Kombu or konbu (), also called dashima (dasima) or haidai, is edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia. Most kombu is from the species Saccharina japonica (Laminaria japonica), extensively cultivated on ropes in the seas of China, Japan, and Korea. Over 90 percent of Japanese kombu is cultivated, mostly in Hokkaidō, but also as far south as the Seto Inland Sea. History The earliest written record of kombu appeared in Shoku Nihongi in 797 as a gift and tax from t… (More on Kombu)