[Famine Plants] Food for Famine Years (Master of Kyukyodo)

This book was published in 1837, the year after the Tenpo Great Famine reached its peak. The author is the master of "Kyukyodo," a long-established store for calligraphy supplies and incense that continues to this day. It is written about wisdom for surviving famine (types of famine plants, recipes for porridge and rice gruel, etc.) and the prevention of epidemics.

* The Tenpo Great Famine was a famine that occurred from 1833 to 1837 and is one of the four great famines of the Edo period.

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Food for Famine Years

Kudzu

Crush the roots, extract the juice, refine it in water, and make it into dumplings. Eat the young leaves roasted. Feed the old leaves to horses.

* "Refine in water" refers to water levigation. It is thought to refer to obtaining kudzu starch by letting it settle in water.

Bracken

Osmunda

The method for preparing the roots is the same as above. If you eat only bracken, you will get sick.

* "Get sick" means to become ill. Reference: "Kotoba no Hayashi: Nihon Daijiten (Catch a cold) (Wrap)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)

Snake gourd

Katakago

For all of these, peel the skin, cut into small pieces, soak in water for four or five days, crush, put in a bag, shake out in water, refine in water, and make into grilled rice cakes or similar.

* "Katakago" is the dogtooth violet (katakuri).

Horse chestnut

Yew fruit

Denguri

Hosu fruit

For all of these, peel the skin, boil in lye, soak in water, dry and grind into powder, mix with anything, and make into dumplings. Alternatively, place in a running stream for one night, then boil and eat.

* "Hoshite konishi" means to dry and grind into powder.
* "Nagare ni tsukete" means "soak in a stream," likely referring to leaching in running water.

Job's tears

Make into rice porridge. Also, grind into powder and make into dumplings. This form of Job's tears is good.

* "Suzudama" is thought to refer to the Job's tears plant (Coix lacryma-jobi) of the grass family. Reference: "Kotoba no Hayashi: Nihon Daijiten (Suzudama)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections) |Yoku-i (Coix seed)|.
* "Meshikayu" means rice porridge.
* "Kono nari" means in this form.

Lotus

Boil the young leaves. The seeds are pounded, crushed, and made into porridge or dumplings.

Euryale ferox (Prickly water lily)

Boil the stems and leaves in lye. Peel the stems. Boil the roots. Peel the seeds and use them in rice or rice cakes.

Water caltrop

Peel the skin, steam, and boil. Also, dry, grind into powder, and make into rice cakes or porridge. Dry the stems and boil them mixed with rice or similar.

Bindweed

Mix the roots with salt, steam, and boil. Also, leach, dry, pound, crush, and mix into rice. Alternatively, grind in a mortar and make into baked rice cakes.

Japanese yam (Tokoro)

Slice horizontally, boil, soak in a stream for one day, then boil again in lye, change the water, leave for about two days, and eat mixed with anything.

Tiger lily root

Small lily root

The leaves are boiled.

Hodo (Poria cocos) root

Black ash

Mountain yam

Chickweed

Dandelion

For swollen breasts, boil and drink the broth.

Japanese knotweed

Good for postpartum recovery. Poisonous to pregnant women.

* "Harami-bito" is thought to mean "pregnant woman".

Shepherd's purse

Kashu

* "Kashu" is thought to refer to the Polygonaceae plant known as He Shou Wu.

Kochia

Hyuna

Eat in combination with turtle.

* "Hyuna" is thought to refer to the Amaranthaceae plant known as Amaranthus.

Purslane

Eat in combination with bracken. Poisonous to pregnant women and children.

Field mustard

Udo

Both the stems and the leaves.

Yomegahaza

Now called wild chrysanthemum.

Mountain garlic

Cockscomb

Good for hemorrhoids.

Perilla

Do not eat with carp.

Mouse-ear chickweed

White mugwort

Goji berry

Akebia sprouts

Young leaves of the honey locust

* "Saikachi" is the honey locust (Gleditsia japonica), a deciduous tree of the legume family.

Silver vine leaves

Honeysuckle, including flowers

Cattail shoots

Peel the skin.

* "Kamanotsuno" refers to the shoots of the cattail (蒲角). Also known as Hojun. Reference: "Japanese Thesaurus ( Gamanotsuno)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)

Horsetail

Cudweed

Also called Gogyo-yomogi.

