Protected local food
Bizen Kurokawa Kabocha
備前黒皮かぼちゃ
A rare heirloom Japanese squash from Setouchi on the Okayama coast. Dark green, deeply ridged and moist, it keeps its shape when simmered.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 29 January 2024
- Region
- Chugoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 備前黒皮かぼちゃ
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 岡山県瀬戸内市
An old Japanese squash
Most kabocha sold today is a western type, but Bizen kurokawa is a native Japanese squash. It is dark green with deep vertical grooves and more bumps than other black-skinned squash. Skin and flesh are soft and moist, so it holds its shape when simmered and feels smooth in the mouth.
Seed kept for a century
Growers in Setouchi city, Okayama, fixed the line in the early Showa era and have protected the seed ever since, even as western squash took over. Their fields are on well-drained hillsides that run down to the Seto Inland Sea.
Squash soup for New Year
In Ushimado, when rice and wheat were scarce, people made nankin zoni, a New Year soup using the local squash in place of rice cakes. It is still an Okayama local dish.
Good to know
- Ushimado is called the Japanese Aegean for its olive groves and island views. It is about an hour from Okayama city.
- Bizen, next door, is famous for its unglazed Bizen pottery.
Questions travellers ask
How is it different from regular kabocha?
It is a Japanese squash, moister and smoother than the sweeter, starchier western kabocha.
When is it in season?
It is harvested in summer and keeps into autumn.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Fukiya: the birthplace of Japan Red
- Japan's old schools: where a nation learned to read
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Kurashiki: a textile town that grew from one cotton flower
- Okayama, where the Momotaro legend was born
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
- The stone islands of the Seto Inland Sea
- Wakanoura: a bay of views that inspired poets
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.