Cultivation of fiber Basho (Itobasho), Basho-fu

There are three kinds of Basho (Basho is a local name for the banana family, Musa liukiuensis):Fruit-basho (banana), Flower-basho, and Fiber-basho. The fiber-basho, which provides the raw material for bashofu, reproduces through subterranean stems or rhizomes, so transplanting is not necessary. For the first few years, however, the fiber is rough and does not produce quality yarn. In Kijoka, the banana fields are carefully tended throughout the year, fertilizing the soil, prunning the leaves, and clipping the cores.