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| IZU, Japan — For three decades, Mitsuyasu Asada has proudly tended the same lush mountainside terraces where his father and grandfather grew wasabi, the horseradish-like plant with a fluorescent green hue and head-clearing pungency that unmistakably connotes Japanese cuisine. | 日本伊豆——30年来，浅田光泰（音）一直骄傲地打理着这片郁郁葱葱的山坡梯田，他的父亲和祖父都曾在这里种过山葵。山葵是一种类似辣根的植物，带着荧光绿的色调，有一种能让人清醒的辛辣味道，是日本料理显而易见的代表。 |
| Yet at the age of just 56, Mr. Asada is already thinking about retiring, worn down by the many threats facing this indispensable condiment that graces plates of sushi and bowls of soba. | 不过，56岁的浅田光泰已经在考虑退休了，因为这种寿司和荞麦面不可或缺的佐料面临着诸多威胁，令他疲惫不堪。 |
| Rising temperatures have rendered his crops more susceptible to mold and rot. He worries about unpredictable rainfall, deluging floods and more intense typhoons. The thick cedar forest that blankets the mountain overlooking his paddies — a result of postwar timber policy — has degraded the quality of the spring water that the wasabi needs to grow. Wild boar and deer increasingly attack his fields, driven down the mountains for lack of nutrition at higher altitudes. | 不断上升的气温使他的作物更容易发霉和腐烂。他担心不可预测的降雨、洪水泛滥和更强烈的台风。山上茂密的雪松林俯瞰着他的田地——这是战后木材政策的结果——这降低了山葵生长所需的泉水质量。野猪和鹿越来越经常攻击他的田地，因为在高海拔地区缺乏营养，它们被迫下山。 |
| And his two adult daughters have married and shown no interest in succeeding him on his one and a half acres in Izu, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, about 90 miles southwest of Tokyo. | 他的两个成年女儿已经出嫁，对继承他在静冈县伊豆的六亩地毫无兴趣。伊豆位于东京西南约145公里的地方。 |
| “If no one will take it over,” Mr. Asada said, “it will end.” | “如果没有人接手，”浅田光泰说，“就结束了。” |
| Mr. Asada is just one of many growers in Shizuoka, one of Japan’s largest wasabi-growing regions, who must confront rising challenges from global warming, the legacy of untended forests and demographic decline. | 静冈是日本最大的山葵种植区之一，那里的许多山葵种植户都必须面对诸多日益严峻的挑战，如全球变暖、森林无人照料的遗留问题，以及人口减少。浅田光泰也是其中之一。 |
| Already, these hazards have chipped away at the centuries-old culture of wasabi in the area and imperiled the future of one of the prefecture’s most important agricultural products and a pillar of its tourism business. | 这些危害已经侵蚀了该地区数百年历史的山葵文化，危及该县最重要的农产品和旅游业支柱的未来。 |
| Over the last decade, the volume of wasabi produced in Shizuoka has declined by close to 55 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. | 根据日本农林水产省的数据，过去十年来，静冈县的山葵产量下降了近55%。 |
| “I have a sense of crisis,” said Hiroyuki Mochizuki, president of Tamaruya, a 147-year-old company in Shizuoka that processes wasabi to sell in tubes, as well as in salad dressings, flavored salts, pickles and even nostril-tickling chocolate. | “我有一种危机感，”静冈有着147年历史的田丸屋的社长望月裕之啓行说。该公司加工山葵，以管装出售，还有山葵沙拉酱、山葵调味盐、山葵泡菜，甚至刺激鼻孔的山葵巧克力。 |
| “In order to protect Japanese food culture,” he added, “it is important to protect wasabi.” | “为了保护日本的饮食文化，”他还说，“保护山葵很重要。” |
| The wasabi that comes in tubes and packets and is familiar to many diners is actually a blend of wasabi and horseradish dyed green — or contains no wasabi at all. In Japan, chefs at higher-end sushi, soba or grilled beef restaurants grate fresh wasabi at the counter, so customers can experience the acute assault on their nostrils and the unique flavor that lingers for just a moment on the tongue. | 许多食客所熟悉的管装和袋装的芥末实际上是染成绿色的山葵和辣根的混合物，或者根本不含山葵。在日本，高级寿司店、拉面店或烤肉店的厨师会在柜台上磨碎新鲜山葵，这样顾客就能体验到山葵对鼻腔的强烈冲击，在舌头上停留片刻的独特味道。 |
| For hundreds of years, wasabi grew wild in mountains across Japan, blooming near forests and huddling alongside streams. About four centuries ago, growers in Shizuoka started to cultivate wasabi as a crop. | 数百年以来，山葵都是日本各地的山区野生植物，在森林附近开花，在溪流旁簇拥着生长。大约400年前，静冈县的种植者开始将山葵作为农作物来种植。 |
