🍱 Umeboshi (pickled plums)
During the Edo period, barren land that could not be used for rice cultivation was exempt from payment of annual tribute. The Tanabe fief of the Kishu domain covered plenty of barren land, and the farmers were burdened by heavy annual tribute payments. To alleviate the farmers' hardship, Naotsugu Ando, the lord of the Tanabe domain, turned his attention to the yabu-ume plum, which grew wild in the barren land, and encouraged the farmers to cultivate it. This is believed to be the beginning of large-scale plum cultivation in Wakayama Prefecture. In addition to the mild climate, the region was surrounded by small hills and received ample sunlight, making it suitable for plum cultivation, and as a result plum cultivation took hold in the southern part of the prefecture. The high-quality umeboshi produced in this region came to be known as “Tanabe plums”, and were highly praised, even in Edo. After the Meiji period, the demand for umeboshi increased as they were used for military rations during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars as well as World War II, leading to an increase in production. In addition, the demand for umeboshi also increased due to cholera and dysentery outbreaks during the period spanning 1877-1887. The large, thick-fleshed nanko-ume plum was selected and registered as a variety in 1965 after many years of searching for a superior strain. Every year from the end of January to the end of February, plum blossoms bloom in plum groves, with “a million petals in a single glance, with a fragrance that spreads for ten li”.