SEAWEED INIM'STKIKS OF JAPAN. 165 



It is preserved by packing in s:ilt. and is cooked with soy-bean sauce Yendo refers 

 to an interesting use to which it is put, namely, the preservation of mushrooms. 

 The mushrooms are washed in fresh water and then packed in tight barrels in layers 

 alternating with layers of salted seaweed. 



•■ Mozuku" (Mesogloia decipii ns) reaches a length of about 1 foot, and is gathered 

 in April or May while young. It is preserved by salting, and is eaten after wash- 

 ing out the salt and immersing in soybean sauce or vinegar. 



"Hondawara" (Sargassum enerve) grows on reefs on the seacoasts, and is used as 

 fertilizer after being piled on the shore and allowed to decompose. When the plant 

 is young it is eaten in soup or with soy-bean sauce. It has a bright green color 

 when dried, and has been employed from a very remote time, intertwined with 

 Laminaria, in New Year's Day celebrations. Numerous other species of Sargassum, 

 collectively called ///<< or moku, are employed as fertilizer in middle and southern 

 Japan. 



"Somen-nori" {Nemalion vermiculare) grows on rocks on various parts of the 

 coast, being particularly abundant in San in. Eioku-roku, and the -northeastern dis- 

 tricts, and rarely found in the Sea of Tokaido. Its length is ■> to 12 inches. It 

 is generally preserved by simply drying, or by mixing with ash or salt, and is 

 eaten in soup or after mixing with vinegar and soy-bean sauce. In some places 

 "umi-zomen" (.V. lubrieum) is dried, bleached, and eaten like the foregoing species. 



" Tosaka-nori," meaning crest-like seaweed (Kattimenia dentata), grows on reel's 

 of Kozu Island and also in the provinces of Ise, Shima, and Higo. at depths of s feet 

 to several fathoms, and is- collected on the shores in August and September after a 

 strong wind. It is preserved by drying, and is eaten as a condiment or mixed with 

 soy-bean sauce. 



"Tsuno-mata," "hosokeno-mimi" (Chondrus crispus, < '. ocellatus, etc.). The 

 well-known '"Irish moss" occurs on the coast of Japan and. with related species, is 

 employed in a variety of ways, after first being dried in the sun. When boiled to 

 form a jelly, these plants are used as food, as starch for stiffening linens, as a wash- 

 ing medium, and as a substitute for agar-agar. 



"Ogo-nori" {Gracilaria confervoides). — According to Yendo. this is a favorite 

 seaweed for garnishment in Tokyo, after being treated with lime water or clipped in 

 hot water to change the color from pink to green. 



Other Japanese alga- which are dried anil eaten or utilized in various other ways 

 are: "Cata-nori" {Gigartina teedii), "comen-nori" {Grateloupia affinis), "mukade- 

 nori" {Grateloupia filicina), "makuri" {Digenea simplex), "ego" {Campylaephwa 

 hypneoides), "okitsu-nori" {Gymnogondrus flaielliformis), and "tosaka" {Sarcodia 

 species). 



