Japanese edit

For pronunciation and definitions of へちま – see the following entry.
糸瓜
[noun] a sponge gourd; a dishrag gourd; a rag gourd
[noun] a loofah (dried fibrous interior used as a sponge)
Alternative spellings
天糸瓜, ヘチマ
(This term, へちま, is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)