![hon-shimeji hon-shimeji](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/H1E89B/white-alba-clamshell-or-hon-shimeji-or-beech-mushrooms-at-farmers-H1E89B.jpg)
An improved version of this bed-log cultivation method is still used today. Around 300 years ago, records suggest that Japanese farmers began to cultivate shiitake, using small logs specially prepared with spores of the fungus. In the past, most varieties of mushrooms were only available in autumn and had to be collected by hand. Fresh and dried types feature in a wide variety of cuisines. Japan’s humid climate supports upward of 5,000 varieties of mushrooms, only a handful of which, some 100 species, are edible.
![hon-shimeji hon-shimeji](https://i0.wp.com/center-of-the-plate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hon-shimeji-mushroom.jpg)
The word mushroom in Japanese, kinoko, is thought to derive from the tendency of the fleshy fungi to grow on and around trees ( ki), particularly decaying logs and old trunks. More recently, mushrooms have been found to benefit immune health and to help alleviate the effects of lifestyle diseases. They are valued for their flavor and fragrance as well as their nutritional properties, which include high concentrations of fiber, vitamins B and D2, and minerals. Ceramic mushrooms excavated from ancient Jōmon sites indicate that they were regularly consumed as far back as 4,000 years ago. Mushrooms have been an autumn staple in Japan for a very long time.