This was the unforeseen occurrence that led to nori cultivation. On the partially submerged wooden walls ofthese holding tanks, a large amount of noriadhered. In bad weather, the fishermen were not able to go out to sea, so they held some ofthe fish that they had already caught in reserve tanks that they built along the shore. The shogun who functioned as the head ofthe military government which ruled during the Edo or Tokugawa (the name ofthe ruling family) period decreed that the fishermen who worked out of Tokyo Bay (Edo, the old name for Tokyo, was the seat ofthe Tokugawa government) hand over the freshly caught fish for their personal consumption. But a chance occurrence took place at the beginning ofthe period that led to the general public being able to enjoy it as well. Up until the middle ofthe Edo period (1603-1868), nori towered kinglike above the other types of seaweed, and it was reserved for the elite. Nori was first cultivated purely by accident. The manner in which nori was eaten in those days was to add it (after being dried in the sun) to soups, or boil it down to a paste. And so, it was no surprise that nori was reserved solely for the upper crust of society, from the Heian period (794-1185) through to the Kamakura period (1185-1333), first as an offering to the Imperial Household and then to the new military elite. The scarcity ofthe commodity and difficulty of harvesting it is what gave nori much more value than the other seaweed. In the cold winter months, the harvester would have had to enter the frigid water and carefully hand-pluck the norioffthe rocks little by little-a painstaking and painful job that resulted in only a rather sparse amount of nori.
Unlike the leaf-shaped konbu and wokome, nori is small and algae-like, and grows generally by clinging to underwater rocks. Wild nori, whose growing season starts in the fall and harvesting begins in December, only grows in very cold seawater. Ofall the seaweed, however, it was nori that was considered the very best. On the pages referring to tax payment, there is mention of about 30 types of seaweed, starting with nori and including konbu, wokome, etc. Nori made its first documented appearance in Japanese history in the 18th century, in the Taiho Code, the earliest compilation ofJapanese law. For people living on the Japanese archipelago, surrounded by water on all four sides, these vitamin and mineral rich, easily accessible foods, which included nori, were an important source of nutrition. From this, we can infer that Japanese people were consuming sea plants at this extremely early stage in their history.
Remnants of marine plants were discovered in ancient Japanese sites dating from the prehistoric Jomon and Yayoi periods. Nori is also often given as gifts, and premium grades can command a pretty penny!
It's even delicious straight out of the package! Currently in Japan alone, 9 billion sheets of nori are produced annually, and the average annual consumption by a single person is 80 sheets! Nori has been enjoyed for a long time, and can be found in the pantry of most Japanese households. It's most well known as the outer wrap on certain types of sushi, and onigiri (rice balls), and it's also used for adding extra flavor to dishes like yakisobo by sprinkling small shreds on top. Nori is an edible marine plant, usually sold lightly toasted as yakinori. Now it's a lot more familiar and has become quite popular here in the U.S. What's this? Shiny block, paper thin, with a faint hint ofoceaiifbreeze? No doubt this was a common reaction when first coming across a sheet of nori. NUTRITION POWERHOUSE WITH A DEEP, DARK SHINE