Kashi Matsuri

Today we went to a festival right up the road from my house. It was the Kashi Matsuri, a festival to celebrate the art of kashi-making.

To tell you the truth, I really don't know how kashi is made, but these pictures show you how remarkable it is. Basically, there are tons of sculptures -- of flowers, animals, pine trees, and here, people and houses. Here's the trick, though: they're all made of rice.

Pretty amazing, huh? The rice is somehow processed into these sheets, and then it is transformed into an amazing variety of shapes and textures. From delicate leaves to pointy pine needles, it pretty much all looked so real that if you saw it in nature you wouldn't give it a double take. It is another case of me being blown away by small, ingenious, carefully made things of beauty. Nice work guys.

Enjoy the photos!