Sakurajima radish
| Sakurajima daikon | |
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| A pile of daikon radishes. | |
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| Variety: | R. sativus var. longipinnatus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus[1] | |
Sakurajima daikon (桜島大根) is one of the local products of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. It is the biggest daikon variety in the world, as confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records. Its regular weight is about 6 kilograms although big ones can be as much as 45 kg (99 lb). It grows as large as 50 cm (20 in) in diameter.[2] It is grown on Sakurajima so it was named Sakurajima daikon. The people there also call it shimadekon (island daikon).
There are three kinds of varieties, early, middle and late, but most are the last.[3] The seeding period is from last August to first September and the harvest season is from December to February. In order to grow it big, care needs to be taken with the volcanic ash soils.
Uses
Sakurajima daikon has a fine texture and is low in fiber. It is sweeter than the other daikon varieties. The typical cooking style is simmering such as furofuki daikon.[4] Also as preserved foods, kiriboshi daikon and tsukemono are famous. The big size of tsukemono, senmaizuke is sold in souvenir shops in Kagoshima.
History
There are three theories about its development.
- The origin from hōryō daikon in Aichi Prefecture.
- The origin from original wild daikon in Sakurajima.
- The origin from kokubu daikon (hamanoichi daikon).
A piece of paper in 1804 about Sakurajima daikon is brought down in Kagoshima, so it is sure that has been cultured before then at least. The main production was north-west of Sakurajima but it was moved to the north later. About 1200 farm houses had about 200ha of growing area in sum total in the high season. Sakurajima daikon was one of the precious commercial crops, because Sakurajima’s fields are not good for rice cropping, so it was shipped out to Kagoshima city. Also, in every harvest season, the market called toikae (means exchange in Kagoshima dialect) was held in Kajiki (now part of Aira District) and people traded Sakurajima daikon with straw.
However, the main crop was shifted to satsuma (mikan) from Sakurajima daikon, because the area of Sakurajima suffered big damage in the 1914 eruption, and its growing area was decreased to about 30ha in 1955. Furthermore, its growing area was decreased to about 1.5ha for frequently ash falls from then to 2001.
The main growing districts of now are the suburbs of Kagoshima city and Kirishima city. Because of fewer eruptions recently, the growing area has been extended.
References
- ^ "Sorting Raphanus names". MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE.
- ^ The New official guide: Japan. Japan National Tourist Organization. 1975. p. 837. ISSN 0077-8591.
- ^ Useful Plants of Japan - Described and Illustrated. READ BOOKS. 2008. p. 20. ISBN 1-4086-3952-1.
- ^ "Furofukidaikon (ふろふき大根)" (in Japanese). Kikkoman.
- 今村知子 『かごしま文庫51 鹿児島の料理』 春苑堂出版、1999年、ISBN 4-915093-58-1 Template:Ja icon
- 串間俊文 『かごしま文庫26 鹿児島の園芸植物』 春苑堂出版、1995年、ISBN 4-915093-33-6 Template:Ja icon
- 橋村健一 『かごしま文庫13 桜島大噴火』 春苑堂出版、1994年、ISBN 4-915093-19-0 Template:Ja icon