Safflower seedlings

Toxic to pregnant women and those with kidney deficiency.

* "Jinkyo" refers to kidney deficiency.

Mugwort leaves

* It looks like "yomosa," but I have read it as "yomogi" (mugwort), assuming it is a printing defect.

Malabar spinach

Spatterdock

All of the above should be mixed with salt and boiled before eating.

White ash

Boil the roots in lye, and if you remove the skin, there is no bitterness. Roast the young stems to eat.

* "Egomi" is thought to mean harshness or acridity. It refers to a strong, irritating sensation.

Mountain burdock

Both roots and leaves.

Sweet flag

Atractylodes root

Remove the black skin. For all of these, chop them up, boil them in lye, and soak them in water for two or three days before eating.

Young Solomon's seal sprouts

Roots as well.

Young silk tree leaves

* "Nebunoki" refers to the silk tree (Albizia julibrissin).

Mulberry leaves

Peach leaves

Round leaves

Willow leaves

Long, thin leaves are bad.

Clethra barbinervis

Japanese pagoda tree

Both flowers and leaves, as well as fallen leaves.

* "Enju" refers to the Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum), a deciduous tree of the legume family.

Castor aralia

It is a tree with thorns.

* "Harigiri" refers to the castor aralia (Kalopanax septemlobus), a deciduous tree of the Araliaceae family.

Sawtooth oak

The thin bark is called the 'housu' tree. Both the fruit and young leaves are used.

* "Housu tree" Reference: "Ogaki City History, Volume 1" (National Diet Library Digital Collection)

Young wisteria leaves

Poisonous to pregnant women. For all of the above, boil them, soak them in water to remove the harshness, and add salt to eat.

Rice bran

Soak in water for two or three days, stir, change the water to remove the harshness, dry in the sun, roast, and grind into powder. Mix with rice flour or similar to make dumplings, or stir into hot water or tea to eat.

* Is "rice sayanuka" referring to the grass species Leersia sayanuka?
* "Konisu" means to grind into powder.
* "Rice no ko" means rice flour.

Straw

Cut off four or five sun from the base and five or six sun from the tip, chop into pieces of two or three bu, soak in water, dry in the sun, roast in an earthenware pan, grind in a mortar, sift, mix the powder with anything, and make into dumplings.

* The kanji for "bu" might be misread. In terms of meaning, it is thought to be the unit of length "bu" (one-tenth of a sun). One bu is approximately 3 millimeters.

Pine bark

Old trees are best. The inner sweet bark is bitter. Pound the outer rough bark in a mortar, sift it, put it in a pot, add about two sho of water to one sho of powder, boil it, let it sit for one night or two, drain the top water, squeeze with a cloth, mix with anything, and make into dumplings. Alternatively, dry it in the sun and use it as parched flour.

* "Kosen" refers to fragrant parched flour, such as roasted barley flour.

Balloon flower

Chinese lantern plant

Balsam

Swallowwort

Joseph's coat

Five-leaf aralia

Saxifrage

Wild carrot

Licorice

Bamboo leaves

For all of the above, soak in water, then boil with oil and salt to eat.

Self-heal

Boil with lye and soak in water for about two days. In late autumn, the leaves can also be eaten.

Manchurian wild rice shoots

Boil and add salt. Alternatively, pound the seeds and mix with rice or similar to make porridge.

Reed shoots

Those still in the soil are good. Preparation is the same as above. The roots can also be eaten raw.

* "Koshiraeyo" means "how to prepare".

Plantain

Common St. Paul's wort

Orixa japonica

It is poisonous to people with kidney disease.

* "Kokusaki" is thought to refer to Orixa japonica, a deciduous shrub of the Rutaceae family.

Wild garlic

Including the roots.

Water pepper

Violet

This is a sumo-wrestling plant. For all of the above, boil the young leaves, soak them in water overnight, and remove the harshness and sliminess before eating.

* "Sumotorigusa" means "sumo-wrestling plant." Another name for the violet.

Butterbur

Also known as mountain butterbur or field butterbur.

Japanese silver leaf

The leaves, stems, and flowers can all be boiled and eaten. The stems of the Japanese silver leaf can also be dried and used.

