During Golden Week, I went on my usual mountain hike. I took a minor route, so I probably only saw about 5 people on the mountain.
I got some bamboo shoots for 500 yen in an area that wasn't quite a village yet.
All of them were quite jumbo-sized, so I couldn't process them to remove the bitterness if I took them home.
There was one bunch with several small ones tucked into a corner, so I chose that one.
Or so I thought...
I ended up with eight rather sizable bamboo shoots!
I roasted them, made bamboo shoot rice, and put them in miso soup every day.
And for the first time in a while, I made spicy stir-fry. Even though I was asked, "Will that last?" I enjoyed it as a side dish for over a week without any problems.
The kanji for bamboo shoot is 筍 - the bamboo radical (竹) next to the character for "season" or "prime" (旬). It truly means you can only eat what's harvested in its prime season.
Since we say early, mid, and late in a month (上旬, 中旬, 下旬), "shun" (旬) probably refers to about ten days.
The "setsu" in "kisetsu" (season) is "fushi" (knots/joints). The character for "setsu" (節) combines bamboo (竹) with "immediately" or "quick" (即). This reminds me how fast bamboo grows.
In just ten days, it would grow so big that it would be impossible to dig up.
Speaking of which, the leftover bamboo I got a few years ago for nagashi somen (flowing noodles) was finally burned as firewood during camping this year. (Bamboo again, even as firewood!)