Lotus (hasu) - lotus (English spelling)

Japanese: ハス（蓮） - はす（英語表記）lotus

A perennial aquatic plant of the Nelumbo family (APG classification: Nelumbo family). The rhizome crawls horizontally through the mud, and the tip thickens as it stores nutrients. The leaves are shield-shaped, with circular blades measuring 30 cm in diameter. There are two types: floating leaves that float on the water surface, and aerial leaves with long petioles. The flowers are large and have many pink petals. The fruits are oval-shaped and buried in an inverted cone-shaped flower bed. The thickened part of the rhizome is called lotus root, and is edible. Lotus root has been cultivated in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia for a long time. The varieties commonly cultivated in Japan include the high-yielding Shina variety and the cold-resistant Bitchu variety, both of which were introduced from China. In the past, ponds and swamps were used for cultivation, but gradually it came to be cultivated in rice paddies. Recently, forced cultivation using vinyl greenhouses has also been practiced. The entire plant contains an alkaloid called neruvin, which is used as a hemostatic and cardiac stimulant. Also, because of its beautiful flowers, it has been cultivated as Hanabasu since ancient times, and many horticultural varieties have been created. Hanabasu varieties are broadly classified by flower color and size. The multi-headed variety is a variety with multiple flowers on one. A small variety unique to Japan is the Chawanbasu. It is cultivated in ponds in gardens, while the Chawanbasu is grown in a small pot. There are only two species in the Nelumbo genus, and the other is the yellow-flowered N. lutea (Willd.) Pers., which is distributed in southern North America. This genus was previously classified in the Nymphaeaceae family, but it is generally considered to be an independent Nelumbo genus, taking into consideration the lack of endosperm and exosperm in the seeds and the difference in the shape of the pollen.

[Motomi Ito April 17, 2020]

Food

The underground stem (lotus root) is eaten. It contains 13.4% carbohydrates, 2.4% protein, and little minerals and vitamins. Most of the carbohydrates are starch. The tissue is soft and white, with small holes at the cut surface and few knots, making it high quality. It is used in stews, stir-fries, deep-fried dishes, sushi toppings, mustard pickles, and fukujinzuke. The cut surface of lotus root is prone to discoloration and browning. This is because the polyphenols contained in it are oxidized. If you soak it in water immediately after cutting it to remove the bitterness, and add 20% vinegar when boiling, it will come out white and beautiful. Avoid using an iron pot when boiling. Also, if you add vinegar and boil it for a short time, the mucin-like substance contained in it will lose its viscosity, making it crisp and easy to bite through. If you boil it for a long time, it will have a smooth texture.

Lotus seeds are also edible, and in addition to starch, they contain high-quality protein with a high lysine content in the amino acid composition. Unripe lotus seeds are sweet and can be eaten raw or preserved in sugar, while fully ripe lotus seeds are used in soups, stews, and sweets. Canned lotus seeds are imported from China and used in Chinese cuisine. The leaves are also used in Chinese cuisine to add flavor, such as wrapping mochi (rice cake) or steamed glutinous rice and meat in the leaves and steaming them.

[Hoshikawa Kiyochika April 17, 2020]

Cultural history

Lotus ornaments were excavated from Mohenjo Daro (the ruins of the Indus civilization), and it is believed that even in ancient India before Buddhism, the lotus was a symbol of fertility and the birth of new life. The lotus, which blooms pure flowers from dirty mud, was likened to the Pure Land and strongly associated with Buddhism. It was cultivated in China before Buddhism was introduced, and its name appears in the Book of Songs from the Zhou dynasty. In the Erya (2nd century BC), different Chinese characters were assigned to the stem, young rhizome, lotus root, seeds, and flowers, and they were used. Lotus grows wild in Japan, and fossils have been excavated. The Oga lotus was revived when three seeds were discovered by Ichiro Oga in a 2000-year-old stratum in Kemigawa, Hanamigawa Ward, Chiba City. It is also called the ancient lotus, and has the unique characteristic of having pollen grains that remain clustered together.

Lotus root was called bechisu root in ancient times and first appeared in the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki (c. 713). Lotus threads can be obtained from lotus petals and lotus roots. The Kujo Gesa robe made from lotus threads at Taimadera Temple Nakanobo in Nara Prefecture is famous. Lotus is also a useful plant that can be used to its fullest. The leaves are used to make vessels, and in Taiwan, they are used to wrap rice and steam it, or young leaves are chopped and mixed with rice, and the seed cotyledons are steamed, boiled with sugar, or crushed and eaten. The flower stalk is used as a vegetable in Thailand, and if a hole is made in the leaf at the base of the petiole, it becomes an unusual sake cup. The young seed buds are very bitter, and tea made from them is used to relieve dry mouth and stimulate the appetite. In China, starch is made from lotus root.

