【製品名(商品名)】
佐倉のやまと芋
【種類】
Dioscorea oppositifolia
【生産地】
千葉県佐倉市（JA千葉みらい大和芋部会）
【名前の由来】
The original name is yam, because it resembles a ginkgo leaf.
【主な特徴】
JA Chiba Mirai was established in 2001 by the merger of JA Chiba City and JA Narashino City in Chiba Prefecture, changing the name to JA Chiba Mirai. In August 2014, it merged with JA Inba and expanded its business with the aim of becoming a “trusted and loved JA” with Chiba City, Narashino City, Sakura City, Yachimata City, and Yotsukaido City as business areas. I have walked with all the users. It is the origin of Sakura, but it is a refreshing etymology because there was a storehouse for donating linen produced in this area to the imperial court, so the theory that Asakura turned into sakura and there was a clean storehouse. There seems to be a theory that the word “Sa” was added to the word “Sakura”. Sakura City is located in the central part of the Shimosa Plateau in the northern part of Chiba Prefecture, 40 kilometers from the city center. Narita International Airport is 15 kilometers east, Chiba City, where the prefectural office is located, is 20 kilometers southwest, and Inba-numa extends to the northern part of the city. The city system will be enforced on March 31, 1954. The area is 103.69 km2. The city area consists of plateaus and sloping lands that extend to the south of Inba-numa, and the Kashima, Takasaki, and Kotake rivers flow between them, pouring into Inba swamp. The plateau at an altitude of about 30 meters seems to rise from north to south. The average annual temperature is around 15 degrees Celsius, and it is blessed with a relatively warm climate. It seems that abundant nature remains around Inba swamp, around Sakura Castle Ruins, and in the eastern and southern rural areas. The Keisei Line, JR Sobu Line and Narita Line run through the east and west of the city, about 60 minutes to the city center, and 20 minutes to Narita Airport and Chiba respectively. In addition, the Yukarigaoka Line, which is operated by a new transportation system, seems to be a foothold for citizens connecting each station and residential areas along with bus routes. On the other hand, the Higashi Kanto Expressway (expressway) and National Highway No. 51 run in the southern part of the city, connecting Tokyo and Narita, respectively, and National Highway No. 296 is the main living road that crosses the city. In addition, following the Municipal Merger Promotion Act of 1953, Sakura Town, Usui Town, Shizu Village, Negou Village, Yatomi Village, and Wada Village merged, and the city system was enforced on March 31, 1954. The nationwide merger of cities, towns and villages during this period is called “The Great Merger of the Showa”, and it seems that the population of the new Sakura City has reached 35,196. In 1955, Mawatari was incorporated from Asahi Village (currently Yotsukaido City), and in 1957, Azeta, Obukai, Yoshimi, Iiju, and Hadori were incorporated from Yotsukaido Town (currently Yotsukaido City). Currently, it is roughly divided into seven districts: Sakura, Usui, Shizu, Nego, Chiyoda, Wada, and Yatomi. The city tree Sakura and the city flower Iris ensata var. Ensata were selected by public recruitment. The colorful land surrounded by the beauty of nature in each season, such as the magnificent cherry blossoms of “Sakura Castle Ruins”, the sword lily that blooms gently in the castle ruins park, the tulips and sunflowers in the Furusato Square, and the cosmos, seems to be characteristic. In addition, the site of Sakura Castle has been maintained as a castle ruins park, and it seems that the National Museum of Japanese History and Folklore has been built on the site where the Sakura Regiment was located. In addition, places that have become historical stages, such as the samurai residence, the former Hotta residence, and the Sakura Juntendo Memorial Hall, are open to the public. In the aging society and measures against the declining birthrate, the “Sakura City Industrial Promotion Vision” is the purpose of the Sakura City Industrial Promotion Ordinance (enforced in April 2010), “stabilizing and strengthening the industrial base, strengthening the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises,” It was formulated to comprehensively and systematically promote measures related to industrial promotion toward the realization of “sound development of the local economy and improvement of citizens’ lives by promoting corporate location, expanding employment opportunities, etc.” It starts from. In this vision, the vision of the local industry that we are aiming for is “Sakura, a city that creates people, creates jobs, and creates liveliness.” It seems that they have set the direction that each field should aim for. From the 2018 general account, it seems that the financial strength index, which shows the ratio of standard income such as tax revenue to the standard administrative service expenses calculated by the government, was 0.92. In Japan, yam was once the mainstream, but the number of Chinese yam plants is increasing. It is cultivated nationwide, but Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido are the main production areas, and unique varieties are being developed. Yam is preferred to have a stick-shaped stick that is easy to cook, and in the Kanto region, it is often sold under the name of Chinese yam (variety of Dioscorea opposita). Cultivation began in the Wada area in the early 1955s, and Sakura City seems to boast a large amount of production along with Tako Town in Chiba Prefecture. JA Chiba Mirai Yamato-Imo Subcommittee : The nutrition of Chinese yam (variety of Dioscorea opposita) is rich in protein and has long been widely known as a nourishing tonic food. It contains diastase (which contains α (alpha) -amylase, β (beta) -amylase and breaks down starch into maltose and dextrin), which is easy to digest and seems to help digest other foods. The difference from Nagaimo is that it is sticky and has an elegant sweetness. Nagaimo has a lot of water, less stickiness and a light taste. It has been grown in the city for about 80 years and is harvested from October to March, but it is stored in the refrigerator and shipped all year round. Harvesting seems to be done by digging up with a special machine and at the same time putting the tuber that came up on the conveyor belt into a container. It seems that the harvested tuber is cleaned by removing the mud around it, carefully washed with a special machine, and separated