What are Kagawa’s heirloom vegetables? Features, season, and ways to eat the 12 items organized by the association (kintoki carrot, Mitoyo eggplant, manba) explained

The heirloom vegetables of Kagawa Prefecture are varieties passed down amid landscapes such as the warm, low-rainfall climate of the Sanuki Plain, the Seto Inland Sea coast and former saltworks sites, islands such as Shodoshima and Teshima, and the mountainous areas of the Asan Mountains.The Japan Traditional Vegetable Promotion Associationorganizes Kagawa Prefecture's 10 heirloom vegetables and 2 heirloom fruits, 12 items in total.

Essential to New Year's osechi cuisine,Kintoki carrot, Kagawa hontaka from Teshima (a large native chili), Sanuki shiro-uri from Takamatsu, Mitoyo eggplant, the Sanuki winter leafy green manba, and leaf burdock—here we introduce the items passed down in Sanuki.

The definition of "heirloom vegetable" and the scope of this article

Certifying body	Main criteria
Kyoto Prefecture "Kyoto Heirloom Vegetables"	Cultivation history predating the Meiji era, covering the entire prefecture
Osaka Prefecture "Naniwa Heirloom Vegetables"	Cultivated within Osaka Prefecture from roughly 100 or more years ago
Nagano Prefecture "Shinshu Heirloom Vegetable Certification System"	Cultivation, food culture, and varietal traits from before the 1955–1964 period
Kagawa Prefecture	A prefecture-specific heirloom vegetable certification system has not been confirmed. JA and each municipality support regional branding

In this article, of the 12 Kagawa items organized by the Japan Heirloom Vegetable Promotion Association, the main text covers the 10 vegetables, and the 2 heirloom fruits (Obara-beni-wase and Hazama fig) are introduced separately in the “Other local specialty varieties” section at the end of the article.

List of Kagawa's 10 main heirloom vegetables

#	Item	Category	Main growing region	Season
1	Kintoki carrot	Carrot (Eastern type)	Sakaide and Kanonji	November–March
2	Kintoki-imo	Sweet potato (red)	Sakaide	June to December
3	Kagawa hontaka	Chili (a large native variety originating in islands such as Teshima)	Mitoyo, Teshima in Marugame, and Takamatsu	August to September
4	Sanuki shiro-uri	White gourd (uri)	Kawazoe, Takamatsu	Mid-July to mid-September
5	Sanuki naga-saya sora-mame	Fava bean (long pod)	Ono, Kagawa Town, Takamatsu	April to June
6	Sumitani burdock	Burdock (thick and tender)	Yasuhara, Shionoe Town, Takamatsu	Mid-December to mid-January
7	Nabana	Leafy green (nabana)	Wide areas of the prefecture (Sanuki, Miki, and 8 other areas)	Mid-November to mid-April
8	Leaf burdock	Burdock (edible leaf stalks)	Takamatsu and Sanuki	December to January, March to April
9	Manba	Leafy green (takana type)	The entire prefecture of Kagawa	Late September to around April
10	Mitoyo eggplant	Eggplant (late-maturing, large-fruited)	Mitoyo, Kanonji, and Takamatsu	July–September

Characteristics and preparation of 7 representative Kagawa heirloom vegetables

The main text explains the 7 representative items.

Kintoki carrot — the red carrot of New Year's osechi

Season	November–March
Growing region	Sakaide and Kanonji
Well-suited dishes	Simmered dishes, osechi, kinpira, namasu

The Kintoki carrot is a strain of Eastern-type carrot, characterized by a long, slender shape and being red all the way to the core. Sakaide and Kanonji in Kagawa Prefecture are the main growing regions; because its sweetness increases when heated, it is a red carrot used mainly in western Japan for osechi cuisine and simmered dishes.

The red of its cut surface stands out in simmered dishes, kinpira, and red-and-white namasu; its season is November to March. It ships nationwide in December.

Kagawa hontaka — the large native chili of Teshima in Mitoyo and Marugame

Season	August to September
Growing region	Mitoyo, Teshima in Marugame, and Takamatsu
Well-suited dishes	Ground red pepper, spicy seasonings, tsukudani

Kagawa hontaka is a large native chili cultivated in Mitoyo, Teshima in Marugame, and Takamatsu, characterized by deep-red fruit 7 to 8 cm long (sometimes over 10 cm). As organized by the Japan Heirloom Vegetable Promotion Association, it is said to be about 2 to 3 times the size of a common chili, 4 times as hot, and 3 times as rich in umami. Grown in the warm climate of the Seto Inland Sea coast, it is processed into raw material for ground red pepper, spicy seasonings, and tsukudani.

Harvested in its season of August to September, it is distributed year-round as a dried and processed product.

