Seasonings

Emphasis is placed on seasonality of food or shun (旬),and dishes are designed to herald the arrival of the four seasons or calendar months.

Seasonality means taking advantage of the "fruit of the mountains" (山の幸 yama no sachi, alt. "bounty of the mountains") (e.g. bamboo shoots in spring, chestnuts in the fall) as well as the "fruit of the sea" (海の幸 umi no sachi, alt. "bounty of the sea") as they come into season. Thus the first catch of skipjack tunas (初鰹 hatsu-gatsuo) that arrives with the Kuroshio Current has traditionally been greatly prized.

If something becomes available rather earlier than usual, the first crop or early catch is called hashiri.

Use of (inedible) tree leaves and branches as decor is also characteristic of Japanese cuisine. Maple leaves are often floated on water to exude coolness or ryō(涼), sprigs of nandina are popularly used. The haran (Aspidistra) and sasa bamboo leaves were often cut into shapes, and placed underneath or used as separators.