bamboo grass, (kokuji)
笹 refers specifically to bamboo grass, a type of small, leafy bamboo. It is a kokuji, a kanji created in Japan, and its meaning is tied to this plant.
笹 is a Japanese kokuji combining 竹 (bamboo) with 世 (world, generation), likely chosen to represent the common, widespread nature of bamboo grass.
Bamboo (竹) that spreads through the world (世) like a common grass: 笹 is bamboo grass.
For ささ, imagine the rustling sound of bamboo grass in the wind: 'sasa, sasa' — the soft whisper of the leaves.
—
bamboo grass; generally smaller species of running bamboo that do not shed their sheaths (e.g. Sasa spp.)
field of bamboo grass
short bamboo; small bamboo
Lanceolaria grayana (species of freshwater mussel)
Maianthemum yesoense (flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family)
Pleioblastus chino (species of bamboo grass)
dwarf bamboo (varieties that thrive in western Japan)
kuma bamboo grass (Sasa veitchii); Veitch's bamboo
lucky bamboo branch (sold during the Toka Ebisu festival in early January)
Takezasado
cutting (vegetables) into long, thin shavings; shaving into slivers; shavings
Spathiphyllum patinii (species of peace lily)
sasazushi (sushi wrapped in bamboo leaf)
bamboo sole (Heteromycteris japonica)
Japanese lily (Lilium japonicum)
small bamboo
toy bamboo-leaf boat
Cephalanthera longibracteata (species of orchid)
thicket of bamboo grass
Oxyopes sertatus (species of lynx spider)