Hizikia fusiformis), sometimes called hiziki, is a brown sea vegetable that grows wild on the rocky coastlines of East Asia.

Hijiki has been sold in United Kingdom natural products stores for 30 years and its culinary uses have been adopted in North America.

Starting in the 1960s, the word "hijiki" started to be used widely in the United States,[citation needed] and the product (imported in dried form from Japan) became widely available at natural food stores and Asian-American grocery stores, due to the influence of the macrobiotic movement, and in the 1970s with the growing number of Japanese restaurants.

In Korea, the seaweed is called tot (톳) and eaten as namul (seasoned vegetable side dish) or cooked with bap (rice).

Testing showed that it contains significantly higher concentrations of inorganic arsenic than other types of seaweed, and these results have been independently verified.

[7] The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan responded with a report pointing out that while the consumption of more than 4.7 g hijiki seaweed per day could result in an intake of inorganic arsenic that exceeds the tolerable daily intake for this substance, the average daily consumption for Japanese people is estimated at 0.9 g.[8] Several of the reports[which?]