Though plastic sushi grass is a modern development, the idea behind it has been around for centuries. Flowers, leaves, fruits and branches have been used to line vessels in Japanese cuisine for over a millennium, according to Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a James Beard Award–winning food journalist and an expert in authentic Japanese cuisine.
The use of leaves to separate food, however, became common during the Edo period (1603–1864). “Originally, the Kanto region (around Tokyo) used sasanoha [leaves from the bamboo plant], while the Kansai region (around Kyoto) used haran.”
I wish Japan would get on board with using plants to separate the sushi instead of plastic. I don’t think they have much kale but surely something else would work. Regrettably the wrapping culture is still kind of out of control, and the plastic use reflects that in a lot of ways.