Sanuki shiro-uri — the barrel-shaped white gourd of Kawazoe, Takamatsu

Season	Mid-July to mid-September
Growing region	Kawazoe district, Takamatsu
Well-suited dishes	Kasuzuke, narazuke, asazuke, simmered dishes

Sanuki shiro-uri is a white gourd cultivated in the Kawazoe district of Takamatsu that ranges from pale green to pure white when fully ripe. Barrel-shaped, 3 to 7 cm in diameter and about 23 cm long, it is used as a raw material for kasuzuke and narazuke.

Kasuzuke is used as a summer-to-autumn preserved food, and it also suits asazuke and simmered dishes.

Mitoyo eggplant — a late-maturing, large-fruited, thin-skinned eggplant

Season	July–September
Growing region	Mitoyo, Kanonji, and Takamatsu
Well-suited dishes	Dengaku, grilled eggplant, agebitashi, simmered dishes

Mitoyo eggplant is a late-maturing, large-fruited eggplant cultivated in Mitoyo, Kanonji, and Takamatsu, prized for its thin skin, juiciness, umami, and sweetness. It is distributed as Sanuki's summer-to-autumn eggplant.

It suits dengaku, grilled eggplant, agebitashi, and simmered dishes, and in its season of July to September it ships at JA farm stands and mass retailers.

Manba — Sanuki's winter leafy green

Season	Late September to around April
Growing region	The entire prefecture of Kagawa
Well-suited dishes	Manba no kenchan, ohitashi, simmered dishes, stir-fries

Manba is a leafy green cultivated throughout Kagawa Prefecture as a type of takana; exposed to the cold, it grows tender and gains sweetness. It has been used in households as the ingredient for Sanuki's local dish “manba no kenchan” (a dish simmered and stir-cooked with tofu and fried tofu).

Its long season runs from late September to the following April, and it is distributed at JA farm stands and supermarkets within Kagawa Prefecture.

Sumitani burdock — the thick, tender burdock of Shionoe, Takamatsu

Season	Mid-December to mid-January
Growing region	Yasuhara, Shionoe Town, Takamatsu
Well-suited dishes	Kinpira, simmered dishes, tempura, soups

Sumitani burdock is a native burdock cultivated in the Yasuhara district of Shionoe Town, Takamatsu, characterized by being thick, tender, and highly aromatic. It is a variety passed down in the mountainous Asan Mountains and is shipped over the short window from mid-December to mid-January.

Its aroma stands out in kinpira, simmered dishes, and tempura, and its tender texture comes through in soups as well.

Sanuki naga-saya sora-mame — a small-seeded fava bean in 20 cm pods

Season	April to June
Growing region	Ono district, Kagawa Town, Takamatsu
Well-suited dishes	Boiled with salt, bean rice, tempura, soup

Sanuki naga-saya sora-mame is a long-podded fava bean cultivated in the Ono district of Kagawa Town, Takamatsu, with 4 to 6 small beans in a pod about 20 cm long. A distinctive feature that differs from ordinary fava beans is that it can be eaten skin and all.

Boiled with salt, you can enjoy the beans' flavor, and it also suits bean rice, tempura, and soup. In its season of April to June, it is distributed at JA farm stands within Takamatsu.

How to buy Kagawa's heirloom vegetables

Item	Main sources	Timing
Kintoki carrot	JA farm stands in Sakaide and Kanonji; in December it also ships to mass retailers outside the prefecture	November–March
Kagawa hontaka	Farm stands in Teshima, Marugame, and Mitoyo; processed products year-round	August to September
Sanuki shiro-uri	JA farm stands in Takamatsu; kasuzuke year-round	Mid-July to mid-September
Mitoyo eggplant	JA farm stands in Mitoyo and Kanonji	July–September
Manba	JA farm stands and supermarkets within Kagawa Prefecture	Late September to April
Sumitani burdock	Farm stands in Shionoe Town, Takamatsu	Mid-December to mid-January

FAQ

Other regional specialty varieties

Item	Category	Growing region	Features
Obara-beni-wase	Mandarin orange (heirloom fruit)	Takamatsu, Sakaide, and others	Considered among the reddest of Japan's roughly 100 mandarin varieties. Thanks to three cropping types—greenhouse, open-field, and tree-ripened—it is distributed over about half a year
Hazama fig	Fig (heirloom fruit)	Hazama district in Manno Town, Mitoyo, and others	Small and edible skin and all. Over 20 degrees Brix when fully ripe. Mid-August to late October

Summary

Kagawa's heirloom vegetables are 12 items in total: the 10 vegetables—Kintoki carrot, Kintoki-imo, Kagawa hontaka, Sanuki shiro-uri, Sanuki naga-saya sora-mame, Sumitani burdock, nabana, leaf burdock, manba, and Mitoyo eggplant—plus the 2 heirloom fruits, Obara-beni-wase and Hazama fig. The items divide by landscape, from the warm, low-rainfall Sanuki Plain to the islands of the Seto Inland Sea to the mountainous Asan Mountains.

References / information sources

• Japan Heirloom Vegetable Promotion Association, “Kagawa Prefecture”
• National Agriculture and Food Research Organization Genebank "Native Variety Database"

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