The juicy tale of Saitama's prized yuzu

Japan Times

21-06-2025

Here in the Takinoiri district of Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture, the sparsely marked Yuzu no Sanpomichi walkway threads into the forest, passing quiet yuzu groves. The ascending trail, which takes me past half-century-old yuzu trees that cling to treacherous slopes, leads to Katsuragi Kannon, a temple perched 300 meters above sea level.
The area was named Katsuragi by Gyoki, a priest of the Nara Period (710-94), who believed the mountain resembled Mount Katsuragi in Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture). The local citrus, known as Katsuragi yuzu, takes its name from this region.
In the yuzu groves, aging farmers tend to the thorny trees by hand. Wearing thick gloves and boots to protect herself from the spikes, second-generation Katsuragi yuzu farmer Aiko Ikebe, 78, tells me it's important to thin out the branches properly.
'If you leave them, everything gets tangled and the wind can't pass through,' she says. 'Then the sunlight doesn't reach the inner branches and you start getting dead wood and black specks like you see on oranges.'
New shoots appear quickly after each pruning and must be trimmed while they are still soft. Farmers like Ikebe repeat the process up to four times a year, through the scorching summer heat until early October. According to Ikebe, there are about 50 farmers left in Moroyama.
Harvesting yuzu is no easy task as it involves dealing with thorny branches. |
KIYOMIEN
While yuzu is synonymous with Shikoku — the island's Kochi Prefecture accounts for more than half of Japan's overall yuzu production — Moroyama claims to have the country's oldest cultivated yuzu variety with Katsuragi.
According to local lore, cultivation began here in the Nara Period, an era that predates the history of Mizuo, a village in Kyoto Prefecture that's traditionally known as the birthplace of yuzu.
Such dueling historical claims between towns are nothing new in Japan. Documentary evidence, however, confirms that yuzu cultivation was present by the Edo Period (1603-1868) in Moroyama: An entry in the Shinpen Musashi Fudoki , a historical survey of Musashi Province (present-day Saitama Prefecture) published around 1820, identifies yuzu as a notable product of what is now Moroyama's Takinoiri district.
Still, the citrus remained a peripheral crop until the early Showa Era (1926-89), when, as the local tale goes, influential local farmer Ichitaro Kushida gave up raising silkworms to dedicate the family fields to yuzu trees, banking on the fruit's aroma.
Seeding ideas
By the early 20th century, Moroyama growers were shipping crates of Katsuragi yuzu to Tokyo's Kanda Market. The boom continued until the opening of the Great Seto Bridge in 1988, which connected Japan's main island to Shikoku and allowed Kochi's neatly packaged fruit to be easily transported and distributed across the country.
'(Before the bridges were completed), there wasn't any yuzu from Kochi or Tokushima Prefecture. Even if the crop's quality wasn't very high, we could sell our yuzu for a good price,' says Ikebe, whose daughter, Sachiko, 48, returned from Tokyo to join the family's yuzu farming business, Kiyomien, a few years ago.
Aiko Ikebe (left) and her daughter Sachiko run Kiyomien, their family's yuzu farming business. |
AAROHI NARAIN
Yuzu cultivation is an investment that defies the economics of modern citrus farming — a yuzu tree propagated from seed won't bear fruit for nearly two decades.
'Most commercially grown citrus trees are grafted. Nurseries graft scions of desired varieties onto rootstocks, and farmers plant these saplings, which typically bear fruit in three to five years,' says Akari Hiroi, a citrus sommelier with the Ehime Prefecture-based Citrus Sommeliers Association .
But yuzu, she says, follows a different rhythm. 'There's a tradition of growing yuzu directly from seeds in some places. That demands extraordinary patience.'
Moroyama is one of those rare places. Most Katsuragi yuzu trees are still grown as mishō (plants raised from seed).
But sticking to tradition has a downside. Faced with stiff competition from other yuzu-cultivating regions with more productive crops, prices of the whole fruit have slumped. To support aging, labor-starved farmers and keep their surplus fruit from turning into compost, Moroyama has introduced a yuzu ownership scheme : Participants enter into a seasonal contract with a local grower, effectively 'claiming' a tree as their own. In return, they're entitled to harvest the fruit.