[Hiroshi Yuasa April 17, 2020]

literature

In ancient times it was called "hachisu" and appears in the Kojiki's section on Emperor Yuryaku, and in the Manyoshu it is written, "Though lotus leaves may look like this, what Okimaro has in his house is like potato leaves" (Volume 16, Nagano Okimaro), and it also appears in the Fudoki of Hitachi, Izumo, Hizen, and other areas. In the Heian period, the lotus flower became more associated with Buddhism, and as the word rendai (lotus pedestal) suggests, it was believed to be a flower that blooms in the Pure Land. The Kokinshu paradoxically writes, "With a mind untainted by the muddyness of the lotus leaf, one deceives the dewdrops as beads" (Summer, Henjo), and the Pillow Book, in the section on "Grass," states, "The lotus leaf is more beautiful than all kinds of grass," and the Shuishuu states, "There is no one who has uttered the words "Namu Amida Butsu" even once without climbing onto the lotus" (Aisho, Kuya). In the Otogi-zoshi "Bunsho Zaushi," Bunsho gives the names "Renge" and "Hachisu Gozen" to the two princesses he conceived through the fantasy of Renge. Summer seasonal theme. "The turtle in the pond, shaking the grass, shakes the grass" (Onitsura).

[Teruhiko Komachiya April 17, 2020]

[References] | Ichiro Ohga | Mohenjo Daro

Lotus
The leaves are shield-shaped and there are two types: floating leaves that float on the water surface and aerial leaves with long petioles. There are many horticultural varieties, and they are cultivated in garden ponds .

Lotus

Lotus flower
In summer, flower stalks emerge above the water surface and bloom in pale pink or white. The petals are obovate, and usually number 20 to 25. It has been strongly associated with Buddhism since ancient times. ©Seishohmaru ">

Lotus flower

Lotus flower bed
In the center of the flower is a flower bed with many holes, surrounded by many stamens with long filaments. The pistil is inside the hole in the flower bed. The photo shows the "Oga Lotus (ancient lotus)" ©Seishohmaru ">

Lotus flower bed

Lotus fruit
The fruit that grows in the hole in the flower bed changes from green to dark brown. The flower bed eventually turns downwards and the fruit falls into the water. ©Seishohmaru ">

Lotus fruit

Lotus rhizome
The thickened part of the underground stem is called lotus root and is edible. It was called hachisu root in the past. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Lotus rhizome

Lotus root (underground stem of lotus)
Root hairs and leaves emerge from the nodes of the underground stem that crawls horizontally through the mud. The root hairs grow underground, and the leaves first grow as floating leaves that float on the water surface, and then as aerial leaves (standing leaves) that grow long above the water surface. The rhizome branches, and flower buds grow from the base of the aerial leaves. As the flower buds grow and bloom, the underground stem also grows larger. © Takashi Aoki ">

Lotus root (underground stem of lotus)

Lotus seeds (seeds)
©Shogakukan ">

Lotus seeds (seeds)

lotus root
©Shogakukan ">

lotus root

Lotus root (Kaga lotus root)
©Shogakukan ">

Lotus root (Kaga lotus root)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ハス科（APG分類：ハス科）の多年生水草。根茎は泥中を横にはい、先端部は養分を蓄えて肥厚する。葉は盾状、葉身は円形で径30センチメートル、水面に浮かぶ浮葉と、長い葉柄がある空中葉の2型がある。花は大形、桃色の花弁が多数ある。果実は楕円(だえん)形で、逆円錐(えんすい)形の花床に埋没する。根茎の肥厚部を蓮根(れんこん)といい、食用とされる。蓮根の栽培は日本や中国、東南アジアで古くから行われている。日本でよく栽培されている品種には収量が多い支那(しな)種と耐寒性の強い備中(びっちゅう)種があり、ともに中国から導入された。栽培には古くは池や沼を利用していたが、しだいに水田で行われるようになった。最近ではビニルハウスを使っての促成栽培も行われている。植物体全体にネルビンと称するアルカロイドを含み、止血、強心薬として用いる。また花が美しいので、古くからハナバスとして栽培されており、数多くの園芸品種がつくりだされている。ハナバスの品種は花の色、大きさなどで大別される。多頭蓮は一つの花の上にいくつもの花がついた品種である。日本独特の品種として小形のチャワンバスがある。栽培は庭園などの池にされるが、チャワンバスは小型の鉢(はち)でつくられる。ハス属は2種しかなく、他の1種は黄色花を開くキバナバスN. lutea (Willd.) Pers.で、北アメリカ南部に分布する。本属は以前はスイレン科に分類されていたが、種子に内胚乳(はいにゅう)と外胚乳のないことや、花粉の形の違いなどを重視して、独立のハス科とするのが一般的である。

