Maitake: Delicious Eat or Phsycodelic Treat?
Translating to "dancing mushroom" in Japanese, the origin of the Maitake mushroom’s name has remained a mystery for centuries. Some propose that the feather-like fronds resemble a beautiful dance, while others suggest that the joyous dance of foragers upon discovering it may have influenced the name. The following story comes from the Konjaku Monogatarishū (Anthology of Tales from the Past), a collection of over a thousand stories from the Heian period (794–1185). Could the following story be the final answer to this ancient secret?
Long long ago, some woodcutters from Kyoto went into the Kitayama mountains and lost their way. Not knowing which way to go, four or five of them were lamenting their condition when they heard a group of people coming from the depths of the mountains. The woodcutters were wondering suspiciously what sort of people it might be when four or five Buddhist nuns came out dancing and singing. Seeing them, the woodcutters became fearful, thinking things like, "Dancing, singing nuns are certainly not human beings but must be goblins or demons." And when the nuns saw the men and started straight toward them, the woodcutters became very frightened and wondered, "How is it that nuns come thus out of the very depths of the mountains dancing and singing?"
The nuns then said, "Our appearance dancing and singing has no doubt frightened you. But we are simply nuns who live nearby. We came to pick flowers as offerings to Buddha, but after we had all entered the hills together we lost our way and couldn't remember how to get out. Then we came upon some mushrooms, and although we wondered whether we might not be poisoned if we ate them, we were hungry and decided it was better to pick them than to starve to death. But after we had picked and roasted them we found they were quite delicious, and thinking, "Aren't these fine!" we ate them. But then as we finished the mushrooms we found we couldn't keep from dancing. Even as we were thinking, "How strange!"strangely enough we .... " The woodcutters were no end surprised at this unusual story.
Now the woodcutters were very hungry so they thought, "Better than dying let's ask for some too." And they ate some of the numerous mushrooms that the nuns had picked, whereupon they also were compelled to dance. In that condition the nuns and the woodcutters laughed and danced round and round together. After a while the intoxication seemed to wear off and somehow they all found their separate ways home. After this the mushrooms came to be called maitake, dancing mushrooms [mai, "dance"; take, "mushroom"].
Story quoted from Japan's "Laughing Mushrooms" Paper (source 1)
Are you convinced? Is the origin of this mushroom's name a whimsical encounter between lost monks and hungry woodcutters? As much as I'd love for the answer to be yes, this is unfortunately not the case (although, if it were, you probably wouldn't find Maitake stocked at your local organic grocer or Asian market).
In James H. Sanford's paper, "Japan's 'Laughing Mushrooms," he delves into the narrative and unveils that this tale likely pertains to another mushroom called "waraitake," a Japanese psychedelic fungus translating to the "laughing mushroom." Further exploration of mushrooms in the Kitayama mountains reveals two fungi renowned for inducing uncontrollable laughter: Pholiota spectabilis or Panaeolus papilionaceus.
The first species, Pholiota spectabilis (now recognized as Gymnopilus junonius), is affectionately nicknamed Big Laughing Jim. Although this specific mushroom lacks psilocybin, a compound found in traditional hallucinogenic fungi, reports indicate it can still induce similar effects, making individuals giggly and energetic, prompting them to dance around. The second mushroom, Panaeolus papilionaceus (the Petticoat mottlegill), is a broad name generically given to several species of Panaeolus in the area. These mushrooms are part of the larger set of psilocybin-containing fungi, explaining why the lost hikers were enjoying themselves. Whatever the mushroom may be, I strongly advise against randomly sampling fungi when lost in the woods, as more often than not, you'll end up in tears instead of sharing in laughter and dancing.
Sources:
Sanford, J. H. (1972). Japan's "Laughing Mushrooms". Economic Botany, 26(2), 174-181.
Big laughing Gym (Big laughing Jim). (n.d.). Missouri Department of Conservation. https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/big-laughing-gym-big-laughing-jim
