Komikan (fruit) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Komikan |
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| Species | Citrus × sinensis |
| Cultivar | 'Komikan' ( or 'Sakurajima komikan' orange) |
| Origin | Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan |
The komikan is a special type of mandarin orange grown in Japan. Its name means "little mikan" because "ko" means "little" and "mikan" is a type of citrus fruit. Komikans are very small, much tinier than most oranges you might see! They are quite similar to another type of orange called the Kishu mikan.
Sometimes, these tiny oranges are called "Sakurajima komikan oranges." This is because they are grown on Sakurajima, which is an active volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The same kind of orange is also grown in Fukuyama, near Kirishima, Kagoshima along Kagoshima Bay. There, it's simply called komikan.
What Makes Komikan Special?
Sakurajima is a volcano, so its soil is full of volcanic ash. This kind of soil isn't very good for growing rice, but it's perfect for komikan trees! Because of this, komikans are a very important crop for the people living there.
Some of the komikan trees are incredibly old, over 200 years! A single old tree can produce hundreds of kilograms of these small oranges. The fruits are ready to pick around the beginning of December. They are shaped like a slightly flattened ball and usually weigh between 20 to 50 grams. Even though the white part inside (called the pith) is a bit firm, the fruit itself is very sweet!
The Story of Komikan: How it Started
People have a few ideas about how the "Sakurajima Komikan" first started growing. The most popular story says that a powerful leader named Shimazu Yoshihiro brought the oranges from a place called Yatsushiro in Higo Province (which is now Kumamoto).
The komikan became a special fruit in the Satsuma region because a person named Naotomo Yamaguchi really loved its amazing taste. In 1603, the oranges were even given as a gift to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was a very important leader in Japan at that time. Long ago, these oranges had different names like "Mukoujima Mikan" or "Aka Mikan." But around the year 1658, they started to be called "Sakurajima Mikan," which is the name we know today.
