Taiwan’s Last Wasabi? Ali Mountain Wasabi Bites the Dust on New Year’s Day!

Authentic wasabi looks like this; its Japanese name translates to “wasabi” in English. The root is grated into a paste with a spicy yet slightly sweet flavor, distinct from the tube-packaged imitation paste sold commercially. (Photo by Shen Huisheng)

The remaining wasabi in the Alishan area of Xinyi Township will be cleared in the next couple of days and will soon be history. (Photo by Shen Huisheng)

Appearance of wasabi plants. (Photo by Shen Huisheng)

At the Zizhong Checkpoint in Xinyi Township, farmers have been selling wasabi over the weekend. They claim it’s “Taiwan’s last wasabi,” which will no longer be allowed to be grown or sold starting January 1st. The famous “wasabi” of the Alishan area has officially become history. The Forestry Bureau’s Chiayi Forest District Office and National Taiwan University Experimental Forest confirmed that all wasabi grown in the Alishan region was illegally cultivated on state-owned land and will be fully reclaimed for management in accordance with the law by the 31st!

However, Li Dingzhong, deputy director of the Chiayi Forest District Office, emphasized that while the Forestry Bureau supports the preservation of wasabi culture, illegal occupation of state-owned forest land is absolutely unacceptable. Currently, successful cultivation and sales have taken place at low altitudes around 1,200 meters, so there will still be wasabi in Taiwan in the future — just on legally designated land. It won’t be banned, nor will it disappear from history.

Chen Axii, a farmer from the Zizhong area, said that most of the wasabi in the Alishan region was planted within forests managed by the Chiayi Forest District Office, with some also located in the National Taiwan University Experimental Forest. Most of these areas are in Alishan Township, Chiayi County, but there are also distributions in mid-altitude regions of Xinyi Township, Nantou County.

He explained that the wasabi originated from Japan and had likely been introduced around 120 years ago. At its peak, the cultivation area covered about 360 hectares, but it was reduced to just 30 hectares after the Forestry Bureau reclaimed the land last year. The original deadline for clearance was December 31, 2016, but some farmers who had just planted their seedlings recently appealed for an extension of one year. This time, it’s really the end — there will be no more wasabi starting January 1st!

Chen Axii, 65, said he had been growing wasabi in Xinyi Township and Wufeng Township (the former name of Alishan Township) for over 40 years since he was young, cultivating up to 3 hectares at his peak. Now, only scattered remnants remain after the land was reclaimed. After New Year’s Day, he’ll be “out of a job” and will probably switch to selling mountain produce like beans and dragon beard vegetables.

Li Dingzhong pointed out that the Forestry Bureau has always dealt with farmers illegally cultivating wasabi on state-owned forest land in a gentle and gradual manner. Starting with areas along trails, railways, and within forest recreation zones, they first issued announcements and provided guidance before reclaiming the land step by step.

Typhoon Morakot (also known as Typhoon 88) in 2009 raised environmental concerns, drawing attention to the issues of wasabi occupying forest land and soil and water conservation. The Forestry Bureau conducted a comprehensive survey and found the illegally cultivated area to be 159.95 hectares. In 2012, the Ministry of Justice’s Agency Against Corruption advocated for full reclamation, with the Control Yuan supervising and reviewing the enforcement process.

In 2013, the “Alishan Region Wasabi Follow-up Handling and Implementation Plan” was approved and implemented, stipulating that all land must be reclaimed by the end of 2016. However, before the final deadline last year, some farmers appealed for a one-year extension to harvest their final crop. A total of 138 plots, covering 30.046 hectares, were officially returned. Currently, only scattered remnants remain, which must all be harvested and cleared within the next couple of days.