Tōhoku region
Tōhoku was traditionally considered the granary of Japan because it supplied Sendai and the Tokyo-Yokohama market with rice and other farming commodities. Tōhoku provided 20 percent of the nation's rice crop. The climate, however, is harsher than in other parts of Honshū due to the stronger effect of the Siberian High, and permits only one crop a year on paddy fields.
Adzuki bean
In Japan, the adzuki bean was one of the first crops subjected to scientific plant breeding. Important breeding traits are yield, pureness of the bean colour and the maturing time. Separate cultivars with smaller seeds and higher biomass are bred for fodder production and as green manure. Locally adapted cultivars are available in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. More than 300 cultivars/landraces/breeding lines are registered in Japan.