Kono.
Artist name
A Japanese student artist/creator whose practice centers on three core elements: bamboo, peace, and Japanese culture.
Raised in an international environment from an early age, exposure to diverse cultures led to a deeper engagement with Japanese identity, while also fostering an ongoing inquiry into the meaning of peace through encounters with global social issues and conflicts. This dual awareness shapes an artistic practice that merges Japanese cultural values with concepts of peace.
The encounter with bamboo began during work as an interpreter at the World Expo 2025, Osaka Kansai, where a bamboo-architecture pavilion left a profound impression.
Currently, travels to bamboo forests across Japan inform an artistic practice that confronts the growing issue of abandoned bamboo groves. Through bamboo-based artworks, new perspectives are sought that connect environmental concerns, cultural heritage, and the pursuit of peace.
Further Insights
A new environment, new people.
Days passed by in a relentless rush.
Amid constant change, I almost lost the chance to pause and reflect on myself.
It was during this time that I encountered bamboo.
Though slender and supple, bamboo maintains astonishing resilience through its internal nodes and roots that spread deeply underground. It bends with the wind yet does not break, standing upright while supporting one another. To me, bamboo became a powerful metaphor for how to live.
To remain flexible without losing one’s core.
In an era defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), I believe we are all called to live like bamboo.
Such bamboo has long been deeply rooted in Japanese culture and was once an indispensable part of everyday life. However, with the widespread adoption of plastic, its demand sharply declined.
Today, abandoned bamboo forests have become a serious environmental issue across Japan, and bamboo is often regarded as a “nuisance” or a “harm.”
That is precisely why I want to bring bamboo back into the light.
Reframing bamboo as a familiar and valuable resource and expanding its uses can contribute to sustainability and environmental responsibility.
Here, I would like to introduce a term:
“Bamboo Ceiling”
Used primarily in Western societies, it refers to the invisible barriers that prevent East Asian individuals from reaching leadership and decision-making positions, despite their abilities—an analogy to the “Glass Ceiling” that hinders women’s advancement.
I wish to layer this term with another meaning.
To break through the Bamboo Ceiling—
to transcend fixed values and invisible boundaries, and to liberate the beauty and potential of bamboo beyond cultural and geographic constraints.
Through my work, I aim to communicate the appeal of bamboo beyond Japan, beyond Asia, and into the world.