By YOSHINOBU MATSUNAGA/ Staff Writer
October 26, 2021 at 18:15 JST
TOYOYAMA, Aichi Prefecture--Two persimmons of the renowned “Tenka-fubu” brand from Gifu Prefecture fetched the highest price ever recorded for the fruit at the first auction of the year: 928,800 yen ($8,150), tax included.
“I want to see it become Japan’s top brand and bring that good news to people across the nation,” said Gifu Governor Hajime Furuta, who watched the auction at the Nagoya central wholesale market here on the morning of Oct. 26.
Tenka-fubu persimmons belong to the “Neo Sweet” variety, which Gifu Prefecture unveiled in 2015, and are known for having a certain rich level of sugar content. They are characterized by their crunchy texture and refined sweetness.
The brand name derives from “tenka fubu,” the expression legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) used to show his determination to unify the nation by force.
Tenka-fubu persimmons are shipped for only two weeks out of the year. The annual shipment is expected to increase by 2,000 from 2020 to about 6,000 this year.
The two persimmons auctioned off for the record price are categorized as “Tenkabito,” the highest rank in the Tenka-fubu brand, since their sugar content is higher than 25 percent.
They will be sold for the same price at a supermarket in Nagoya’s Showa Ward.
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