Local Boy Scouts Troop Arranges More Than 1,000 Kadomatsu for the New Year

The traditional Japanese arrangement of bamboo and pine is intended to bring happiness and good luck.

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

It isn’t New Year’s in Hawai‘i without kadomatsu, a traditional Japanese arrangement of bamboo and pine that dates back hundreds of years to the Edo period. Typically displayed near the front door of a home, it’s intended to bring happiness and good luck. The Boy Scouts of Troop 201 in Nu‘uanu have crafted thousands of kadomatsu over the past decade, selling them as a fundraiser. This year, 53 Scouts, parents and volunteers including Scout Nathan Cantrill (above) spent three days harvesting bamboo and putting together more than 1,000 kadomatsu for the New Year, according to Sue-Ann Yasuoka, the troop’s committee chair.