Curtains of persimmons

The Yomiuri Shimbun

November 22, 2021

Persimmons on rows of bamboo skewers dry in the sun in the Shigo district of Katsuragi in Wakayama Prefecture. The fruit will be used to adorn kagamimochi ceremonial mochi cakes for the New Year. About 40 farming households in the district started making hoshigaki dried persimmons in late October – skinning them and hanging the skewered fruits to let them dry outdoors for about one month.

The persimmons will be ready when they develop a white powdery coating formed by the natural sugars. They will then be shipped to cities including Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe from mid-December.