List of Japanese mushroom names

I’ve always been intrigued by the poetry of Japanese names for mushrooms. beyond the top five edibles I couldn’t find a detailed list in English. Here is my list of Japanese names for mushrooms focusing mainly on edible mushrooms and those also found in Scotland. The order is alphabetical by the binomial (scientific) name.

Edible mushrooms – Japan and Scotland

Shirooohakatake
Horse mushroom
Agaricus arvensis

Tsukuritake / Seiyou matsutake
Cultivated / garden mushroom
Agaricus bisporus (A. hortensis)

Haratake
Field mushroom
Agaricus campestris

Moriharatake
Scaly wood mushroom
Agaricus silvaticus

Moreharatake / Shiromorinokasa
Wood mushroom
Agaricus silvicola

Kikurage
Wood or jelly ear
Auricularia auricula

Yamadoritake
Penny bun, cep or porcini
Boletus edulis

Anzutake
Chanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius

Enokitake
Velvet shanks /Winter mushroom
Flammulina velutipes

Maitake
Hen of the woods
Grifola frondosa
Maitake translates as dancing mushroom (in Korean it is dancing butterflies)

Uramurasaki
Amethyst deceiver
Laccaria amethystina

Akahatsutake / Akamomitake
Saffron milk cap
Lactarius deliciosus (L. laeticolorus)

Chichitake
Tawny milk cap (fishy smell, mild taste)
Lactifluus volemus (Prev. Lactarius)

Aikawatake
Chicken of the woods
Laetiporus sulphureus

Murasakishimeji
Wood blewit
Lepista nuda

Amigasatake
Morel mushroom
Morchella esculenta

Hiratake
Oyster mushroom
Pleurotus ostreatus

Mukitake
Late oyster / Olive oysterling
Sarcomyxa serotina

(previously Panellus serotina)

Mushrooms popular in Japanese cuisine that are not native to Scotland include:

Matsutake
Pine mushroom
Tricholoma matsutake (T. nauseosum)
Tricholoma magnivelare
The former grows in Sweden and Finland so there’s probably no reason why it couldn’t grow in Scotland.

Bakamatsutake
Tricholoma bakamatsutake

Matsutake species that grows under beech and oaks.

Buna-shimeji
Brown beech mushroom
Hypsizygus tessellatus

Found in Northern Europe.

Bunapi-shimeji
White beech mushroom
Hypsizygus tessellatus

White variant of above.

Shiitake (koshin, donko, danko)
Lentinula edodes

Eringi
King Oyster mushroom
Pleurotus eryngii

Tamojitake
Golden oyster mushroom
Pleurotus citrinopileatus

Native to Japan and cultivated. Related to the Branched Oyster Fungus (Pleurotus cornucopiae) found in Scotland.

Usuhiratake
Lung oyster mushroom
Pleurotus pulmonarius

Saketsubatake
Burgundy mushroom /King stropharia
Stropharia rugosoannulata

Nameko
Butterscotch mushroom
Pholiota microspora

Arage-kikurage
Cloud ear fungus
Auricularia polytricha

Closely related to the Wood ear aka Jelly ear fungus found in Scotland (Auricularia auricula-judae).

Shironumeriiguchi
Sticky bolete
Suillus viscidus

Found in same larch habitat as Larcch bolete (Suillus grevillei) found in Scotland.

Iwatake
Stone ear /Rock mushroom
Umbilicaria esculenta

Technically an edible lichen.

Fukurotake
Straw mushroom
Volvariella volvacea

Shirokikurage
Snow mushroom
Tremella fuciformis

Medicinal mushrooms

Meshimakobu
Black hoof fungus
Phellinus linteus

Related to the European Willow Bracket (Phellinus igniarius).

Tsuriganetake
Hoof /Tinder fungus
Fomes fomentarius

In Japanese this translates as the bell mushroom. Common to both Japan and Scotland.

