Welcome. This site is a small guide to tsukemono or Japanese pickles.
If you have only encountered Japanese pickles through the pale pink ginger served with sushi, you have seen just a narrow slice of a much broader and more practical tradition. Tsukemono (漬物) literally means “pickled things” and have been a cornerstone of Japanese eating for more than a thousand years.
Tsukemono are not a single dish or technique. They are a category of foods defined by preservation and seasoning methods, most often involving salt, time, pressure, and sometimes fermentation. They are eaten in small quantities, but they play an outsized role in how Japanese meals are structured and experienced.
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