Japanese citrus

In particular, from the 1600s during the Edo period (1603-1868) to the present, various varieties of citrus fruits have been produced, including Unshū, Natsumikan, Hassaku, Iyokan, and Dekopon.

At present, the largest citrus growing areas are located in the prefectures of Wakayama, Shizuoka, Tokushima, Kochi, Oita, Miyazaki and Ehime.

The Nihon Shoki states that a man named Tajimamori brought back citrus fruits from the Tokoyo no kuni (Land of immortality, ja:常世の国) on the orders of Emperor Suinin, which is thought to refer to the tachibana orange that grows wild in Japan.

The Kokin Wakashū, compiled in the 900s, mentions that tachibana orange was burned and used as incense to give a nice fragrance to kimonos.

According to the Japanese origin theory, several species that would serve as the parents of unshu mikan were introduced from China, and in the 1600s, they were born in Nishi-Nakajima, Higo Province (later Nagashima, Kagoshima) in Japan.

[2] From the Edo period (1603–1867) to the present, the Japanese have created numerous varieties of citrus fruits, collectively known as tyūbankan (中晩柑).

Dekopon was introduced to South Korea in the 1990s and became popular as Hallabong, was exported to California in 1998, and has been marketed as "Sumo Citrus" since 2011.