Dokudami (Fish mint)

Steam the roots and mix them into rice. Add salt.

Oniazami (Japanese thistle)

Koazami (Small thistle)

Sahaazami (Marsh thistle)

Boil all of these to remove the harshness and soak them in water. When they are two or three sun long, the roots can also be eaten.

Kayahikigusa (Wild oat)

Also called wild wheat or crow wheat. Pound it to remove the husks and make it into dumplings. Also, pound the leaves and mix them with rice to make dumplings.

Seri (Japanese parsley)

The kind that produces 'hiritsukuru' (small seeds/sprouts) is poisonous. Red seri is poisonous.

For all of the above, it is best to mix in salt. For things soaked in water, change the water many times; for roots of grasses and leaves of trees, adding oil will make them tender.

* "Hiritsukuru" Reference: "Wakun no Shiori: Zompo Gorin Vol. 2", "Ban Nobutomo Zenshu Vol. 2 (Hiritsukuru)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)

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March, Year of the Rooster, 8th Year of Tenpo

Reprinted by the Motoori family as a charitable act

* "Inse" means printing something beneficial to the world to inform people. * "Honkoku" means to take a printed book and typeset it anew for publication.

Method for doubling the amount of rice

Roast black rice, wash it well, soak it in water from the day before, and cook it by adding about 2.5 go of water to 1 sho of rice; it will increase significantly in volume, and eating this will keep you full, allowing you to endure hunger without eating much. Conversely, if you eat too much, it will cause chest congestion.

* "Ichibai" here is thought to mean double. * "Mae-hi" means the previous day. * "Ichi" is one.

A method to make one go of rice serve as a meal for five people

Grind about 25 momme of red miso well, dissolve it in two sho of rice-washing water, and into this, add one go of rice, three or four daikon radishes, and half a sho of small taro, all chopped finely. Boil well, and when taking the pot off the heat, add half a go of wheat flour, stir it in, let it steam for a little while, and eat.

* "Chito" means a little. A bit.
* "Umasete" is thought to mean to steam.

A method to increase red miso in quantity

Into one kanme of red miso, add six sho of tofu dregs and six go of salt, stir well, press down firmly, and if stored for thirty to forty days, it becomes miso with a good flavor.

Medicine for epidemics

In the past, there was a ● from the government

• Roast one go of black soybeans, add one momme of licorice, decoct, and drink from time to time.

• Also, crush the roots and leaves of Japanese ginger, extract the juice, and drink a large amount.

• Also, crush burdock root, squeeze out the juice, and drink half a teacup twice. Then, take a handful of mulberry leaves, roast them well over a fire, and when they turn yellow, add four cups of water to a teacup and decoct down to two cups. Drink it all at once and sweat, which is good. If there are no mulberry leaves, branches will also do. For those who are suffering intensely as if they have gone mad, crush banana roots, squeeze out the juice, and drink it.

* "Jieki" refers to epidemics or infectious diseases.

Methods to prevent epidemics

Igakukan U■ reprint (■ is 方+色)

• Put one ryo of a substance called Evodia rutaecarpa into a well, and if you drink that water, you will not be infected.

• If you apply a powder called orpiment to your nostrils, you will not be infected.

• Put adzuki beans in a bag, leave them in a well for about two days, and if each person swallows twenty-one beans, they will not be infected.

• If you burn substances called Atractylodes rhizome and Gleditsia sinensis in the garden, it will drive away evil spirits.

• On the 15th, chop up a peach branch that faces east, decoct it, and use the hot water. You will not be affected by evil spirits.

* "Evodia rutaecarpa" is a deciduous small tree of the Rutaceae family.
* "Orpiment" is thought to be the arsenic sulfide mineral orpiment. It was used as a yellow pigment.
* "Ichinin" means one person.
* "Atractylodes rhizome" is the rhizome of the Atractylodes lancea or Atractylodes chinensis of the Asteraceae family.
* "Gleditsia sinensis" refers to the Gleditsia japonica, a deciduous tall tree of the Fabaceae family.

1. Antidotes

• For any kind of food poisoning, lick salt or drink warm water. For poisoning from the leaves of plants or trees, this is even more effective.

