The eating habits of sea vegetables (edible seaweeds) in the Sanin coastal area were investigated by informal interview of the residents. The results were as follows: (1) 27 kinds of sea vegetables were eaten, and many kinds of brown algae were eaten in the eastern part of the Sanin coastal area. On the other hand, in the western part, many kinds of red algae were eaten. (2) The sea vegetables were harvested for the income and self-sufficient food. For instance, wakame, mozuku and iwanori were

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... he efficient sources of income. (3) The properties of sea vegetables that the residents learned from their experiences were utilized in the traditional method of drying, storing, and processing the sea vegetables. (4) The sea vegetables were used as the daily food, the substitutes for the vegetables in the winter and the emergency food in a famine. (5) Many kinds of sea vegetables have been used as the foods for events concerning both Buddhist and Shintoist rituals. Concerning these characteristics of eating habits of sea vegetables, the regional differences of the kinds of sea vegetables and the foods for events were seen in the eastern and western parts of Sanin coastal area, and these were greatly influenced by the ecological features of sea vegetables, the natural and human living environment in the Sanin coastal area, and the long history of using sea vegetables.