Straw (wara) - straw (English spelling)

Japanese: わら(藁) - わら（英語表記）straw

The dried stalks (culms) and leaves of grain crops such as rice and wheat after they have borne fruit and been harvested are generally called straw. In Japan, the use of rice straw is deeply connected to daily life in connection with rice production, and it is used to make straw products such as rice mats, straw bales, ropes, footwear (straw sandals, zori, and straw boots), and tatami mats, as well as feed, fertilizer, straw mulch, and fuel. Looking at the current use of rice straw, the most common is for cutting it and plowing it into fields as fertilizer, followed by use as compost and as straw mulch in fields, with the majority of rice straw produced being used for agricultural purposes.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

イネ，麦などの穀用作物の結実収穫後の茎(稈（かん）)，葉を乾燥したものを，一般にわらと呼んでいる。日本では，米の生産と関連して，稲わらの利用が生活と深く結びつき，わら工品として，かます，むしろ，俵，縄，履物(わらじ，ぞうり，わらぐつ)，畳床などの材料に用いられ，また飼料，肥料，敷きわら，燃料などにも利用されてきた。現在の稲わらの利用をみると，肥料として切断わらの田畑へのすき込みがもっとも多く，ついで堆肥用，畑の敷きわら用で，稲わら総産出量の過半数が農業用として使われている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Wara [village] - straw

>>: Wala (English spelling)