• Alternatively, boil porridge until it is like soup, mix in salt or roasted miso, and sip it frequently.

• If you have eaten the leaves of plants or trees and have swelling, decoct and drink the roots of Aralia elata (Ukogi).

• If you have been poisoned by bamboo shoots, drink ginger juice.

• If you have food poisoning and your stomach is bloated and painful, decoct and drink Sophora flavescens (Kujin) to induce vomiting and clear the poison. Alternatively, roast soybean flour and drink it frequently with hot water. Also, if you are suffering from blood coming from your mouth or nose, chop green onions, boil them well in water, let it cool, and drink it several times to stop the bleeding.

• If you have been poisoned by mushrooms, chew the stems and leaves of Lonicera japonica (Nindo) raw and drink the juice.

• Pound and crush the roots of a banana plant and drink the juice. It is good for all kinds of poisoning.

* "Seuga" refers to ginger.
* "Sayu" refers to plain hot water.
* "Nindo" refers to Japanese honeysuckle.

The goodness of the world is one. How great is the joy of the author whose work is reprinted a thousand miles away.

A Guide to Avoiding Famine

This is a superior method for living a long life without using a single grain of wheat or rice, without starving, and without spending money.

1. Since last year, the price of wheat and rice has been high, and many people are suffering. Therefore, I am widely announcing a secret method to survive hunger with very little and avoid starving to death. Since you can get by on 16 to 24 mon per person by eating four times a day, please use this method as soon as possible to put your parents, wife, and children at ease, and live your life in harmony with your family.

* "Kodiki" means high prices.
* "Katsue-jini" means starving to death.

• Put turnip greens or the roots and leaves of daikon radish into rice-washing water, boil them well, add a little salt, and eat them. Even after a year, your complexion will not change, and you will not lose strength; it is miraculous. Green onions are also good. Root vegetables, potato leaves, daikon, and dried leaves are also good. Also, when you add a little kudzu powder, bracken powder, or wheat flour, it becomes sticky and keeps your stomach full.

* "Shiromizu" refers to rice-washing water.
* "Nebuka" refers to green onions.

• Those in mansions, temples, large shops, sake breweries, rice cake shops, and candy shops should save rice-washing water during times of famine and distribute it daily. Save it even in normal times; there is benefit every day. Also, those who have the will should eat tofu. Okara (soy pulp) is a miraculous food for poor households.

* "Kirazu" refers to okara (soy pulp).

If you care about your good fortune, refrain from eating tea-soaked rice, and instead use white rice porridge or rice gruel. If you eat barley rice for lunch, you will gain seven virtues.

[First] It rests the heavens, [Second] helps people, [Third] helps preserve barley and rice, [Fourth] helps preserve wealth, [Fifth] helps preserve virtue, [Sixth] helps preserve the body, and [Seventh] helps preserve descendants. Because there is reason in this, and it is a supreme hidden virtue, whether high or low in status, fear poor harvests and diligently stretch out your rice and grain supply.

* "Hidden virtue" refers to good deeds done in secret, unknown to others.
* "Poor harvest" refers to a crop failure.

How to make rice gruel

However, this method should provide enough for three people.

1. Two go of white rice, one go of wheat flour, four sho of rice-washed water, fifty monme of miso, and salt to taste. Add plenty of turnip greens, daikon radish, green onions, greens, beans, adzuki beans, potatoes, dried leaves, or anything else you have, cook it well, let it sit for a while, and eat it to maintain your health.

Again and again, stretch out your rice and barley supply, use porridge or rice gruel for all three meals, and you will be free from illness and live a long life. Even those who are lacking should understand this principle well, be prudent, do not discard it, and if you recommend and spread it to others, your good fortune and success will be certain, and the merit will be beyond compare.

* "Health" Reference: 'Private Correspondence Abbreviated Explanation (Health)' (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
* "Lacking" refers to insufficiency.

March, Year of the Fire Rooster, 8th Year of Tenpo
Printed and copied by the Master of Kyukyodo in Heian, the meaning of which lies beyond words.

● indicates characters that could not be deciphered. I will update this as new characters are deciphered or if I notice typos or misreadings. For details, please read the 'Self-Introduction/Disclaimer' section. 📖