Kasshi Persimmon (Iwate): season, origin and where to buy

Seasonal calendar

It is shipped from mid-October to mid-November.

Timing shifts with the weather and conditions in each region.

Official registration details (MAFF)

The registered description as published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Characteristics

Kasshi Gaki (Kasshi Kaki, Kasshi Persimmon) is made by removing astringency from astringent persimmons by smoking harvested fruit in a smoking chamber. This traditional method of astringency removal is not found elsewhere in the country. The smoking makes the fruit soft and sweet, with a jelly-like texture and a tomato-like vivid vermillion color. Unique to Kasshi Town and its environs in Kamaishi City, Kasshi Gaki is a traditional autumn delicacy highly prized for its delicious taste and rarity.

Link with the production area

Kamaishi City is in a relatively warm part of the Tohoku region, making it suitable for fruit production. It is widely understood to be the northern limit of persimmon production. Kasshi Gaki is the only product of its kind in the country that employs smoking in a smoking chamber to remove astringency. Only locally-grown astringent persimmon is used for production because other domestic varieties never acquire the color intensity and softness, even when smoked in the same way.

Characteristics and link with the area: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website (https://www.maff.go.jp/e/policies/intel/gi_act/register/s106.html)

Where to buy

As a rule, only products that meet the registered standard may use a GI name (with exceptions such as prior use). Check for the GI mark and the place of origin to tell it apart from ordinary products with similar names.

Find on furusato nozei (opens in a new tab)

These links go to Japanese-language shops; check whether they ship overseas.

Some shop links on this page are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Kamaishi City offers flash-frozen Kasshi persimmons as a furusato nozei (hometown tax donation) gift.

FAQ

A persimmon from Kamaishi City, Iwate, made by smoking astringent persimmons in a storage room (muro) to remove their astringency. It turns a vivid red like a ripe tomato and becomes soft and jelly-like, and has long been a familiar autumn treat in the Kamaishi area.

Kasshi Persimmon is produced in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture.

Kasshi Persimmon is in season (harvested or shipped) in Oct–Nov. It is shipped from mid-October to mid-November.

Look for it via furusato nozei (hometown tax donation). Check the GI mark and the place of origin before you buy.

Kasshi Persimmon was registered as a Geographical Indication on March 12, 2021 (Registration No. 106). The registered producer group is Kasshi Kaki no Sato Production Association.