Lably
Skip to content

Nori

Edible seaweed species of the red algae genus Pyropia

  • 6 min read
  • 6 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Papermaking, World War II and Herb

Lab · Class 8–10India's Freedom StruggleLab · Class 8National MovementLab · Class 3Plants Around UsLab · Class 6Getting to Know Plants

The finished dried sheets are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking. They are sold in packs in grocery stores for culinary purposes. Since nori sheets easily absorb water from the air and degrade, a desiccant is needed when storing nori for any significant time.

Nori—despite not being cultivated by humans until the 1600s—has been popular since the pre-modern era in Japan, having been used as currency, offerings at shrines, and food since the 700s.

History

Ancient

Originally, the term nori was generic and referred to seaweeds, including hijiki. One of the earliest descriptions of nori is dated to around the eighth century. In the Taihō Code of 701 CE, nori was already included in the form of taxation. Local people were described as drying nori in the Hitachi Province Fudoki (721–721 CE), and harvesting of nori was mentioned in the Izumo Province Fudoki (713–733 CE). In the Utsubo Monogatari, written around 987 CE, nori was recognized as a common food.

Modern

Nori had been consumed as paste form until the sheet form (ita-nori 板海苔) was invented in Asakusa, Tokyo, around 1750 in the Edo period through the method of Japanese paper-making.

The word "nori" first appeared in an English-language publication in C. P. Thunberg's Trav., published in 1796. It was used in conjugation as "Awa nori", probably referring to what now is called "aonori", i.e., green laver.

When Japan was in need of high food production after World War II, production of nori was in decline. They sought to cultivate nori in addition to traditional wild harvesting from the sea. Due to a lack of understanding of nori's three-stage life cycle, however, those attempting to produce nori artificially did not understand why their cultivation methods were not being productive with nori. The industry was rescued by knowledge derived from the work of British phycologist Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, who had been researching the seaweed Porphyra umbilicalis that grew in the seas around Wales and was harvested for food (laverbread). Her work was discovered by Japanese scientists who applied it to artificial methods of seeding and growing the nori, rescuing the industry. Kathleen Baker was hailed in Japan as the "Mother of the Sea" and a statue was erected in her memory. She is still revered as the savior of the Japanese nori industry.

The word nori started to be used widely in the United States and the product (imported in dry form from Japan) became widely available at natural food stores and Asian-American grocery stores in the 1960s due to the macrobiotic movement and in the 1970s with the increase of sushi bars and Japanese restaurants.

In the 21st century, the Japanese nori industry faces a new decline due to increased competition from seaweed producers in China and Korea, and an increase in domestic sales tax.

Sign in to keep reading

5 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Cooking, food and drink

WineAlcoholic drink made from grapesHoneySweet and viscous substance made by beesVegetarianismAbstaining from the consumption of meatBeerAlcoholic drink made from fermented cereal grainsPoultryDomesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, meat or feathersBeefMeat from cattle
Source and licence. Adapted from the Wikipedia article “Nori” (this version, 2026-09-25) by its contributors, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Lablypedia has left out its tables, references and most pictures, and linked it to other Lablypedia articles.