Introduction to Some Indigenous Vegetables in Japan

Although Japan has clear changes of the seasons, since it is surrounded by the sea, the winter is mild. Even if it snows in the coastal area of Japan Sea in winter, it does not so in the Pacific Ocean area. As is much rain in summer and the relative humidity is high, many horticultural crops can be grown in the cool upland, including Hokkaido. The Japanese Islands are long from south to north between north latitude 24°and 46 °. Many indigenous vegetables such as water dropwort, Japanese hornwort, wasabi, Japanese butterbur, rakkyo, Chinese chive, chive, goldband lily, mioga ginger, and Japanese pepper have been grown in about 2000 years, have been domesticated under selection and are still important vegetables. Many variations have taken place by the different climatic and the soil conditions while these were growing. Daikon, turnip, Japanese bunching onion, komatsuna, kyona, taro and eggplant have so many variations in the growing areas. Most variations are found in daikon and turnip whose shape is small round, large round, long, and conical and color is white, green, and red. Kyona and komatsuna belong to same species, Brassica rapa and there are many useful variations as leafy vegetables in this species. Japanese bunching onion has also so many variations and in East Japan the leaf sheaths are etiolated by hilling with soil in winter and etiolated leaf sheaths are harvested. On the other hand in West Japan the leaf sheaths are grown without hilling and green leaves are harvested. Those variations from these indigenous vegetables are selected in every condition and devised cultures are developed in growing areas. We have devised also how to cook and to use them in our eating habit as our food culture.