This arrangement, however, requires flexibility. Growers can't predict yields until late summer, and last year's poor harvest left farmers unable to offer new contracts.
To generate more revenue, Ikebe and her daughter have turned to crowdfunding for small-batch projects such as yuzu chocolate and yuzu koshō (pepper), the latter enlisting the expertise of Saga-based condiment specialist Mifukuan .
They also let local and international tourists take part in yuzu-picking at Kiyomien during the harvest season, an activity akin to the popular strawberry-picking sessions in places like Yamanashi Prefecture.
An aromatic boost
The allure of Katsuragi yuzu lies in its aroma, which locals tell me is four times more fragrant than other yuzu varieties.
Research backs up their claim. A 2021 analysis by Josai University found that citrus paste from Saitama has nearly four times more limonene — a chemical compound found in the rinds of citrus fruits — than its Kochi-grown counterparts.
Kazuki Asahara of Asahara Brewery makes a fragrant yuzu liqueur with Katsuragi yuzu juice and peels. |
ASAHARA BREWERY
But as ever, the proof is in the pudding.
At Asahara Brewery in the town of Ogose, my sip of pure Katsuragi yuzu juice is rich and perfumed, offering aromatic notes and acidic touches. It tastes like an amplified version of other yuzu juices I've tried: deeper, rounder and inflected with spruce, clove and crushed jasmine blossoms.
The brewery's tōji (master brewer), Kazuki Asahara, 35, makes 100% Katsuragi yuzushu (yuzu liqueur). He pounds the peel and incorporates it in the liqueur — using only the juice means discarding nearly 90% of the fruit. The beverage conjures up the flavors of bittersweet pith, radiant juice and fragrant skin.
Traditionally, yuzushu is made with sake as a base spirit, but Asahara chose to use shōchū (traditional Japanese distilled spirit) instead, a move enabled by the brewery's broad range of production licenses that allow it to make sake, beer, liqueur and sparkling alcoholic beverages.
'Liqueurs are often stored at room temperature, so when using sake as a base, its off-smells can become more noticeable,' he says.
Over at U.B.P Brewery , founder Kento Kobayashi, 43, was given a batch of yuzu by Moroyama growers last year. 'The farmers have struggled with marketing it, but it's an amazing product,' he says. The ale brewed with its juice sold out quickly. This summer, a second batch, using only the peels, is on the way.
At U.B.P Brewery, visitors can try a refreshing ale brewed with Katsuragi yuzu juice. |
AAROHI NARAIN
At Tokigawa Brewery , a producer of over 200 yuzu-based soft drinks, owner Toshiro Kobori, 46, retains the citrus' essential oils in his beverages instead of removing them, as most soft drink manufacturers would, for visual appeal. He sells the fizzy drinks to local restaurants in Saitama.
'There's meaning in small producers (like us) crafting products with care,' he says. 'We hold hand-pressing workshops so the next generation can experience what it's like to use a traditional wooden press to make yuzu juice.'
From tree to table
Katsuragi yuzu isn't just being poured in Saitama, it's also being plated.
At 6Hundred Cafe in the town of Tokigawa, five seed-grown trees planted decades ago thrive on the cafe grounds.
'The citrus' aroma is unmistakable — completely different from store-bought yuzu,' says owner Yoshimi Matsuo, 66.
Noticing unharvested yuzu around the area, Matsuo began sourcing directly from neighbors. After rounds of experimentation, including simmering yuzu in chai spices and poaching it in wine, Matsuo and his team began incorporating the citrus into their menu, introducing items like French toast with Katsuragi yuzu compote, yuzu black tea, and Basque cheesecake with a subtle yuzu twist.
Yoshimi Matsuo, owner of 6Hundred Cafe, shows off his French toast made with Katsuragi yuzu compote. |
6HUNDRED CAFE
Meanwhile, for Kenmei Kunitake, 75, owner of Dante, a cheesecake shop in Urawa Ward, it wasn't novelty but nostalgia that drew him to Katsuragi yuzu. Raised in the mountains of Kumamoto, he remembers a towering yuzu tree in his family garden.
'Every year, the tree would be heavy with oversized fruit,' he says. Now his team uses whole Katsuragi yuzu — pulp, peel and all — for marmalade, pound cakes and his signature cheesecake.
'Supporting local agriculture is part of supporting the nation's stability,' he says. 'I want to honor nature's gifts and help slow the decline of rural Japan.'