The respiration of plants is the work that plants do to sustain life, and it is no different from us. They absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide into the air. A new relationship between humans and plants has been built up by changing the environment. That is why we will always be aware and never forget the enormous amount of hard work and energy consumed just to change the environment.

秋姫

【種類】

Prunus salicina Lindl.

【生産地】

山形県（JA全農やまがた）

【名前の由来】

It is a plum that is shipped in early autumn, and it is a respect for the beautiful name like a woman.

【主な特徴】

Before the ban on sales of La France pears, which boasts the largest production volume in Japan, will soon be lifted, a shipping ceremony was held in Tendo City, the largest production area in the prefecture. In order to keep the degree of ripeness of the prefectural produce on the market constant, a date is set each year to open the ban, and those that have been accelerated with a special gas are scheduled to be sold all over the country from October 21, 2022. According to JA Tendo, this year there was no frost damage like last year and there was moderate rain, so the sugar content was higher than in an average year. It seems that there is. “山形” in Yamagata Prefecture is a document from the early Heian period “Wamyo Ruijusho” (approx. 983: Japanese early Heian period scholar and poet, Saga-Genji, second son of Emperor Saga’s great-grandson Minamoto no Kozoru, Shimousa Gon no Kami (provincial governor (under the ritsuryo system, any of a group of officials, esp. He has served as the director), Isumi no Kami, etc., and the highest official is Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank Noto no Kami. He has been famous for his extensive knowledge since he was young, and in his 20s compiled Japan’s first classification dictionary, Wamyo Ruijusho. In 951, while still a student, he became a yorito at a waka poetry house, and as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber (Onakatomi no Yoshinobu, Shitago, Kiyohara no Motosuke, Ki no Tokibumi, Sakanoue no Mochiki) he worked on “Manyoshu” and “Gosen Wakashu” (The second collection of waka poems compiled under the order of Emperor Murakami. The style is similar to “Kokin Wakashu”. It consists of 20 volumes: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Love, Miscellaneous, Separation, and Happy Poems. Participated in the collection of 1425 poems in total compiled by)”, which seems to have originated from the fact that the south side of present-day Yamagata City was called “Yamagata Township.” Why is this place called Yamagata? I don’t know if he said that, but to the south of present-day Yamagata City are the mountains of Zao and Mt. Ryuzan, which are known for their mountain worship. After that, the name of this place, Yamakata, was used during the period of the Northern and Southern Courts by Kaneyori SHIBA (1316-1376: second son of Oshu Tandai Mogami clan and founder of the Ushu Tandai Mogami clan), who established his political base in this area, and the political situation was stable. It seems that the place name Yamagata began to appear in land-selling documents. Yamagata Prefecture is located on the Sea of Japan side of the Tohoku region, about 300 km north of Tokyo, about 3 hours by Yamagata Shinkansen. known worldwide for Surrounded by beautiful mountains such as Zao, Gassan, Chokai, Azuma, Iide and Asahi, which are counted among Japan’s 100 famous mountains, the Yonezawa, Yamagata, and Shinjo basins and the Shonai Plain extending from the south are the “mother rivers” and the Mogami River. It is an area blessed with flowing water and beautiful nature. There, human settlements, urban areas, farmlands, and woodlands form a twill, and nature and humans exist in harmony. In the Edo period, haiku master Basho Matsuo spent 43 days in Yamagata Prefecture, almost one-third of the 156 days of the entire journey of “The Narrow Road to the Deep North (chronicle by Basho Matsuo, published in 1702)”. Yamagata Prefecture has been revered as a place of spiritual culture since ancient times, as it is said to be a “journey of the heart” aiming for Dewa Sanzan. With an area of 930,000 hectares（9,300,000,000 m2）, the 9th largest prefecture in Japan, the geographical features and remnants of the feudal system of the shogunate in the Edo period, the dialects, food, and culture are slightly different. It is divided into regions. Ruins from the Jomon period seem to have been confirmed throughout the prefecture as a primitive period. Yamagata Prefecture, which still has the largest beech forest in Japan, is thought to have been covered with deciduous broad-leaved forests that provided abundant food in those days. One of the prefecture’s oldest pottery was found in the stratum of about 10,000 years ago at the Hinata Cave Ruins (Takahata Town, Higash Okitama District), and one of the largest pottery vessels in Japan with a height of 45 cm was found at the Nishinomae Ruins (Funagata Town). A clay figurine “Goddess of the Jomon period” has been excavated. After that, the Yayoi culture centered on rice farming spread to the prefecture, and the northern limit of large keyhole-shaped burial mounds, such as the 96-meter-long Inarimori Kofun (Nanyo City), is the line that connects the southern part of the prefecture with