An informative and interesting guide to Sansai or wild plants, Eating Wild Japan is a blend of essays, illustrations and recipes. Winifred Bird lived in rural Japan for eight years and is well versed in the country’s history and culture.

The essays begin the book. Her essays feature weeds, horse chestnuts, fiddle leaf ferns, bamboo and seaweed. Her research introduces her to cooks, fisherman and farmers who
provide her with local legends as well as recipes. Bird describes how foraging in the woods for edible plants was once considered a sign of poverty. She is treated to a 12 course dinner, with all but one course featuring bamboo cooked in different styles. She compares wild captured seaweed to farmed seaweed and prefers the taste and texture of the former. She hears that the god of the mountains lives in horse chestnut trees. The plant guide is next. Beautifully illustrated in pen and ink by Paul Poynter, the guide lists the scientific name of each plant, its toxicity, how to prepare it and suggests several recipes. The recipes are the final section. Preceded by a definition of the Japanese terms, the recipes sound interesting and worth trying. The weakness here is that the ingredients are not readily available in American supermarkets. However, the strength of Eating Wild Japan is in the essays. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stone Bridge Press and Winifred Bird for this ARC.