Product Summary (Registration No.165)

Registration No.165 京賀茂なす

Registered name (Transcription) : 京賀茂なす（Kyo Kamonasu）
Reference information : Kyo Kamonasu（eggplant）

Category of product

Class 1 : Agricultural product（eggplant）

Production Area

Kita-ku, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture

Registered Group

Kamigamo Tokusan Yasai Kenkyukai (Kamigamo Specialty Vegetable Research Group)

Characteristics

It is a large round eggplant characterized by its circle shape, spines on the calyx, and shiny purple appearance. It is thick and has smooth texture inside, but does not fall apart when cooked, making it a valuable ingredient in traditional local dishes such as "nasu no dengaku" and kaiseki cuisine. It is highly regarded by consumers in markets and restaurants.

Link with the Production Area

The Kamigamo area, located on a fertile andosol alluvial fan between the Kamo and Takano rivers, flourished as a rural area. Large round eggplants have been cultivated here since the Edo period, and since the Meiji period, Kamonasu eggplants have become a local specialty. In the latter half of the Showa period, while production of smaller Kamonasu eggplants spread to other regions, efforts were made to preserve the characteristics and quality of the eggplants by promoting the cultivation of fixed varieties through self-seeding and the transmission of traditional cultivation techniques. This has helped to preserve the culture of selling eggplants by hand, a tradition dating back to the Heian period, to this day. The eggplant also has deep ties to the Kamigamo Shrine, one of Kyoto's oldest shrines, and Kamonasu is offered during the Aoi Festival and used as an offering to the gods during the New Year.