also: しょよ
noun
Japanese yam (Dioscorea japonica)
A species of yam native to Japan, often used in cooking. The word is usually written in kana (ヤマノイモ) in everyday contexts.
ヤマノイモはとろろご飯に使われる。
Japanese yam is used in tororo gohan (grated yam over rice).
山の芋の粘り気が好きだ。
I like the stickiness of Japanese yam.
Variant kanji form, mainly used in older or specialized texts.
Literally 'mountain potato'. The kanji 薯蕷 and 藷蕷 are Chinese-derived names for yam, used in traditional medicine and botany.