Once there was a bamboo child who lived underground below a bamboo forest. Her name was Shiro, meaning "white". She was a member of the TAKENOKO family of Japan. She had ten siblings so happy among themselves beneath the surface of the earth until one day Shiro got curious about what grew above the soil.
So, Shiro shot up above her subterranean home and saw another world: it was a vast forest planted by huge bamboo growths swaying in the breeze. The light emitted by the sun filtered by the sashaying bamboo stalks shone in chartreuse on the ground. It somehow gave Shiro a sense of magic, stunning to behold!
