September 1st: Kiwi Day in Japan

There are several different anniversaries, commemorations and observances on September 1st annually in Japan, including one dedicated to the kiwi. Kiwi Day キウイの日 is on 9/1 because the date can be read as "kui (9) i (1)", the Japanese for Kiwi.  The anniversary was created by Zespri, the well-known New Zealand kiwi producer and exporter. 

The photo in this post is from an agriculture park in my prefecture that offers kiwi picking experiences in season. However, about 80 to 85% of all kiwi fruit consumed in Japan is imported, with 98% coming from New Zealand. There was a time, reportedly, when Japan produced much more kiwi than they do now But, due to reduced orchid area and ageing growers, production has steadily declined since the 1990s. Today, Japan only produces about 22,000 tons (Source: IndexBox). 

I love how the various anniversaries teach me something new - not just about Japan as today's anniversary proved. I was today years old when I learned that kiwi was derived from a Chinese species and later cultivated in New Zealand! It became globally popular from the 1930s onwards.