With its distinctive green colour and sharp, spicy flavour, wasabi (Eutrema japonicum) has been highly prized in Japan for centuries. There is evidence from written works that Buddhist monks ate “cold wasabi soup” from as early as the 12th century. By the 14th century, they began to eat sashimi topped with wasabi vinegar, and from then on, wasabi started to appear in the meals of the public. Now, it is eaten all over the world.

The native wasabi plant comes from the Shizuoka region of Japan, where cultivation began around 400 years ago. Since then, wasabi farmers have been perfecting their production methods, culminating in the incredible system that makes the most of the area’s natural resources to create the sustainable, practical way of farming that is used today. In 2018, FAO designated the wasabi farms in the Shizuoka region as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), recognising the area for its agricultural traditions and cultural significance.