| Wasabi plants sprout in spring water that flows down from the mountains, helping to foster gradations of pungency and hints of sweetness. The most well-known Shizuoka variety, called mazuma, tends to sell for 50 percent more than wasabi from other parts of Japan. | 山葵植物在从山上流下的泉水中发芽，这有助于促进辛辣和甜味的层次。静冈县最著名的山葵品种“真妻”的售价往往比日本其他地区的山葵高出50%。 |
| Over time, local growers say, the spring water has deteriorated in quality, compromised by an abundance of cedar and cypress trees. | 当地的种植者说，随着时间推移，由于山中种植了大量的雪松和柏树，泉水的质量已经下降。 |
| In an effort to supply Japan with a fast-growing source of lumber to rebuild after World War II, government planners seeded mountain tracts exclusively with Japanese cedar or cypress. | 为了“二战”后的重建，给日本提供快速增长的木材来源，政府规划人员在山区专门种植了日本雪松或柏树。 |
| But as cheap wood imports supplanted Japan’s lumber in the 1960s, the cedar and cypress were left to grow, crowding out other kinds of plants that would better contain and nourish the mountain springs that wasabi needs to thrive. | 但在1960年代，随着廉价木材的进口取代了日本木材，雪松和柏树只得继续生长，挤占了其他种类的植物，而这些植物能够更好地包容和滋养山葵生长所需的山泉。 |
| “People talk about climate change and how there is less water,” said David Hulme, a retired Australian journalist who now grows wasabi in Okutama, about 50 miles from central Tokyo. “But the real problem is that the hills are not holding the water long enough.” | “人们谈论气候变化和水资源的减少，”澳大利亚退休记者戴维·休姆说，他现在在距东京市中心约80公里的奥多摩种植山葵。“但真正的问题是，这些山的持水时间不够长。” |
| Global warming has upset the balance even further. The delicate wasabi plants, which take more than a year to mature, do best in conditions no higher than about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. In recent years, heat waves in Japan have regularly pushed temperatures into the 90s and even above 100 degrees, causing more stalks to rot. | 全球变暖进一步打破了这种平衡。娇嫩的山葵植物需要一年多的时间才能成熟，在不超过21摄氏度的环境中生长得最好。近年来，日本的热浪经常将气温推高至32度摄氏度，甚至超过37摄氏度，导致更多的茎秆腐烂。 |
| On a recent afternoon, Masahide Watanabe, 66, a fourth-generation grower, stepped into one of his paddies in blue waders. With a small hoe, he dug a wasabi plant from the mud, unearthing a pockmarked green rhizome sprouting leaves shaped like water lilies. | 最近的一个下午，66岁的第四代种植者渡边正英（音）穿着蓝色的雨鞋走进自家的地。他用一把小锄头从泥里挖出一株山葵，绿色的根茎上布满麻点，上面长着睡莲状的叶子。 |
| He rinsed the plant in flowing spring water and chopped off the leaves and a tangle of roots, inspecting the remaining body for blemishes. | 他用泉水冲洗这棵植物，剪掉叶子和纠结的根须，检查剩下的部位是否有瑕疵。 |
| “Sometimes the plant will be missing the stems that grow out of the top,” he said. “We call it ‘headless syndrome.’” Other times, he said, he discovers what look like tumors on the roots. Such diseases, he said, have grown more frequent as temperatures have warmed. | “有时候植物会缺少从顶部长出来的茎，”他说。“我们称之为‘无头综合征’”。还有时候，他会在根部发现类似肿瘤的东西。他说，随着气温的升高，这类疾病越来越频繁。 |
| Government researchers and local growers have started to experiment with crossbreeding in an effort to develop hearty wasabi varieties that will thrive even in the rising heat. | 政府研究人员和当地种植者已经开始进行杂交试验，试图培育出即使在高温情况下也能茁壮成长的优质山葵品种。 |
| The challenge is that, unlike with other crops such as cucumbers or tomatoes, extracting seeds and growing seedlings from wasabi requires sophisticated technology. Most growers rely on specialized companies to clone seedlings in labs and greenhouses. Crossbreeding new varieties entails complicated pollination efforts, and most of all, time. | 挑战在于，与黄瓜或番茄等其他作物不同，从山葵中提取种子和培育幼苗需要复杂的技术。大多数种植者依靠专业公司在实验室和温室里克隆幼苗。杂交新品种需要复杂的授粉工作，而且最重要的是需要时间。 |
| “It can take five or six or up to 10 years for the whole process and to figure out which is the best or strongest,” said Susumu Hisamatsu, director of the wasabi production technology division in the Shizuoka Research Institute of Agriculture and Forestry. | 静冈农林研究所山葵生产技术部门的负责人久松进（音）说，“整个过程可能需要五、六年甚至是十年的时间，才能找出最好或是最强的品种。” |
