Japan's Sansai & Mountain Vegetables

About this book

The mountain is a pantry — and spring is its opening day. From the butterbur buds that push through Hokkaido's last snow to the longevity herbs growing in Okinawa's coral wind, this complete guide explains 200 of Japan's wild greens, mountain harvests and foraging traditions in one clear, uniform style: each plant's home ground and season, the gathering and kitchen crafts (ash-lye, salting, drying, hell-steaming) that make it food, its flavour and its place at the table, and the official sources where seasons and rules must be checked. Along the way it meets the Ainu tradition that came first, the lord who planted edible hedges, the Kamikatsu grandmothers who grade single leaves for the nation's chefs, the sacred islands where nothing may be gathered at all — and it builds safety in from the first page: no identification keys for poisonous look-alikes, permission and protected-area rules in every entry. The Japan you have been visiting, finally on your plate.

Written and created in Japan by Japanese author Aki Wakamatsu. Published by Takikawa TOKOTOKO Kids LLC, a Japanese publisher in Hokkaido, Japan. Authentic Japanese content, carefully made in Japan — not mass-produced.