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Grape

A deciduous vine plant of the Vitaceae family. As well as being eaten raw, the fruits are used to make wine.

A deciduous vine plant of the Vitaceae family. Grows tendrils and twists around other things. Leaves are simple, alternate, often divided. Produces clusters of many small flowers during May-June. Flower petals are green and fused at the top. Flowers fall off as a hat might slip off one’s head after blossoming. Ripening around August to October, fruits are fleshy and have various sizes, shapes, and skin colors depending on the variety. Over 50 principal species exist, distributed mainly in Central Asia, East Asia, and North America. Wild species grow in Japan as well, including yamabudo (crimson glory vine, Vitis coignetiae), ebizuru (V. ficifolia), and sankakuzuru (V. flexuosa). Older names in Japanese include ooebikatsura, ebikatsura, and ebi.

Its history of cultivation is long, with depictions of grape harvests and winemaking appearing on ancient Egyptian frescoes as early as 15th century BC. European wine varieties reached Japan by way of China, and viniculture came to be more widespread with the establishment of an original Japanese trellis-making technique at the beginning of the Genna era (1615–1624). In the mid-Edo Period (c.1700–1750), the Koshu-budo, or Koshu grape variety, from Kai Province (present-day Yamanashi Prefecture) was known in Edo. During the Meiji Period (1868–1912), cultivar improvement advanced further, and Japanese wine production began in earnest.

In the West, grapes symbolize bountiful harvests and have also been considered sacred fruits, with Greek mythology including a god of wine, Dionysus (in Roman mythology, Bacchus). In Christianity, wine represents the blood of Jesus Christ. Grape arabesque patterns featuring the leaves, vines, and fruits of the grape as motifs are thought to have originated in ancient Assyria (corresponding to modern-day northern Iraq), and they spread to the East from Greece, Rome, and Persia via the Silk Road. In Japan, they were used as designs considered to have an exotic flavor.

Related People, Things and Events

Books

Cultivation of grapes, brewing of wine

Related Works

Works (paintings)

Grapes in paintings

Grapes drawn on the costume

Grapes painted on glassware

Videos

Past Exhibitions

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Institutions and External Links

  • 葡萄畑とワイナリーに囲まれた図書館。地域の基幹産業である「ぶどうとワイン」の資料収集を行っており、毎年10月~11月に「ぶどうとワインの資料展」を開催している。

  • 山梨県峡東地域(山梨市、笛吹市、甲州市)の「葡萄畑が織りなす風景」は、文化庁により「日本遺産」に認定されている。

  • 農林水産省公式Webマガジン。2020年6月号から週刊化された。「ふるさと給食自慢」や「達人レシピ」などの連載を載せている。

  • 「栄養と料理」(女子栄養大学出版部)をデジタル化し公開。フリーキーワードからレシピ等が検索できる。

  • 国立科学博物館附属自然教育園内に生息している生物の種名や写真を調べることができる。

  • 国立科学博物館筑波実験植物園内の植物を検索することができる。研究者ノートなど専門的な解説もあり。

References

  1. 柏書房
  2. 木村陽二郎 監修,植物文化研究会, 雅麗 編,柏書房
  3. 仲田道弘 著,山梨日日新聞社
  4. 麻井宇介 著,日本経済評論社