# Bamboo leaves

笹 sasa

![Bamboo leaves](https://www.furoshiki.com/motifs/sasa.svg)

Bamboo leaves share bamboo's meaning of strength and growth and are used for Tanabata wishes and as a charm against evil.

Tanabata, introduced from China in 755; popular from the early Edo period

Tanabata came from the Chinese Qixi festival and was taken up at the Japanese court in the 8th century. By the early Edo period it was a popular festival among ordinary people: children wrote wishes for better sewing and handwriting on paper strips (tanzaku) and hung them on bamboo branches, which were floated away or burned afterwards.

Bamboo leaves are a summer motif linked to 7 July; Sendai and other towns hold large Tanabata festivals.

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Source: https://www.furoshiki.com/motifs/sasa/