In more recent times, citrus has had to share its place in the Japanese pantry with other forms of acidic seasoning. From the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868), the country’s native Pacific island, light and natural, ingredient-based cuisine increasingly came under the influence of farmed grains, like rice and soy beans, and their related acidic seasonings—sake, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce—and sauce-based cooking learned from China. The new seasoning tastes and cooking style appealed to an appetite for heartier, richer fare by the country’s growing urban population. They were also supported by Japan's shift to being more of a land and grain-based society and by the population's expansion to colder, northern parts of the island chain.

Sake, which has a mild acidity, light flavor, and pleasant aroma, is now largely used as the acidic seasoning to prep and refresh food in marinades as well as to simmer them in light cooking. Rice wine vinegar is often used together with sake for long-braising and meat-laden dishes. However, it is not used much on its own in the Japanese kitchen due to its sharp taste and aroma, and is typically confined to cooking foreign-inspired dishes—either Asian or Western—or creating a spotlight dish in a meal that has a particularly high note of acid. Soy sauce, though, came to over-shadow citrus by being used not only in cooking but also to finish foods at the table, the latter being the pride of place for seasonings in Japanese cuisine. As an all-purpose, convenience seasoning that combines acidic sourness with salty, sweet, and bitter flavors plus a big boost of umami, soy sauce is practically addictive and took the place of a number of seasonings, including salt, during the past couple hundred years of Japanese cooking. As a finishing seasoning, Japan's native tart citrus was also challenged by cheap imports of lemons coming primarily from the U.S., Mexico, and Chile during the last century.



Citrus’ role in Japan’s cuisine is experiencing an exciting renewal due to the culinary revolution underway in the countryside. Citrus farmers, many of whom have moved from Japan’s big cities to start new slow lives in rural areas, have taken over family orchards or revived abandoned ones and are growing better quality fruit through organic farming practices as well as cultivating exciting new types of edible sweet-sour and tart seasoning citrus. They and other local residents are also behind an explosion of artisanal citrus-based food products. Aided by government subsidies to foster jobs and innovation in the countryside, these craft food makers are creating myriad variations of classical and new types of citrus-based seasonings, condiments, and sweet confections working at home, in the kitchens of local schools, and at small workshops in Japan's villages and country towns. Their efforts are supported by the trends of lighter, healthier seasoning and farm-to-table cooking and eating that are taking place across Japan. Cooks and eaters are once again squeezing fresh local native citrus on sashimi and also sushi and creatively extending citrus’ use to all kinds of foods and dishes. They are also pairing citrus with its ancient seasoning companion of salt to create new dishes, such as shio-yuzu (salt-yuzu) ramen and shio-nabe, salty hot pots heavily infused with citrus juice. The result has been a happy and tasty re-assertion of citrus’ role as a principal acidic seasoning to finish foods and dishes and a rebalancing of Japan's cuisine to its ingredient-based origins.

The Tree of Life, or at least of Cooking and Eating

In the Western paradise garden of Eden, there was a Tree of Life, which is also known as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The tree is believed to be an apple. In the less judgmental and more humanistic paradise that is the islands of Japan, where there is no evil, only the mistakes that man makes and can correct, and life is good and all about cooking and eating, the Tree of Life is the equally ancient citrus.



Much of Japan's citrus are unique native varieties that stem from the time the country was connected on and off again during millions of years of glacial activity to the Asian continent—citrus' ancestral homeland. Over the centuries, the varieties proliferated due to the ease with which citrus naturally mutates and hybridizes. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the world's standardized crop citrus of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits were added to the mix during the expansionary days of global trade. These fruit, in turn, mutated and hybridized with the local citrus, creating new types of fruit. The basket continues to be added to by regular discoveries of natural new varieties and commercial hybrids.