The traditional ancient ritual of cutting bamboo, which resembles a giant snake, took place at Kurama Temple in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City on June 20, 2024. A local resident dressed as a warrior monk wearing a Benkei hat swung down a mountain knife with great force.
Local people associated with the temple, known as the "Ozo Nakama," split into Omi-za and Tamba-za, and entered the main hall in a procession with the monks. After a young boy gave a gallant speech such as "The bamboo is beautifully cut," the bamboo was cut to the same length, and a dance performance, the leader raised a fan in one hand, and the "cutting the bamboo" began. The sound of the mountain knife hitting the bamboo echoed, and this year Tamba-za won. The approximately 600 people who had climbed the Tsuzurazaka slope and steep stone steps, or used the cable car, burst into applause.
The name comes from a story in which Minenobu, the founder of Kurama Temple in the Heian period, chanted a mantra to defeat a rampaging male giant snake, and the female snake that vowed to protect the fragrance was worshiped as the guardian deity of water. In reference to the vitality of bamboo, in the Edo period, the speed at which it was cut came to be used to predict harvest or misfortune.
