sansho

Sansho refers to two primary senses in Japanese culture. It is the romanized form of 山椒, commonly known as Japanese pepper, and is also the title of a 1954 Japanese drama film by director Kenji Mizoguchi, sometimes rendered as Sansho the Bailiff. The term sanshō originates from Japanese for “mountain pepper” and denotes both the plant and its culinary use.

Botanically, sansho is Zanthoxylum piperitum, an evergreen shrub or small tree. It typically grows to several meters in height and has pinnate leaves with multiple leaflets, small greenish-yellow flowers, and rounded capsules containing seeds. The dried seeds and husks are ground into a peppery spice with a citrusy aroma; leaves and young shoots are used as herbs. The spice contains sanshool compounds that give a characteristic tingling, numbing sensation similar to related shrubs in the Zanthoxylum genus. In cooking, sansho is used to season grilled eel, fish, tofu, soups, and noodle dishes, while leaves (kinome) can be used fresh or dried to finish dishes.

Film: Sansho the Bailiff is a 1954 drama by Mizoguchi that is widely regarded as a landmark of world cinema. Set in medieval Japan, the story follows a noblewoman and her two children as they are separated and endure hardship under a corrupt system. The film is praised for its emotional depth, moral seriousness, and formal craftsmanship, and it is frequently cited among Mizoguchi’s masterworks and essential inputs to the history of cinema.

Other uses of the name are uncommon, but the term remains primarily associated with the pepper plant and the notable film.