Food · Fermented foods

Karashina (Japanese Mustard Greens)

からしな (Karashina)

Also known as: Karashina, Japanese mustard greens, Brassica juncea, 芥子菜, Takana (高菜, related cultivar)

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At a glance

Category	Food
Japanese labeling name	からしな
Common Japanese notations	からしな, 芥子菜, カラシナ
Origin	Japanese mustard greens (Brassica juncea); cultivated since prehistoric times; modern domestic production widespread; Takana is a closely related cultivar with major regional production in Kumamoto (Aso-takana) and Fukuoka (Tonburi-takana)
Typical functions	Karashina-zuke pickled mustard greens — major retail category, Takana-zuke (high-na pickle) — Kyushu regional specialty pickle, Fresh leafy mustard green for cooking and salads, Mustard seed source (small Japanese production)
Regulatory status in Japan	Standard agricultural product labeling. Aso-takana (Kumamoto), Tonburi-takana (Fukuoka) regional brand naming established. Karashina is not a designated allergen.

Karashina (からしな) is Japanese mustard greens (Brassica juncea), cultivated for both fresh culinary use and pickling. The OEM positioning is broad: as fresh leafy mustard greens for cooking and salads (mild peppery flavor), as karashina-zuke pickled retail (a major Japanese pickle category), and most importantly as the source of takana-zuke — the iconic Kyushu pickle category with regional GI-protected origins (Aso-takana from Kumamoto, Tonburi-takana from Fukuoka). Takana is technically a karashina cultivar with larger leaves specifically suited to traditional pickling. Volume retail and gift retail position this as one of Japan's major regional pickle categories.

Classification

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Product applications

Functions

Flavoring

Regulatory tags

Culinary ingredient

Origin

Plant-derived

Used in (typical product categories)

Finished-product categories that commonly include this ingredient in Japanese-market formulations.

Fresh karashina retail (year-round, peak winter-spring)
Karashina-zuke pickled retail
Aso-takana, Tonburi-takana premium regional pickle gift retail

What it is

Karashina is Brassica juncea, a mustard species. The Japanese karashina category broadly includes the mustard greens used for cooking and pickling, with takana being the larger-leaf cultivar specifically suited for traditional Kyushu pickle production.

Production: widespread domestic production for fresh karashina; Aso-takana (Kumamoto) and Tonburi-takana (Fukuoka) are the major regional cultivars for traditional pickle production.

Nutritionally, fresh karashina per 100g provides 26 kcal, 3.3g protein, 0.1g fat, 4.9g carbohydrates with 3.7g dietary fiber. Vitamin and mineral content includes vitamin C 64mg, K 230μg per 100g, plus glucosinolate phytochemicals.

Typical uses in Japanese products

Karashina-zuke and takana-zuke — the primary OEM applications. Takana-zuke is a defining Kyushu and Fukuoka cuisine ingredient (used in takana-meshi, takana-onigiri, etc.).

Fresh cooking — as mustard green vegetable in sautes and soups.

For OEM: fresh karashina retail, takana-zuke regional pickle production OEM (Aso-takana, Tonburi-takana origins), and gift retail of premium pickle products.

Regulatory classification in Japan

Standard agricultural product labeling. Regional brand origins (Aso-takana, Tonburi-takana) for premium positioning. Not a designated allergen.

Regulatory classification in other markets

EU	Imported as mustard greens. Pickled takana niche specialty.
USA	Imported under FDA standard food procedures. Niche in Japanese-cuisine and Asian channels.
China	China has its own mustard greens culture. Niche specialty positioning.
Korea	Korea has its own gat (갓) culture (used in gat-kimchi). Japanese takana-zuke positioned as specialty.

Example products

Example finished products will be added after verification of cultivar (karashina / takana) and origin region.

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Related ingredients

Komatsuna (Japanese Mustard Spinach)

Used in similar product applications

Other ingredients commonly used in the same finished-product families.

Sharing similar functions

Ingredients that overlap on functional benefit tags.

From the same origin

Other ingredients that share an origin classification.

References

MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition — からしな

Last updated: 2026-04-28. Ingredient entries are reviewed at least annually against current regulatory listings.