Uri (cucumber) - Uri

Japanese: ウリ（瓜） - うり

A general term for plants in the Cucurbitaceae family (APG classification: Cucurbitaceae) that are used for their fruit. However, when people say "uri" in general, they are usually referring to Oriental melon, followed by White gourd. The meaning is broadened to include cucumbers, watermelons, pumpkins, wax gourds, melons, bottle gourds, bitter melons, snake gourds, chayote, and loofahs. Although they are not edible, wild-growing mountain gourds, such as the bitter gourd, bitter melon, sparrow gourd, and cockleberry, are also sometimes included in the gourd family.

[Hoshikawa Kiyochika February 17, 2020]

Cultural history

Thought to be native to Africa and India, melons are depicted as offerings on the murals of ancient Egyptian temples and have been eaten since before the 10th century BC. They were introduced to China before the Han dynasty, with the name melon appearing in the Book of Songs and the Book of Rites. Seeds were discovered in the stomach of a female mummy (buried 175-143 BC) in a Han tomb at Mawangdui in Changsha. They were introduced to Japan before the Common Era, and seeds have also been excavated from ruins from the early Yayoi period. There are many types of melon, but the one that appears in the Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, and Manyoshu is the Japanese melon.

[Hiroshi Yuasa February 17, 2020]

[Reference item] | White gourd | Watermelon

Pumpkin fruit
The fruit of the chestnut pumpkin (Cucurbita cernua), which is widely cultivated and used in Japan. Compared to the Japanese pumpkin, the fruit has fewer bumps on its surface. ©Shogakukan ">

Pumpkin fruit

Cucumber fruit
The young fruits are greenish-white to dark green. They are cylindrical berries, and their shape and size vary depending on the variety .

Cucumber fruit

Watermelon fruit
It matures about 30 days after flowering. Usually, one fruit contains about 700 seeds. Most of the varieties cultivated in Japan are spherical. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Watermelon fruit

Melon fruit
A spherical berry measuring 1-2cm in diameter. It ripens to a gray-white color and produces numerous black-brown seeds. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Melon fruit

Balsam fruit
It is 10-30cm long. Both ends are sharp and there are noticeable knobby protrusions on the surface. It is also known as bitter melon. In Okinawa, it is called goya and is used in local cuisine. The photo shows a young fruit. ©Shogakukan Photo by Hideyuki Asakura ">

Balsam fruit

Wax gourd fruit
It is a seed with a large, mortar-shaped fruit with a white powdery skin. It ripens in autumn and is harvested when the surface is covered with white powder. In Japan, mortar-shaped and cylindrical varieties are cultivated. ©Shogakukan ">

Wax gourd fruit

Chayote fruit
It is pear-shaped and yellowish-white or green, but there are many variations. The immature fruit is used for pickling and vinegar dishes .

Chayote fruit

Loofah fruit
It is dark green and 30-60cm long. The net-like fibers are used as scrubbing brushes. There are also edible loofahs whose young fruits are used exclusively for vegetables. ©Yukari Ozawa ">

Loofah fruit

Bottle gourd fruit (long bottle gourd)
When fully grown, it reaches a length of 50-80cm and a width of about 15cm. ©Shogakukan Photo by Hisashi Okuyama ">

Bottle gourd fruit (long bottle gourd)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ウリ科（APG分類：ウリ科）の植物で果実を利用するものの総称。しかし、一般にウリという場合マクワウリをさすことが多く、ついでシロウリをさすことも多い。さらに意味を広げて、キュウリ、スイカ、カボチャ、トウガン、メロン、ユウガオ、ツルレイシ（ニガウリ）、ヘビウリ、ハヤトウリ、ヘチマなどもウリに含まれる。食用にはならないが、山野に自生するカラスウリ、キカラスウリ、スズメウリ、ゴキヅルなどをウリの仲間に入れることもある。

［星川清親　2020年2月17日］

文化史

アフリカやインドが原産とされるウリは、古代エジプトの寺院の壁画に供物として描かれ、紀元前10世紀以前から食用にされていた。中国には漢以前に伝わり、『詩経』や『礼記(らいき)』に瓜の名がみえる。長沙馬王堆(ちょうさまおうたい)の漢墓の女性のミイラ（前175～前143年埋葬）の腹からは、種子が発見されている。日本には紀元前に渡来し、弥生(やよい)時代前期の遺跡からやはり種子が出土している。ウリの種類は多いが、『古事記』や『日本書紀』『万葉集』に出るのはマクワウリである。

［湯浅浩史　2020年2月17日］

[参照項目] | シロウリ | マクワウリ

カボチャの果実
日本で多く栽培・利用されているクリカボチャ（セイヨウカボチャ）の果実。ニホンカボチャに比べ、表面の凸凹が少ない©Shogakukan">

カボチャの果実

キュウリの果実
若い果実は緑白色ないし濃緑色。円筒形の液果で、品種により形や大きさはさまざまである©Seishohmaru">

キュウリの果実

スイカの果実

スズメウリの果実

ツルレイシの果実

トウガンの果実

ハヤトウリの果実

ヘチマの果実