the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture. It seems that. In the ancient period, in September 712, two years after Heijokyo was established in Nara, Dewa Province was divided from Echigo Province (Niigata) and Dewa Province was founded. Four years later, two counties from Mutsu Province, Mogami (now Murayama, Mogami) and Okitama, were incorporated into Dewa Province. Initially, Dewa Province was established almost within Yamagata Prefecture, and it seems that it gradually extended its territory to the north, toward Akita Prefecture. The Kinowanosaku ruins in Sakata City are ancient provincial government offices around this time. It is considered to be the city ) where the national government office was located. During this period, within the prefecture, the mountains of Shugendo – Dewa Sanzan (Tsuruoka City), and the Reiryuzan Jakushoji Temple in Tendo City (about 1,300 years ago, in the Nara period), which is sung in the traditional ballad sung wearing hanagasa (esp. Yamagata Pref.), “Medeta, Medeta no Wakamatsu-sama.” A sacred site founded by Gyoki Bodhisattva in 708 A.D. After that, in 860 during the Heian period, Jikaku Daishi (Osho Ennin), who opened Risshakuji Temple in Yamadera, moved the temple from near the summit of the mountain to its current location. Construction work and large-scale temple layout. At this time, the Hosso sect of Nara Buddhism changed to the Tendai sect of Heian Buddhism, and the founder of the temple was enshrined as Gyoki Bodhisattva, and the ancestor of the restoration was enshrined as Jikaku Daishi. During the Muromachi period, Kannon pilgrimage in the west country. The belief spread to the eastern part of the country, and it is positioned as the number one of the Mogami 33 Kannon Fudasho, and it seems that many pilgrims still visit every year. Guaranteed by Iemitsu TOKUGAWA as a Goshuin stamp. This temple is also known as the “marriage” Kannon, and the “driving out evil spirits (on New Year’s eve)” held on lunar calendar new year 7th is “color force harmony.” 2008 marked the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of the mountain), Risshakuji Temple (Yamagata City) known throughout Japan as a mountain temple, and Jionji Temple, a treasure trove of hidden Buddhist images. (Jionji: Sagae City) and other ancient temples that have been handed down to the present day are also open. From the Asuka period to the Heian period, Yamagata Prefecture was incorporated into the central authority of Nara and Kyoto, but in the late Heian period, Yamagata Prefecture is believed to have been under the influence of the Oshu Fujiwara clan, and the legend of Yoshitsune Many are left in the Shonai and Mogami areas. In the medieval Kamakura period, the Kanto samurai group, which had made great achievements in attacking the Oshu Fujiwara clan, was appointed lord of a manor in various parts of the prefecture. Mr. Oe (Mr. Sagae, Mr. Nagai) in the Murayama and Okitama regions, Mr. Muto (Mr. Daiho) in the Shonai region, etc. initially ruled with local magistrates, but gradually became established within the prefecture, and their surnames changed to He became a local lord by raising the name of the place. In the Muromachi period, during the period of confusion between the Northern and Southern Courts, Mr. Shiba, who was based in the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture, dispatched Kaneyori SHIBA to Yamagata as Ushu Kanrei in 1356. Shiba was based in Yamagata, which was called Mogami at the time, so he changed his family name to Mogami and expanded his rule. expanded its power to On the other hand, Mr. Date, based in the northern part of Fukushima Prefecture, advanced to the Okitama area via the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, and moved his headquarters to the Okitama area during the Sengoku period. Born in Yonezawa Castle in 1567, Masamune DATE, nicknamed Dokuganryu (one-eyed dragon), became the largest feudal lord in Minami Oshu, with the Okitama region, the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture, and Fukushima Prefecture excluding Hamadori. However, he was transferred to Miyagi Prefecture by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the early modern period, after the battle of Sekigahara, which divided the world, in 1601, Kagekatsu UESUGI of the defeated western army was transferred from Aizu to the Okitama area, and managed the territory together with Kanetsugu NAOE, the governor. Yamagata Prefecture, excluding the Okitama region, became the territory of Yoshiaki MOGAMI, who became a great daimyo of 570,000 koku of rice in addition to the southern part of Akita Prefecture due to his achievements on the Eastern Army (Tokugawa) side. It was a punishment inflicted on the samurai in the era, which reduced their status to commoners and confiscated their hereditary stipend / residence; Nearly successful generations Daimyo, etc. and Edo Shogunate’s direct control. In this way, the Sakai clan entered Shonai and the Tozawa clan entered Shinjo, and the clan ruled until the end of the Edo period. On the other hand, the Torii clan was ruled in Yamagata, but the rule did not last long, and it seems that the lord changed 13 times until the end of the Edo period. In addition, most of the Murayama area around Yamagata became a tenryo, said to be the largest in northern Japan. In addition, shipping of rice