【Reading】はらん

【English Name】Haran (Aspidistra leaf)

Haran (aspidistra) refers to the leaves of a plant used as a divider or decoration in arranging sushi and bento, or to plastic products imitating them.

As a plant, haran is an evergreen perennial of the genus Aspidistra in the family Asparagaceae, with the scientific name Aspidistra elatior. Its glossy, deep-green leaves exceed 50 cm in length, and because they are thick and sturdy, they have long been used as serving leaves and dividers for cuisine. Said to have an antibacterial effect, they also served the practical role of preventing flavor transfer between adjacent sushi toppings.

Until the early Showa period, it was common to arrange nigiri sushi stacked up, inserting bamboo grass (sasa) or haran leaves between them as dividers. At today's sushi restaurants the meaning is strongly decorative, and the technique of cutting out real leaves with a knife is called "haran-giri"; together with "sasa-giri" using bamboo grass, it is regarded as part of a chef's knife training.

The green, jagged plastic product seen in supermarket takeout sushi and convenience-store bento was originally called "jinzo-haran" (artificial haran). When haran followed "jinzo," sequential voicing (rendaku) occurred to make it "baran," and eventually "jinzo" was dropped and the name "baran" became established. Today they can be purchased even at 100-yen shops, and diverse kinds exist, including character shapes and nori-made versions.