The Sakurajima radish or Sakurajima daikon ( ja, , ''Sakurajima
daikon
Daikon or mooli, '' Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia, daikon is harvested and consum ...
'') is a special
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...
of the
Japanese radish
is a generic term for radish in Japanese language. For example, European radish is called in Japan. In the West, the word ''daikon'' sometimes refers to long white Asian radish varieties and sometimes Japanese radish varieties. When it is nece ...
named for its original place of cultivation, the former island of
Sakurajima
Sakurajima ( ja, 桜島, literally "Cherry Blossom Island") is an active stratovolcano, formerly an island and now a peninsula, in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. The lava flows of the 1914 eruption connected it with the Ōsumi Penins ...
in
Japan's
Kagoshima Prefecture. It is the biggest
radish
The radish ('' Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten ra ...
variety in the world. Its regular weight is about , although big ones can be as much as . It grows as large as in diameter. It is also sometimes known in Japanese as ''shimadekon'' (, "island daikon").
The three varieties are early, middle, and late, but the most commonly encountered form is the late. The seeding period is from last August to first September and the harvest season is from December to February. To reach full size, special care needs to be taken with the region's volcanic-ash soil.
Names
In English, the Sakurajima radish is also sometimes known as the Sakurajima island giant radish, giant daikon, or jumbo daikon.
Uses
Sakurajima radish has a fine texture and is low in fiber. It is sweeter than other varieties of Japanese radish. In
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan ( Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and ot ...
, it is typically prepared by simmering to produce dishes such as ''
furofuki daikon''.
''
Kiriboshi daikon'' and ''
tsukemono
are Japanese preserved vegetables (usually pickled in salt, brine, or a bed of rice bran). They are served with rice as an '' okazu'' (side dish), with drinks as an ''otsumami'' (snack), as an accompaniment to or garnish for meals, and as a ...
'' are popular prepared foods which also employ the radish. The large size of ''tsukemono'', ''
senmaizuke'', is sold in souvenir shops in
Kagoshima
, abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
.
History
Three theories are given about its development:
# An origin from an original wild daikon in Sakurajima
# An origin from ''
hōryō daikon'' in
Aichi Prefecture
# An origin from ''
kokubu daikon'' (''
hamanoichi daikon'')
An 1804 mention of Kagoshima in reference to the giant Sakurajima radish shows it was 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 of growing area in total in the high season. Sakurajima radish is one of the most precious local commercial crops. Also, in every harvest season, the ''toikae'' (
Kagoshima dialect
The , often referred to as the , is a group of dialects or dialect continuum of the Japanese language spoken mainly within the area of the former Ōsumi and Satsuma provinces now incorporated into the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima. ...
for "market") was held in
Kajiki (now part of
Aira District) and people traded Sakurajima radishes with straw. However, the main crop was shifted to
satsuma (''mikan'') from Sakurajima radishes, because the area of Sakurajima suffered so much damage from a
1914 eruption of the nearby volcano, decreasing the growing area to about by 1955. Furthermore, its growing area was decreased to about owing to ashfall between then and 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
*今村知子 『かごしま文庫51 鹿児島の料理』 春苑堂出版、1999年、
*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、
*橋村健一 『かごしま文庫13 桜島大噴火』 春苑堂出版、1994年、
External links
JA Kagoshima Mirai Specialty products Sakurajima radish
{{Japanese food and drink
Asian radishes
Root vegetables
Japanese cuisine terms