and specialty products such as “Mogami safflower” thrived on the Mogami River. In Sakata, which has become one of the leading commercial cities in Japan, the Honma family, the largest landowner in Japan, was born. In addition, in the Yonezawa domain, Yozan UESUGI, the 9th lord of the domain, was exhausted (If you try and work hard, you can achieve anything. Conversely, if you think it is impossible and give up and do not try, you will never achieve it; 為せば成る, 為さねば成らん, 何事も). He was respected as a wise ruler by promoting the reconstruction of the clan’s finances. Focusing on administrative areas, the prefecture’s clans were replaced by seven prefectures (Yamagata, Yonezawa, Kamiyama, Tendo, Shinjo, Oizumi, and Matsumine) in 1871 with the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures. Present-day Yamagata Prefecture was born. In 1878, there were 1,223 villages in 11 counties, 336 towns, but when the system of municipalities and towns and villages was implemented in April 1889, Yamagata and Yonezawa joined 29 other cities nationwide, including Sendai, for the first time. It became a city, and it seems that the prefecture has 2 cities, 8 towns (Miyauchi, Nagai, Kamiyama, Tendo, Shinjo, Sakata, Matsumine, Tsuruoka), and 212 villages. After that, there were abolition and division among municipalities, etc., and as of October 1950, there were 5 cities, 30 towns and 188 villages. 13 cities, 27 towns, and 4 villages since March. In July 2005, Amarume Town and Tachikawa Town merged to form Shonai Town, and in October, Tsuruoka City, Fujishima Town, Haguro Town, Kushibiki Town, Asahi Village, and Atsumi Town became a new town. In November, Sakata City, Yawata Town, Matsuyama Town, and Hirata Town became the new Sakata City, and now there are 35 municipalities (13 cities, 19 towns and 3 villages). Yamagata Prefecture began cultivating plums around the 1970s, and more than 80% of plums are produced in the inland Murayama area. In recent years, there seems to be an increase in the number of young producers who produce large-ball, sweet varieties with high added value. One of its characteristic varieties is “Suncept Plum”, which is popular for its firm flesh but rich juice and rich sweet and sour taste. The other is the Goku-Okute variety, the “Sunrouge Plum”, which has a red flesh, high sugar content, and a moderately sour taste. In addition to the traditional Wase Oishi plums, Soldam plums, Taiyo plums, Akihime plums, and many other high-quality varieties that are fragrant, sweet, and large, are cultivated by experienced farmers there is. In addition, when cultivating valuable plums, it seems that growing the tree itself vigorously is a condition for producing delicious fruit. After pollination by the honeybees that carry our dreams with us, it seems that careful work is required, such as picking the fruits so that they do not hit each other. In addition, it is said that if the trees are carefully grown in such a way that they receive even sunlight, and if they are exposed to plenty of sunlight, they will become more and more sweet. In Nakayama Town, Higashimurayama District, the agriculture of the town was centered on rice farming and sericulture until the Showa era. In the 1955s, local (Toyota district) farmers began to cultivate plums as a crop suited to the climate and soil conditions of the area. The reason for the full-scale increase in cultivation seems to be the fact that the sericulture industry declined due to the spread of nylon products in the early 1965s, and plums began to be planted instead of felled mulberries. At the time, plums were considered unsuitable for sale in the prefecture, but they were harvested earlier than paddy rice and other fruit trees, and they were easy to work with because they did not overlap with the shipping season. When I tried it, it seems that it gradually spread because I could get the same income as apples. Among them, the name “Akihime” introduced this time seems to have been given to mean “princess” in Plum. “Akihime Plum” was registered by Tenkoen, which boasts a history of selling fruit tree seedlings for over 100 years in Yamagata Prefecture, and was discovered as an accidental seedling in 1963 at Shoichiro Kojima’s orchard in Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture. It is In 1988, Nakajima Tenkoen filed an application as “Surprise Plum”, but it was changed and registered as “Akihime Plum” in 1991. The fruit is large, weighing 200-250 g, and has a round to oblate shape with a slightly pointed apex. The flesh is yellow, dense, and has a high sugar content. In addition, it is a variety of large ball than ordinary plums, and it looks good and is perfect for gift giving. While there are many varieties with a strong acidity, this one has a strong sweetness and has an elegant taste with just the right amount of acidity. In addition, it is said to be a rare variety because of the difficulty of cultivation and the low production volume. Akihime plums are actively cultivated in Yamagata, and in recent years Yamagata’s plum production has become one of the top in Japan. Yamagata has a large temperature difference between day and night, and sugar that is actively produced by photosynthesis during the day is stored in plums at night when its activity is suppressed. Therefore, it seems that plums with condensed sweetness grow.