affects other trees. It's finally time to make Takeakari. To make Takeakari, you need to make a hole, hold the lever and make a hole. When you pull it out, you need to rotate the blade. Once the work is done, participants are served onigiri as a snack. Made with rice, grown with bamboo charcoal. It's good. Bamboo was a problem. But we can make good use of bamboo. We can have fun and experience together. At the end, we can eat together. I think it's great. We have to find a way to make a profit. I hope the next generation will do it. In the end, it's up to people. It's not natural for people to plant trees.