Hachiya Persimmon

Hachiya is native to Japan and remains the classic astringent-type persimmon most associated with traditional Japanese hoshigaki, a method of hand-massaging and air-drying whole persimmons over several weeks to concentrate their sugars into an intensely sweet, chewy dried fruit — a labor-intensive craft still practiced today and considered a genuine culinary art form in Japan. Like Fuyu, Hachiya reached the United States in the 1850s as seed brought back by Commodore Matthew Perry after his expedition opened trade between the US and Japan, though the species itself originated in China roughly 2,000 years ago before spreading to Japan around the 7th century. Hachiya remains the dominant persimmon in California commercial production, historically accounting for the large majority of the US market.