Japanese ginger; myoga ginger
A type of ginger native to Japan, used as a vegetable or garnish; the flower buds and shoots are eaten.
I chopped some myoga ginger and put it on chilled tofu.
夏になると、庭でみょうががたくさん採れる。
In summer, we can harvest a lot of myoga ginger from the garden.
peppermint stick; Alpinia japonica
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 茗荷 and 蘘荷 are rare.
Katakana spelling, often used in botanical or culinary contexts.
Kanji form; rarely used in modern writing.
Rarely used kanji form.
The origin is uncertain; the word is native Japanese, and the kanji 茗荷 and 蘘荷 are ateji.