Microseason: The Autumn of Wheat
SUMMER
APPROACHING ABUNDANCE
THE AUTUMN OF WHEAT
31 May - 4 June
This microseason marks the Autumn of Wheat. Golden fields flood the Japanese countryside. Stalks heavy with ripe grain sway in the breeze. Whilst early June, “Autumn” is leveraged to express that wheat has fully matured and harvest season is upon us.
Mugi is often associated with wheat, but it actually refers to a broader category of cereal grains, including barley, Job’s Tears, and glutinous barley. They have been adapted over centuries to the archipelago's varied climates to become an important heritage material of the country.
Komugi Wheat is used for noodles, beer, bread, and confectionery.
Ōmugi Barley is commonly blended with rice, used to make miso, and consumed as roasted tea, as well as crafts such as straw hats, dolls, and intricate weavings for sacred rituals.
Hatomugi Job’s Tears are valued in traditional medicine and teas, particularly in skincare.
Mochimugi Glutinous Barley is a historic grain rich in dietary fiber, and consumed by steaming with rice.
Wheat is believed to have arrived in Japan over 2000 years ago via the Korean Peninsula. Archaeological sites in Shizuoka and Nagasaki have yielded carbonized wheat grains, attesting to its early cultivation. Japan’s wet climate and the onset of the rainy season during the harvest period made wheat farming difficult in those early years. However by the 700s, wheat showed itself to be of clear cultural and economic value. In Japan’s oldest poetry anthology, verses reference wheat, and mokkan wooden tablets excavated from a Nara palace site mention quantities of stored wheat. By the 1100s, mugi gained prominence as a secondary crop cultivated in a system of double cropping alongside rice, sowing wheat and barley in the Autumn and harvest in Early Summer.
The city of Edo (present-day Tokyo during the 1600s to 1800s), is widely recognized as the first metropolis in the world to nurture a broad-based dining-out culture. With a population exceeding one million, Edo supported a vast network of food establishments ranging from street-side stalls and teahouses to full-scale specialty restaurants. Unlike earlier court or guild-based cuisines, Edo’s culinary scene was accessible to common townspeople, including merchants, craftsmen, and former samurai class. The rise of printed guidebooks such as Edo Kaitei Ichiran, an early restaurant directory, reflects the emergence of dining as a public, communal, recreational activity. By the 1700s, the military shogunate government encouraged cultivation of wheat and barley to boost tax revenue, positioning mugi as an everyday staple. It became commonplace to consume barley rice, wheat-based noodles like udon and sōmen, tempura, and soba incorporating various percentages of wheat flour. It's clear that with the rise of dining out and the rise of wheat cultivation go hand in hand. This fast urban fare for the working class has laid the groundwork for the world’s first widespread food-service economy.
Photo credit: Momoko Nakamura