［伊藤元巳　2020年4月17日］

食品

地下茎（蓮根）を食べる。糖質を13.4％含み、タンパク質は2.4％、無機質やビタミン類は少ない。糖質の大部分はデンプンである。組織が柔らかく色白く、切り口の穴が小さく、節(ふし)の少ないものが上質とされる。料理は煮物、炒(いた)め物、揚げ物、すしの具、からし漬け、福神漬けの材料の一つとされる。蓮根の切り口は変色して褐色になりやすい。含有するポリフェノールが酸化されるためである。切ってすぐ水に浸してあくを抜き、また煮るときに20％の酢を加えると、白くきれいに仕上がる。煮るときに鉄鍋(なべ)は避ける。また酢を加えて短時間煮ると、含まれるムチン様物質が粘性を失い、さくさくと歯切れがよくなる。長く煮ると滑らかな舌ざわりになる。

　ハスの実（種子）も食用とされ、デンプンのほかにアミノ酸組成にリジンの多い良質タンパク質を含む。未熟のものは甘く、生食や砂糖漬けとし、完熟したものはスープ、煮物、菓子材料とする。水煮の缶詰が中国から輸入されていて中国料理に使われる。餅(もち)や蒸し糯米(もちごめ)と肉を葉で包んで蒸すなど、葉も香りをつける中国料理に使われる。

［星川清親　2020年4月17日］

文化史

モヘンジョ・ダーロ（インダス文明遺跡）からハスの飾りが出土し、仏教以前の古代インドでも、すでに多産や生命誕生のシンボルとされていたとみられる。汚い泥中から清純な花を咲かせるハスは、極楽浄土に見立てられ、仏教と強く結び付いた。中国では仏教が伝わる前から栽培下にあり、周代の『詩経』に名がみえ、『爾雅(じが)』（前2世紀）には茎、若い地下茎、蓮根、種子、花などにそれぞれ別な漢字があてられ、利用されていた。ハスは日本に自生し、化石が出土している。大賀(おおが)ハスは、千葉市花見川区検見川(けみがわ)の2000年前の地層から、大賀一郎によって3粒の種子が発見され、よみがえった。古代ハスともよばれ、花粉粒が集合したままの特殊な特徴をもつ。

　蓮根は古くはハチスの根とよばれ『常陸国風土記(ひたちのくにふどき)』（713ころ）に初見する。ハスの葉柄や蓮根からは蓮糸(はすいと)がとれる。それでつくった奈良県當麻寺(たいまでら)中之坊の九条袈裟(くじょうげさ)は名高い。ハスはほかにも余すことなく利用できる有用植物で、葉は器にされ、台湾などではご飯を包んで蒸したり、若葉を刻み飯に混ぜ、種子の子葉を蒸したり、砂糖で煮たり、砕いたりして食べる。花茎はタイで野菜にされ、葉柄の付け根のところで葉に穴を開けると、風変わりな酒杯となる。種子の幼芽は非常に苦く、それを乾かした茶は口の乾きをいやし、食欲増進に使う。中国では蓮根からデンプンを製造する。

［湯浅浩史　2020年4月17日］

文学

古くは「はちす」とよばれ、『古事記』雄略(ゆうりゃく)天皇条にみえ、『万葉集』に「蓮葉(はちすば)はかくこそあるもの意吉麻呂(おきまろ)が家にあるものは芋(いも)の葉にあらし」（巻16・長(ながの)意吉麻呂）などとあり、常陸(ひたち)・出雲(いずも)・肥前(ひぜん)などの『風土記』にもみえる。平安時代になると仏教色が強くなり、蓮台(れんだい)という語があるように極楽浄土に咲く花とされ、『古今集』には逆説的に「蓮葉の濁りに染(し)まぬ心もて何かは露を玉とあざむく」（夏・遍昭(へんじょう)）と詠まれ、『枕草子(まくらのそうし)』「草は」の段にも「蓮葉、よろづの草よりもすぐれてめでたし」と記され、『拾遺集(しゅういしゅう)』には「一度(ひとたび)も南無阿弥陀仏(なむあみだぶつ)と言ふ人の蓮の上に上らぬはなし」（哀傷・空也(くうや)）とある。御伽草子(おとぎぞうし)の『文正(ぶんしょう)ざうし』には、文正が蓮華の夢想により授かった2人の姫君に「蓮華」「蓮御前(はちすごぜん)」という名前をつけた、とある。夏の季題。「さはさはとはちすをゆする池の亀」（鬼貫(おにつら)）。

［小町谷照彦　2020年4月17日］

[参照項目] | 大賀一郎 | モヘンジョ・ダーロ

ハス

ハスの花

ハスの花床

ハスの果実

ハスの根茎

ハスの地下茎（蓮根）
泥の中を横にはう地下茎の節からひげ根と葉が出る。ひげ根は地中に、葉は初めに水面に浮かぶ浮葉、続いて水上に長く伸びる空中葉（立ち葉）が生える。根茎は枝分かれをし、空中葉の根元からは花芽が伸びる。花芽が成長し、開花するにつれて地下茎も大きくなっていく©青木　隆">

ハスの地下茎（蓮根）

ハスの実（種子）

蓮根

蓮根（加賀れんこん）