Seaweed Salad Day

What Is Seaweed Salad Day?

September 24 is Seaweed Salad Day in Japan, established by Kaneryo Kaiso Co., Ltd., a seaweed processing company based in Uto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, and certified by the Japan Anniversary Association in 2018.

Honoring the Birthday of the Man Behind Japan's First Seaweed Salad

Seaweed salad is now a familiar item found in supermarket deli sections across Japan, but its origin traces back to a single person.

• Origin: Established by Kaneryo Kaiso Co., Ltd. and certified by the Japan Anniversary Association in 2018
• The person behind it: Takaaki Takagi, the company's chairman, is credited with developing Japan's first seaweed salad
• Date: Chosen to mark Takagi's birthday, September 24, 1930

Color and Nutrition from the Sea

Combining ingredients like wakame, stem wakame, and red seaweed, seaweed salad brings vivid color and a distinctive texture to the table, making it an easy dish to work into everyday meals. Turning a quintessentially Japanese, ocean-sourced ingredient into a casual salad reflects real ingenuity on the part of its creator.

How to Spend the Day

• Add a seaweed salad to your meal today
• Try a type of seaweed you don't usually eat
• Look into the origin and history of seaweed salad
• Experiment with other dishes that use seaweed

One Bowl of Salad, Born from One Person's Ingenuity

Seaweed Salad Day commemorates the birthday of the man behind Japan's first seaweed salad. September 24 is a day to appreciate the bounty of the sea, and the ingenuity behind a colorful dish many of us enjoy without a second thought.