About Maitake
Origin of Name “Maitake” in Japanese
Maitake Common Names:
- King of mushrooms
- Dancing mushroom
- Hen of the woods
- Cloud mushroom
Maitake is Japanese for “dancing mushroom”. The maitake’s deliciousness and its ability to improve the body’s functions made it an important rarity during the Edo Period of Japan (1603-1868). The feudal lord of the Tohoku region donated many maitake to the Edo Shogun. Since the reputation of the maitake was superb, the Shogun continued to request them. However, the phantom mushroom “maitake” was not easily found in wild. The feudal lord thus commanded his subordinate to go and find them. The order was communicated to villagers through each local officer, and the villagers then scoured the wilderness. Whenever maitake were found and sent to the local subordinate, the amount of those mushrooms in weight was exchanged for equal weight in silver. Due to its tremendous value, the villagers would dance with joy when they would find this mushroom. In recent years however, there is a growing interest in holistic medicine. Extracts and power produced from the maitake are drawing attention from the holistic and even pharmaceutical industries. Due to these interests, we may be close to the days when maitake can make a meaningful contribution to society.
Kuro Maitake
We are the first company to sell black maitake in Japan and North America. Known for its top ranking within the maitake species, black maitake is very rare even in natural environments.
Production Process of Maitake
Inspecting The Raw Materials
The raw materials and water used for the cultivation of Shogun Maitake undergo the inspection in accordance with our rigorous internal standards.
Preparation
Mix the materials such as sawdust from broadleaf trees, water and wheat bran to build a medium that will serve as the foundation for the cultivation.
Sterilization
Sterilize the medium at high temperature and high pressure in order to eliminate the bacteria.
Inoculation
Plant maitake fungus on the sterilized medium in the clean equipment so as not to be mixed with bacteria.
Cultivation
Move the medium to the cultivating room, and cultivate maitake fungus around two months while controlling the temperature, humidity, wind, and the light.
Budding
Cut and open the top of the package of medium. Maitake mushrooms begin to bud.
Generating
Grow maitake mushrooms in the breeding room for nearly two weeks where the environmental conditions are controlled. The conditions in the room are adjusted with the passage of time.
Harvesting
Only those mushrooms that satisfy our rigorous internal standards are carefully harvested by hand.
Packaging And Inspection
After carefully inspecting the quality of the products, they are cut into small pieces and packed fresh.
Shipping
Shipped out to internal market and also overseas. By using the packaging that keeps the vegetables fresh, we can deliver them to overseas markets in spite of long distance and duration of shipment.