Ōgonkan

Ki-mikan (黄蜜柑) or Ōgonkan (黄金柑)
	Ōgonkan grown in Ehime Prefecture
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. flaviculpus
Binomial name
	Citrus flaviculpus; hort. ex. Tanaka

Ōgonkan (黄金柑, "golden citrus") or Ki-mikan (黄蜜柑, "yellow mikan") are the common names for a small sized variety of Japanese citrus, whose rind is of a characteristic "golden" bright yellow color.

The variety has been published as the species Citrus flaviculpus by Chōzaburō Tanaka in his 160-species scheme, but this is considered an effort of a "splitter", as opposed to Swingle's classification system which is generally preferred in the West.^{[citation needed]}

Alternate spellings (romanizations) include "Ougonkan"^[1] or "Ogon-kan".^[2] It has also been called "Golden orange" in Kanagawa Prefecture.

History

The variety has long been known in Kagoshima Prefecture as Ki-mikan (黄蜜柑, "yellow mikan") but, precise origins are unknown.^[3]

According to one assertion, it has been known in Higashi-ichiki-chō (ja) and its neighborhood (now Hioki, Kagoshima) since the Meiji Period.^{[citation needed]} Anecdotally in this Hioki area, the variety is said to have been either introduced by the Jesuit Francisco de Xavier, or brought back from the Korean Peninsula during Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea in the late 16th century.^{[citation needed]} It has been suggested that the name "Ōgonkan" was dubbed by Harutarō Muramatsu (村松春太郎) who introduced the variety to Ehime Prefecture,^{[citation needed]} but this too is poorly documented.

Fruit

The small fruit has a diameter of 4 to 5 cm (1.6 to 2.0 in), weighing 60 to 80 g (2.1 to 2.8 oz).^[4] The rind, which is bright yellow, can be peeled by hand but with difficulty.^[5] It has a distinct fragrance, and a considerably sweet flavour, with some balancing acidity. The fruit is harvested from February to April. Seedless (self-incompatibility) traits have been observed.^[6]

Its fragrance is similar to the Hyuganatsu, a larger citrus that is also bright yellow,^[4] but somewhat sweeter by comparison. Like the Hyuganatsu, the white pith (albedo) may be eaten.^[4]

The rind's cold-pressed oil has been studied for fragrance factors, and was found to contain limonene (roughly 80%), followed by the monoterpene Gamma-terpinene (10%), trans beta-farnesene, and myrcene,^[7] showing similarity to Hyuganatsu's peel profile, though with quantitative differences in concentrations.^[7]

Regional production

According to government (MAFF) statistics for FY2010, crop yield of the Ōgonkan totaled 137.3 t (metric tons) in all of Japan, with 108.2 t shipped to market, none of it classed as processed goods (i.e., juices, etc.) in the statistics. Kanagawa Prefecture produced 93.4 t, representing 68% of the national total, followed by Shizuoka Prefecture with 25.0 t (18％), Ehime Prefecture with 13.9 t, and Kōchi Prefecture with 5.0 t.^[8] Major cultivating areas listed are Odawara and Yugawara-cho (Kanagawa pref.), Numazu, Shizuoka, Uwajima, Seiyo, Imabari (Ehime pref.), and Kōnan, Kōchi.^[8]

Hybrid crossing

The Ōgonkan was the pollinating parent for the hybrid cultivar Hime-Koharu (媛小春) developed by Ehime Prefecture, and was the seed parent of Shonan Gold developed by Kanagawa Prefecture.^[1]^[2]^[4]^[9]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Shigematsu et al. 2008
^ ^a ^b Manago et al. 2004
^ Manago et al. 2004, p. 36. This source further cites: 岩政, 正男 (Iwamasa, Masao) (1976). 柑橘の品種 (Kankitsu no hinshu). 静岡県柑橘農業協同組合連合会. p. 229.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), 田中, 諭一郎 (Tanaka, Yuichiro) (1980). 日本柑橘図譜続篇(Nihon kankitsu zufu zokuhen). 養賢堂. pp. 78–80.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), and 日本果樹種苗協会 (Nihon kaju shubyō kyōkai (2003). 特産のくだものマンダリン類 (Tokusan no kudamono mandarin rui. Vol. 1. 日本果樹種苗協会. pp. 38–45.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Choi & Sawamura 2001, p. 48
^ Manago et al. 2004, p. 36
^ Yamamoto, Kubo & Tominaga 2006
^ ^a ^b Choi & Sawamura 2001
^ ^a ^b 農林水産省(MAFF). "特産果樹生産出荷実績調査 (Tokusan kaju seisan shukka jisseki chōsa)". Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 都道府県別平成22年産 (Citrus production statistics by prefecture, FY 2010) Excel Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
^ MAFF. "登録品種データベース (Register kind database)". Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012. 媛小春（Hime-Koharu 17067）^{[permanent dead link‍]}湘南ゴールド（Shonan Gold 11469）^{[permanent dead link‍]} (English page links provided, but without any substantive description)

References

Choi, Hyang-Sook; Sawamura, Masayoshi (2001). "Volatile Flavor Components of Ripe and Overripe Ki-mikans (Citrus flaviculpus Hort. ex Tanaka) in Comparison with Hyuganatsu (Citrus tamurana Hort. ex Tanaka)". Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry. 65 (1): 48–55. doi:10.1271/bbb.65.48. hdl:10126/585. ISSN 1347-6947. PMID 11272845. JGLOBAL ID:200902119536771254.
Yamamoto, Masashi; Kubo, Tatsuya; Tominaga, Shigeto (2006). "Self- and Cross-incompatibility of Various Citrus Accessions". Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science. 75 (5): 372–378. doi:10.2503/jjshs.75.372. ISSN 1880-358X.
- 山本雅史, 久保達也, 冨永茂人, 「カンキツにおける自家および交雑不和合性」園芸学会雑誌 75巻5号(2006年)

In Japanese with English abstracts

真子, 正史; 鈴木, 伸一; 鈴木, 誠; 浅田, 真一 (2004). カンキツ新品種'湘南ゴールド. 神奈川県農業総合研究所報告 (in Japanese). 145: 35–41. JGLOBAL ID:200902245650237565. (w/English title and abstract) Agriknowledge Archived 19 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine (with PDF link); Agri-kanagawa (pdf)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
=Manago, Masafumi; Suzuki, Sin-ichi; Suzuki, Makoto; Asada, Shin-ichi (2004). "Kankitsu shin hinshu shōnan gōrudo" [A New Citrus Cultivar 'Shonan-gold'] (agris). Bulletin of the Kanagawa Prefectural Agricultural Research Institute. 145: 35–41. ISSN 0388-8231. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
重松幸典; 喜多景治; 薬師寺弘倫; 石川啓; 石川啓 (March 2008). "カンキツ新品種'媛小春'について". 愛媛県立果樹試験場研究報告. 22: 5–8., JGLOBAL ID:200902281400290696 Archived 21 August 2024 at the Wayback Machine, (pdf)
=Shigematsu, Yukinori; Kita, Kageharu; Yakushiji, H.; Ishikawa, K (March 2008). "The New Citrus cultivar 'Himekoharu'". Bulletin of Ehime Fruit Tree Experiment Station. 22. Nakata, H.: 5–8. ISSN 0389-2867.