page_title: Yomitan
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: Yomitan / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the Tokeshi Youth Association (渡慶次青年會) from Yomitan-son (讀谷村) of Okinawa (沖繩), Japan performing a traditional Eisa dance at the 2016 Amis Music Festival (阿米斯音樂節) in Dulan Village (都蘭), Taitung County, Taiwan. [1] This photo has been taken in the country: Taiwan
context_page_description: Yomitan is a village located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
context_section_description: The chief cash crop of Yomitan is the chrysanthemum, which, unlike in mainland Japan, can be grown in Okinawa during the winter months with the aid of artificial light at night. Chrysanthemums are followed in value by sugarcane and pigs, in that order.
  Sugarcane is particularly suited to cultivation in Okinawa, as it does not require significant infrastructure (such as irrigation), grows well in Okinawa's soil, and can be left unattended for 18 months until harvest. The harvesting, refining, and butchering of commercial agricultural products are coordinated by the National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), and the growers receive a share of the profits.
  Another important crop in Yomitan is the purple sweet potato (紅いも, beni imo), if not for its value as a cash crop then as part of the local culture and tourist industry; the town promotes itself as the "beni imo hometown" (紅いもの里, beni imo no sato), and holds a Miss Beni Imo (紅いも娘, beni imo musume) contest each year. Sweet potato cultivation first reached Japan via Okinawa from present-day Taiwan, predating rice cultivation, and either Yomitan or neighboring Kadena can lay claim as the first cultivators of sweet potato in Japan.
caption: Yomitan youth performing an eisa dance
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