According to the Japanese government’s Forestry Agency, this year’s harvest of homegrown matsutake mushrooms — a delicacy in Japan — is likely to hit the lowest level in more than 50 years due to the sizzling heat wave in August. Among high-end products, a single Matsutake mushroom has fetched 15,000 yen ($131) to 20,000 yen ($175), a level equaling the height marked in the era of the asset-inflated bubble economy in the 1980s, market officials said. Western Japan was particularly hit by poor harvest, with the nationwide harvest likely to dip below the record-low 39 tons set in 2005, according to the agency.
Matsutake is the common name for a group of mushrooms in Japan. It has been an important element of Japanese cuisine for at least 1,000 years [citation needed]. The tradition of mushroom giving persists today in Japan’s corporate world, and a gift of matsutake is considered special and is cherished by those who receive it
