桑 means 'mulberry'

This "fruit basket" has caused creative juices to flow in Japan. The trees and fruits connect to colors, haiku, proverbs, myths, folktales, and wordplay. People associate peaches with Shangri-la and instability, Japanese apricots with happiness, and persimmons with Mount Fuji and writing brushes. The Japanese fully use certain trees—the wood in furniture, the leaves in tea (and even in sushi!), and fruit, roots, and bark in dye, paper, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The juice goes into drinks, alcoholic or tame. And the Japanese and ancient Chinese have viewed these fruits and their trees as warding off misfortune!

These essays detail complex, interdependent systems, both natural and economic. Sericulture was once so essential to Japan's economy that mulberry (桑) fields are marked on maps, as silkworms eat only mulberry leaves. These animals laboriously spin cocoons (繭), producing filaments that become silk kimonos after many financial transactions. Similarly, Japanese apiarists oversee busy bees (蜂) that make not only hives and honeycomb but also honey to be sold and consumed in multiple ways. Animals build intricate nests and webs (both 巣) that inspire terrific Japanese figurative language. People even eat some nests!

Japanese craftsmanship is legendary, and the artisans know well how types of wood will behave, whether in chopsticks, barrels for soy sauce and saké, or traditional paper. One kind of tree grows so fast that it greatly aided postwar reconstruction. Another type is suitable for alcove posts and chests of drawers, being hard and shiny with a distinctive woodgrain pattern. A third sort is hard but easily cracks, making it ideal for paneling in traditional furniture and Japanese umbrellas. The last type is pliable and can become everything from wicker to toothpicks, also having medicinal properties. See which is which!