Kudzu (Japanese Arrowroot) 葛（クズ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The plant had many large vibrant green leaves, which made me wonder what it was. Then, it suddenly produced pink flowers, which surprised me, but what surprised me more was that it was kudzu or more commonly known as Japanese arrowroot.

I was surprised😲 because I didn't expect kudzu to be growing in my neighborhood in Tokyo. Kudzu is an ingredient of kudzu powder, the main ingredient of "kudzu mochi dumplings," a jelly-like local sweet in Yoshino, a southern part of the Nara prefecture! Kudzu mochi are so yummy and my favorite sweet😋

There is, however, a sad surprise, too. Kudzu is called "the vine that ate the South," designated as an invasive species in the US😂

By the way, in Japan, "kudzu" or "葛" in Chinese character* is pronounced the same as the following terms:

• くず (hiragana character), meaning waste, trash and bastard
• クズ (katakana character), meaning waste, trash and bastard
• 屑 (Chinese character*), meaning waste, trash and bastard

As a great fan of "kudzu mochi" dumplings, I feel sad that "kudzu" can mean "waste and trash, bastard"!😂

* The Japanese language uses three characters: hiragana character, katakana character and Chinese character.

Kudzu 葛

Japanese Arrowroot クズ

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「この大きな緑の葉は何だろう？」と思ってました。そしたらある日可愛いピンクの花が咲いてびっくり。ググったらなんと葛（クズ）ということで更にびっくり。でももっと驚いたのは😲、アメリカでは侵略的外来種に指定されているのです😂 葛餅おいしいのにね｡｡｡😋

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