The origin of the name "nori"! The surprising secret behind the name of seaweed

There are several theories about the origin of the word "nori," but the most likely is that it is a corruption of the archaic word "nura."

1. "Nura" means slimy seaweed

Nori is slimy when it is first taken out of the sea, which is why it is thought to have been called "nura" since ancient times.

By the way, there used to be a popular theory that seaweed came to be called "nori" in the same sense as "glue" because it sticks tightly when wet, but this theory has now fallen out of favor.

2. From "Murasakina" to "Nori" during the Heian Period

During the Heian period, seaweed was written as "Shisai" in Chinese and called "nori". However, during the Edo period, it was written as "nori" again, and has been so ever since.

3. Relationship with glue

Although seaweed and glue (nori) share the same pronunciation, they are thought to have different origins. Nori is a corrupted version of the word "nura," while glue is a corrupted version of the archaic word "neri."

summary

By the way, there is an interesting anecdote about the origin of the word nori. When a pirate who was smuggling seaweed during the Edo period was caught, he did not know the word "nori" and so called it "nurenure."

This was around 400 years ago, but it's interesting that the words "slippery" and "wet" used to describe a sticky, stringy, slippery substance seem to have remained the same to this day.

The origin of the word "nori" has not yet been fully elucidated, but the most likely theory is that it is a corrupted version of the archaic word "nura." It is interesting to explore the origin of the word in order to understand the history and culture of nori.