Abstract
The wax tree Toxicodendron succedaneum is an invasive species commonly found in urban parks and
gardens. In Japan, it was once planted in large quantities for the purpose of wax extraction. It is also believed to
have been spread throughout Japan by fruit-loving birds. Since such wax trees grow in abundance in our
neighborhoods, there have been attempts to collect the wax from this fruit in many places; however, it is
considered challenging for the general public to easily collect wax from such wax trees. Therefore, in this study, an attempt has been made to verify the process – from the collection of the fruit to the purification of Japan wax – to investigate a simple and stable method of collecting Japan wax using cooking utensils that are commonly distributed and available to citizens and teachers, with reference to ancient production methods. The following seven were verified: how to collect and store fruit and for how long, how to separate fruit and stalks, how to separate pericarp and seeds, how to heat pericarp, press and squeeze method, separation such as wax. As a result, it was confirmed that there is an easy way to collect Japan wax in the modern age.
