The Tomato Fairy and Tomato Curry Day

I've long known that Kitamoto City in Saitama Prefecture, close to Tokyo, is known for tomato curry. I've also known that part of the reason for that was a conscious effort by the city to become famous for something that no other city has laid claim to yet! But other than that, I didn't know why Kitamoto went for "tomato curry"!

However, today, I learned a couple of new things. Including the reason behind the tomato curry. Reportedly, Kitamoto have  grown tomatoes since the Taisho era. Furthermore, Kitamoto Tomato Curry won the grand prize at the Kitamoto Local Gourmet Development Contest held in 2011. The city subsequently decided to celebrate tomato curry day annually on the date, August 21, that tomato curry won the contest!  

I visit Kitamoto city frequently in spring. It's not unusual to see tomato farms and tomato flavored food. There is even a "Tomato Fairy" and at one of the Hikawa Shrines in the city they even have prayer plaques with the tomato fairy motif!

Do you like tomato curry?