| Even if the hundreds of experiments conducted by government researchers do yield a variety that can better withstand the heat, there is no guarantee that it will taste good or sell well. | 即使政府研究人员进行了数百次的实验，确实培育出耐高温品种，也不能保证它的味道或销量会好。 |
| Kichie Shioya, 65, whose family farm stretches back to the 19th century and who heads the Federation of Wasabi Cooperatives in Shizuoka Prefecture, said that when he tried one of the new crossbreeds developed by the prefectural research center, the plants “didn’t grow well, or caught diseases.” | 65岁的盐谷纪枝（音）是静冈县山葵合作社联合会的负责人，他的家庭农场可以追溯到19世纪。他说，当他尝试县研究中心开发的一种新杂交品种时，这些植物“长势不好，或是得了病”。 |
| Some experts who study wasabi say modern growers may have already diminished the possibility of developing environmentally resilient plants because they have focused for so long on a tiny cluster of breeds. | 一些研究山葵的专家表示，由于现代种植者长期以来一直专注于一小群品种，降低了开发具有环境适应性植物的可能性。 |
| “Now one kind of wasabi dominates the market,” said Kyoko Yamane, an expert in wasabi cultivation at Gifu University. That makes it difficult to produce healthy hybrids. | “现在，主导市场的是一个品种的山葵，”岐阜大学山葵种植专家山根京子说。这使得生产健康的杂交种变得困难。 |
| Growers may not stay in the business long enough to try the new crossbreeds. As farmers approach retirement age, some are left without successors to continue the wasabi-growing tradition. | 种植者留在这个行业中的时间可能不足以尝试开发新的杂交品种。随着农民接近退休年龄，一些人没有继任者来继续种植山葵的传统。 |
| Mr. Watanabe, the fourth-generation grower, reluctantly returned to Izu from Tokyo 40 years ago after graduating with a degree in chemistry. He said his son, who is currently enrolled at a university in Tokyo, was likely to hunt for a job in the city. | 40年前，第四代种植者渡边在获得化学学位后，不情愿地从东京返回伊豆。他说，他的儿子目前在东京的一所大学就读，很可能会在东京找工作。 |
| “There is a risk that wasabi could disappear,” Mr. Watanabe said. | “山葵有可能会消失，”渡边说。 |
| Hope may yet come from people like Haruhiko Sugiyama, 44, who recently started his own wasabi-growing operation in Izu. He leases half an acre of paddies from a retired grower whose own son does not want to enter the family business. | 像44岁的杉山春彦（音）这样的人可能会带来希望，他最近在伊豆开始了自己的山葵种植作业。他从一个儿子不想参与家业的退休种植者那里租了半英亩的田地。 |
| A dozen years ago, Mr. Sugiyama, the son of grocery store owners, decided he wanted to work outside. A middle school friend who descended from a long line of wasabi growers connected him to another farmer who needed help. | 杉山是杂货店老板的儿子，十几年前他决定离开家做别的工作。通过一位祖祖辈辈都是种植者的中学同学牵线，他与一位需要帮助的农民取得了联系。 |
| Yet to reach the point where he could start his own operation, Mr. Sugiyama had to prove his worth to the local growers association, which controls access to wasabi fields. In 12 years working for another grower, Mr. Sugiyama said, he never took a day off while learning every step of local wasabi-growing techniques. | 然而，为了能够开始自己经营，杉山必须向当地种植者协会证明自己的价值，该协会控制着山葵田的准入。杉山说，在为另一位种植者工作的12年中，在学习当地山葵种植技术的每一个步骤的过程中，他没有休息过一天。 |
| “In a way it is a closed society, made up of people who have grown wasabi for generations,” said Mr. Sugiyama, who was ultimately granted approval to take over abandoned paddies. “If I were not recognized by the association, they would not help me or allow me to grow on favorable land.” | “在某种程度上，这是一个封闭的社会，由世代种植山葵的人组成，”杉山说，他最终获准接管废弃的山葵田。“如果我没有得到协会的认可，他们不会帮助我，也不会让我在良田上种植。” |
| In a sign of the bond he has built with fellow growers, on a recent morning his middle school friend and another farmer helped cut down a 30-foot cypress tree that had blocked sunlight from getting to some of Mr. Sugiyama’s paddies. | 他与其他种植者建立了纽带。最近的一个早晨，他的中学朋友和另一位农民帮助砍伐了一棵约九米高的柏树，该树挡住了一部分山葵田的阳光。 |
| As the growers winched the downed tree onto the bank of a stream that fed into Mr. Sugiyama’s paddies, he gazed down at two empty terraces, the clear water now reflecting the blue sky above. “Next month,” he said, “I will plant them.” | 种植者将倒下的树吊到溪流岸边，溪水流入杉山的山葵田，他凝视着两个空荡荡的梯田，清澈的水现在反射着上方的蓝天。“下个月，”他说，“我会种下它们。” |
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