1,295 bytes added
, 21:50, 13 July 2014
*''Japanese'': 海鼠 ''(namako)''
Sea cucumber was a major export good in the [[Edo period]], in a category of marine products known as ''[[tawaramono]]'' which were in high demand throughout the region. ''Tawaramono'' such as sea cucumber, [[abalone]], and ''[[kombu]]'' were in such high demand in China and elsewhere, in fact, that they were able to be exported in place of [[silver]], thus stemming the grievous outflow of silver during the 17th-18th centuries which deeply worried shogunate advisors & officials.
Sea cucumbers had been used in Japan for various purposes, including in [[Shinto]] rituals, and as [[tribute]] or trade goods sent to China, since the 8th century. In the late medieval and early modern periods, they came to be prized as [[kanpo|medicinal products]], used to alleviate high fevers, as well as being used by the [[courtesans]] of the licensed districts as "French ticklers." It was not until the turn of the 19th century, though, that sea cucumber came to be widely eaten in Japan; in contrast to the love of fresh raw [[abalone]] which developed at that time, sea cucumber was preferred dried.
{{stub}}
==References==
*Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 123-124.
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Flora and Fauna]]