日本語版

tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoot)

ingredient / ingredient-taranome

タラの芽

Tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoot) is an ingredient classified as a sansai in a list of regional crops published by the Tohoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

On this page (6 sections)
  1. Overview
  2. Sources for this overview (3)
  3. Topic hubs
  4. Related entries (10)
  5. How processing and cooking change it (1)
  6. Culture (3)
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Reading the bitterness

Taranome is a sansai treated in haiku as a seasonal word for mid-spring. The haiku-season database 「きごさい歳時記」 (in translation: "Kigosai Saijiki") explains it as 「少し苦味のある若芽は春先の山菜の代表的なもの」 (in translation: "the slightly bitter young shoot is a representative sansai of early spring"). As an example haiku it gives 「たらの芽のとげだらけでも喰はれけり」 (in translation: "even thorn-covered, the tara-no-me shoot gets eaten") by Kobayashi Issa, from 『八番日記』 (in translation: "Hachiban Nikki"). It positions the tree's young shoots, covered in sharp thorns, as an early-spring sansai enjoyed with a little bitterness. However, this investigation could not confirm the edition or page of the cited work.

Taranome is also listed under 「山菜」 (in translation: "sansai") in a regional crop list compiled by the Misato Town Regional Agricultural Revitalization Council within the jurisdiction of the Tohoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office. This is an administrative classification for a regional subsidy program; it does not define taranome nationally or botanically, and it does not address bitterness. The seasonal-word description of it as 「少し苦味のある若芽」 (in translation: "young shoots with a little bitterness") and the administrative classification as 「山菜」 (in translation: "sansai") arise in separate contexts.

Akita Prefecture's introduction gives the season for taranome as early April to early May, adding that the harvesting time changes by region and weather. The namul it publishes is boiled until the color is good, taken out into cold water, and dressed with sesame oil, toasted white sesame, salt, and soy sauce. It is one example that conveys, in a short set of steps, a way of eating it different from tempura.

Sources for this overview

  1. たらの芽（たらのめ）仲春

    きごさい歳時記編集部 / / other / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Used as the source for the passage in the seasonal-word explanation that mentions bitterness.

  2. 別紙4 作物一覧（その他野菜、山菜）

    農林水産省 東北農政局 / 2025 / government document / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Used as the source for the regional crop list classification as sansai.

  3. あきた元気ムラの山のお宝と食べ方を紹介します！

    秋田県 / 2022 / government document / full text checked

    Checked for this overview: Used to describe the reference season on the Akita Prefecture page and the note on variation by region and weather / Used to describe the boiling, cold water, and seasoning steps for taranome namul

Hypotheses and recipe candidates for this entry are on the Japanese page.

Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits

How processing and cooking change it (1)

tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoot) is prepared through: Akita Prefecture's 「たらの芽のナムル」 (in translation: "taranome namul") is boiled until the color is good, taken out into cold water, and dressed with sesame oil, toasted white sesame, salt, and soy saucecontextual

Scope: 1 recipe for taranome namul, published on Akita Prefecture's 「あきた元気ムラ」 (Akita Genki Mura)

Note: A simple recipe that does not give amounts or cooking time. This is not a sensory test that compared bitterness or texture.

The published recipe boils taranome until the color is good, takes it out into cold water, and dresses it with sesame oil, toasted white sesame, salt, and soy sauce.
Limitations: This is a simple recipe that does not give ingredient amounts, cooking time, or sample numbers, and is not a sensory measurement of bitterness or texture.
Source: あきた元気ムラの山のお宝と食べ方を紹介します！ (秋田県, 2022) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-taranome —is_prepared_with→ "Akita Prefecture's 「たらの芽のナムル」 (in translation: "taranome namul") is boiled until the color is good, taken out into cold water, and dressed with sesame oil, toasted white sesame, salt, and soy sauce"
claim: clm-taranome-akita-namul / type: culinary / updated: 2026-09-16

Culture (3)

tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoot) is listed as: 「山菜」 (in translation: "sansai") in the list of regional crops published by the Tohoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.contextual

Scope: Appendix 4 of the Misato Town Regional Agricultural Revitalization Council.

Note: A regional list of crops eligible for subsidies; it is not a nationally or botanically comprehensive definition.

Lists taranome under the [sansai] heading of the regional-crop list.
Limitations: It is a classification used for a regional program.
Source: 別紙4 作物一覧（その他野菜、山菜） (農林水産省 東北農政局, 2025) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-taranome —is_listed_as→ "「山菜」 (in translation: "sansai") in the list of regional crops published by the Tohoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries."
claim: clm-jp-taranome-sansai / type: cultural / updated: 2026-08-31
tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoot) — cultural role: A kigo for mid-spring in haiku. The Kigosai Saijiki explains that "the slightly bitter young shoot is a representative sansai of early spring." It records as an example verse Issa's haiku "tara no me no toge darake demo kuwarekeri" (even thorn-covered, the tara-no-me shoot gets eaten) from Hachiban Nikki (Eighth Diary).contextual

Scope: Kigosai Saijiki

Classifies the season as mid-spring and explains that "the slightly bitter young shoot is a representative sansai of early spring." It records Issa's haiku "tara no me no toge darake demo kuwarekeri" (even thorn-covered, the tara-no-me shoot gets eaten), from Hachiban Nikki (Eighth Diary), as the example verse.
Limitations: The edition and page of Hachiban Nikki have not been confirmed.
Source: たらの芽（たらのめ）仲春 (きごさい歳時記編集部) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-taranome —has_cultural_role_of→ "A kigo for mid-spring in haiku. The Kigosai Saijiki explains that "the slightly bitter young shoot is a representative sansai of early spring." It records as an example verse Issa's haiku "tara no me no toge darake demo kuwarekeri" (even thorn-covered, the tara-no-me shoot gets eaten) from Hachiban Nikki (Eighth Diary)."
claim: clm-taranome-haiku-kigo / type: cultural / updated: 2026-09-02
tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoot) is documented as having Akita Prefecture's sansai introduction page gives the season for taranome as early April to early Maycontextual

Scope: The reference season in Akita Prefecture's 「あきた元気ムラ」 (Akita Genki Mura) 2022 sansai introduction

Note: The page itself notes that the harvesting time varies by region and weather. This is not a nationwide season or a fixed harvesting period.

As of 2022, the Akita Prefecture page lists the season for taranome as early April to early May in its sansai introduction. At the top of the page, it notes that because the harvesting time for sansai varies by region and weather, it should be read as a reference.
Limitations: This is not fixed-point observation or harvest statistics. The page itself states explicitly that there is variation due to region and weather.
Source: あきた元気ムラの山のお宝と食べ方を紹介します！ (秋田県, 2022) · full text checked
Show dataingredient-taranome —is_documented_as_having→ "Akita Prefecture's sansai introduction page gives the season for taranome as early April to early May"
claim: clm-taranome-akita-season / type: cultural / updated: 2026-09-16

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