Ono Mame

"Ono Mame" consists of unripe soramame (broad beans) and dried soramame produced since the Meiji period ⁽¹⁾ using Sanuki Nagasaya Soramame, which is a traditional vegetable of Kagawa Prefecture.
　Compared to ordinary Issun Soramame, Ono Mame beans are characteristically small and easy to chew because they have thin and soft skin.
　Unripe soramame beans of Ono Mame have been used as an ingredient suitable for "Oshinukizushi ⁽²⁾", a local dish of the area. Dried soramame beans are used for making "Shoyumame ⁽³⁾", another local food. Local processors also appreciate them as materials for producing processed broad beans, such as "Iri Sora Mame (roasted broad beans)" and "Age Soramame (deep fried broad beans)".　In this context, Ono Mame is an essential vegetable in the area.

"Ono Mame" beans are cultivated using seeds of the "Sanuki Nagasaya Soramame" variety passed down in the area. The seeds are collected by farmers and used to grow plants in the producing area.
　Unripe soramame beans are stored refrigerated immediately after harvest.
　Both unripe soramame and dried soramame beans are sorted and shipped based on the shipping standards specified by the Ono Mame Project.

The producing area is blessed with a warm climate and well-draining soil. Sanuki Nagasaya Soramame beans have long been cultivated during the off-season of rice cultivation. Since the early stage of the Showa period ⁽⁴⁾, the broad beans have been recognized and gained popularity as "Ono Mame".
　In the 1990s, the variety faced a crisis of extinction due to changes in its cultivation. However, in 2013, the Ono Mame Project was started under the initiative of community councils in the producing area. It has acted to preserve and control seeds and standardize and improve cultivation technologies by cooperating with administrative bodies and local educational institutes.
　Today (at the time of registration), 52 producers are engaged in the Ono Mame Project, which shows yearly increases in the number of producers, cropping area, and production.

1. The Meiji period: 1868-1912. It is a period of Japanese history which began after the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the old, feudal system. It ushered in an era of modernization.
2. Oshinukizushi is the local cuisine of Kagawa Prefecture. It is prepared by placing sushi rice in a mold, topping it with Japanese Spanish mackerel, Japanese pepper, broad beans, colorful shrimp, and egg, and pressing it out. The area has a tradition called "Haruio", in which farmers invite relatives and friends to celebrate the off-season before the wheat harvest and rice planting. "Oshinukizushi", containing Japanese Spanish mackerel, is the main dish at "Haruio" parties.
3. Shoyumame is a traditional home dish prepared by roasting dry broad beans and pickling them in a sauce made with soy sauce, sugar, and red chili. By roasting the beans before immersing them in soy sauce, they crack soft in the mouth by biting softly, giving a unique texture.
4. Showa (the Showa period: 1926-1989) is an era in Japanese history.