according to the shipping standard. Store the washed tuber in a cold storage. From the producer to the agricultural cooperative (preparation for shipment) For shipment, the potatoes carried from the producer are sealed in a vacuum pack to maintain the taste and freshness, and are classified by size. It is poured on each line with a belt conveyor, and finally packed in boxes for each rank, but here, it seems that only those that have passed the inspection after checking the shape, maturity, damage and foreign matter contamination. It seems that there are less than 40 producers cultivating Chinese yam for shipping in the city. It is shipped as fruits and vegetables mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and its unique texture and rich quality with strong stickiness have a good reputation as a raw material for processed tororo products and Japanese sweets. We sent a thank-you gift unique to the city to those who had the Hometown Tax Donation Program in 2020 (limited to residents living outside the city). It seems that “Chinese yam”, which is a special product of the city with abundant agricultural products, has been added to the thank-you item. Blessed with the fertile land of the Kanto Loam Formation and a warm climate, it is carefully cultivated one by one, and is characterized by less water and more stickiness than Nagaimo. Is edible in Japan, “Natural yam” that grows naturally in the mountains, and “Large Yam” that is cultivated in small quantities in Kyushu and other areas. There are two types of “Nagaimo; Chinese yam”, “Ginkgoimo”, and “Tsukuneimo”. The long potatoes are straight and long, and have a lot of water. The latter two types are different in shape from the long potatoes and have strong stickiness. In Honshu, Aomori prefecture, Ibaraki prefecture, Tottori prefecture, etc. are the main production areas, and Hokkaido is also a famous production area. The cultivation period of long potatoes is about half a year. It is a rhizome plant that grows up to about 1 m in deep ground. Therefore, it takes a lot of time and effort for both planting and harvesting. At the time of planting, a large machine called a trencher (grooving machine) digs about 140 cm and mixes the red soil on the surface with the black soil in the heart soil to make the soil fine and well-drained. After that, a basket full of seed potatoes is placed on a seedling planting trolley with an engine, and one plant is planted sideways between 23 cm plants suitable for cultivation. At the earliest, planting of one field is completed in one day. Then, mulch for heat retention is put on the embankment, and 3 m columns are buried in the ground at regular intervals to complete. At the time of harvesting, after removing the pipes, mulch, and vines on the ground, the sides of the ridges are dug at least 1 m with Yumbo, and the potatoes in the soil are harvested one by one by hand. After that, the harvested dioscorea opposita is covered with a sheet to prevent the soil from drying, and it is washed, cut, and vacuum packed for 2 days. At the beginning of digging, potatoes（tuber）with a length of nearly 1 m are cut into pieces of about 20 cm each, considering the time and effort of cooking at home. “Each one is perfect in thickness and length, but if you can get 3 to 4 packs, it will be good.” Nagaimo has an appropriate thickness and length, and there is a high demand for those with smooth and beautiful skin. In soil preparation, a crop rotation system that grows multiple crops in one field is recommended as a countermeasure against continuous cropping obstacles, and it is said that sorghum, a green manure crop, will be used to restore soil fertility when the fields are vacant. In addition, it seems that the direction of the ridges will be remade vertically, horizontally and diagonally each time it is planted. I heard that as a result of intentionally leaving the hard soil and guiding the roots toward the soft soil, straight Japanese yam with beautiful skin grow.
In Japan, Shosoin (Location: Approximately 1,800 m from Kintetsu Nara Station, Approximately 600 m from Nara Kotsu Bus “Imakoji”, Approximately 1,100 m from “Great Buddha Hall Kasuga Taisha-mae”. On the 21st, on the anniversary of Emperor Seibu’s day 77 ceremony, Empress Gwangmyeong prayed for the emperor’s soul and gave more than 600 items such as beloved items and 60 kinds of drugs to the principal image Vairocana-Buddha of Todaiji Temple.). The empress’s consecration was held five times before and after, and it seems that the items were stored in the temple’s Shoso (currently the Shosoin treasure house) and preserved for a long time. At the beginning, items such as Buddhist implements used for important ceremonies of Todaiji Temple, and furniture that was moved from the warehouse of Todaiji Temple to Shoso in 950 in the middle of the Heian period, about 200 years later, were added. It seems that it was to be kept strictly together with the items consecrated by Empress Gwangmyeong. This Shosoin treasure house was managed by Todaiji Temple under the supervision of the Imperial Court for more than a thousand years, but in 1875. , In view of the importance of treasure, it became the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior, then moved to the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and then continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Miyauchi Agency.) It seems that the name appears in the documents. Chinese yam (variety of Dioscorea opposita) in the Kanto region refers to the type of Yam, and many people generally call it “grated yam” or “yam”. It is an annual crop grown in the open field, and it seems that seed potatoes are planted from April to May and harvested from the end of October. It is vulnerable to drought and grows only in fertile soils and certain climatic conditions. Due to the difficulty of cultivation, the production area is limited.
In the KANTO region, ginkgo-shaped, bee-shaped, and stick-shaped yams are on the market. There are various shapes, but they are all the same variety and have the same stickiness and flavor. This difference in shape seems to depend on the weather during the growing season. Recently, the stick shape has become popular because it tends to be preferred by consumers.
It contains good protein and abundant minerals, and the starch-degrading enzyme amylase (secreted by the pancreas and salivary glands) aids digestion. Due to its high nutritional value, it has long been called field eel.