Manganji Sweet Peppers

Manganji Amatou takes its name from the Manganji district of Maizuru. Maizuru City says the summer vegetable is thought to have appeared there between the late Taisho and early Showa periods, when it was grown largely for households' own tables; JA sales began only in 1983. Today it is cultivated across the JA Kyoto Ninokuni area — the cities of Maizuru, Ayabe, and Fukuchiyama — in the Chutan region of northern Kyoto. In 1989 it became the first vegetable Kyoto recognized among its branded produce, a sign that the prefecture counts this large pepper from the Maizuru area as one of its representative kyo-yasai.

Size is the first thing you notice. Maizuru City describes a pepper packed with flesh and substantial in the hand, with a distinctive pinched waist that makes it easy to recognize — the city even calls it the king of peppers. The flesh is thick yet soft, with a sweetness to it, and the seeds are few, so it eats easily. Kyoto City gives the same cues: no pungency, thick flesh, few seeds. The flesh carries vitamins A and C, which the city notes make it a good summer vegetable.

That thick flesh shapes how households cook it. Kyoto City notes the pepper has no heat, thick walls, and few seeds, so it is simple to simmer, grill, or fry at home; Maizuru City sums it up as good simmered, good grilled, good fried. Fried whole or set over a flame, the heavy flesh holds up to the heat and keeps its sweetness. The season runs from a first arrival around the middle of May through to late November, according to Kyoto City — summer into late autumn.

Manganji togarashi is the name of the pepper variety; Manganji Amatou is the name used for the produce shipped from this growing area, and a set of concrete rules sits behind it. Maizuru City explains that plants kept for seed are grown separately, their seed collected, and the resulting seedlings handed out to producers so the shipped fruit stays consistent. At shipping, the peppers are sorted by length, color, and shape: shuhin runs about 13 to 23 centimeters with especially good color and form, yuhin is 13 centimeters or longer, and ryohin is 10 centimeters or longer. Those limits on size and appearance are how the name is held to a standard in the field.

The work in the field comes from people. Growers in Maizuru, Ayabe, and Fukuchiyama make up the JA Kyoto Ninokuni Manganji Amatou producers' council, with 326 members across the Chutan area. The farming here is not easy: the council's chair, Jun Soeda, points to short winter daylight, snow damage, cramped plots, and crop damage from wildlife. Even so, new entrants keep arriving year after year, and growers under 40 now make up more than a fifth of the group. They share what they learn about cultivation, and Soeda notes that newcomers often land in the top ten of the group's own yield rankings. In 2022 the council took the top prize in the group category of a national farming award — recognition that landed on people who have kept a growing area going under difficult conditions.