Fennel ウイキョウ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've eaten and used this herbal plant many times, but I never realized it had such beautiful flowers. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is native to the Mediterranean region and southern Europe, and it arrived in Japan during the Heian period (794 to 1185) through China.

Fennel is known by two names in Japan: the original name, uikyo, and the imported name, fennelu. Many Japanese people (including myself! 😆) are unaware that both names refer to the exact same plant.

This is because fennel, which was traditionally known as uikyo and used mainly as a herbal medicine, was rebranded as fennelu when flavorful culinary herbs became popular in the 1980s. This makes perfect sense, as Japanese people love new things—especially when they come from abroad and are written in katakana!

As a result, some flavorful herbs in Japan have two names: the original Japanese name and the imported name, which often sounds trendier (such as fennelu and minto). Mint arrived in Japan from China more than 2,000 years ago and has also been appreciated and used as a herbal medicine under the name hakka.

2026/10/19

2026/10/19

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ウイキョウ（茴香）です。ヨーロッパの地中海沿岸地方が原産。日本には平安時代に中国から渡来しました。でも今はフェンネルとして知られています。魚料理の臭み消しに使われるハーブです。えーっ！フェンネルってウイキョウのことだったのね。知りませんでした。。。

ちなみにミントも和名は薄荷。カタカナの方が確かにかっこよく聞こえる。。。😅

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