Mannentake
Reishi mushroom
Ganoderma lucidum

Mannentake means the 10,000 year mushroom. Also called Kadodetake (the Departure mushroom), Hijiridake (the Sage mushroom) and Magoshakushi (the Grandchild Ladle). In Scotland, a very similar species is used. The Artists Conk Ganoderma applanatum and the Southern Conk G. australe.

Debated edibility/toxicity

Sugihiratake
Angel wings
Pleurocybella porrigens

Edible but with great caution. Toxins can cause fatal kidney damage especially in elderly people with a history of kidney problems. Common to Japan and Scotland.

Murasakifuusentake
Violet webcap
Cortinarius violaceus

Counted as an edible mushroom in Japan but rare in Britain and easily confused with deadly Cortinarius species.

Kuritake
Brickcap mushroom
Hypholoma sublateritium

Mixed views on edibility.

Karahatsutake
Woolly milk cap
Lactarius torminosus

Inedible mushrooms

Kenawatake
Parachute mushroom
Marasmius funalis

Found only in Japan. Other Marasmius species are found in Scotland.

Poisonous mushrooms

Benitengutake
Fly agaric
Amanita muscaria

Only edible when prepared correctly as otherwise it can make you extremely ill. Common to both Japan and Scotland.

Nigikuritake
Sulphur tuft
Hypholoma fasciculare

Common to both Japan and Scotland.

Nisekurohatsu
Brittlegill (unspecified)
Russula subnigricans

Found only in Japan, Taiwan and China.

Kakishimeji
Burnt knight
Tricholoma ustale

Found in Japan and the southern counties of England.

Kirinomitake
Devil’s cigar /Texas star
Chorioactis geaster

Found in Japan and Texas. Similar to Scottish earth star cup fungi.

Kokusaurabenitake
The wood pinkgill
Entoloma rhodopolium

Common to both Japan and Scotland.

Hikageshibiretake
Magic mushroom
Psilocybe subcaerulipes
Can cause anxiety, panic as well as altered states of consciousness. Native to Japan.

Tsukiyotake
A bioluminescent mushroom similar to Jack O Lantern. Native to Japan.
Omphalotus japonicus

16 Comments

  1. Hi! Do you know the Japanese name for candycap lactarius mushrooms? (ex: L. helvius, L. camphoratus, L. fragilis, or L. rubidus). thanks!

  2. Billy Stone Lab Associate at Botanical Research Institute of Texas

    Flammulina vetipes should be Flammulina velutipes

  3. Great article. I was wondering if you have ever come across the japanese name for the group of mushrooms called “medicinal mushrooms” ? How do you say medicinal mushrooms in Japanese I wonder?

    • I’m not sure if that translates directly. If it does it is probably yakuso ( やくそう ) kinoko ( きのこ ). Literally medicinal herb mushroom. The translation of Paul Stamet’s book ‘Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms’ is ‘Shokuyō oyobi yakuyō kinoko no saibai’.

  4. Alain Drouin

    I Mrs Wilde, I’m looking for information about a Japanese mushroom from the Polyporaceae family
    which grows at the foot of bamboo. Its Japanese name is pronounced “raigan”. Do you know it? Thank you for your answer.

    • The Latin name is Omphalia lapidescens and in Chinese it is called lei wan. Traditionally the sclerotia – looking somewhat like brown truffles – in small pellets known as “thunder-balls”, were highly prized as an aphrodisiac. Modern lab studies confirm the effectiveness of the traditional Chinese medicine use of it to treat intestinal parasites (including tapeworm, roundworms, spirometra and ancylostomes). Some lab studies have also found it kills gastric cancer cells.

      • Vincent Loforti

        I traded some agaricus lilaceps to a sushi chef about 15 years ago. He knew what they were and said that he had them in Japan. He may have been mistaken. I think Monterey Cypress grow on the east coast of Japan. No?

  5. tyler atkins

    The pink oyster mushroom commonly cultivated by mushroom farms is always referred to as japanese in origin but I cannot find any names or mention of pink ones anywhere. Would you know what they are called by chance?

    Pleurotus djamor is the latin name

    thanks regardless

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