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There is an English word “Satsuma.” It almost never refers to Kagoshima, the old Satsuma. Rather, it is the English word for the type of orange known as Unshū mikan. These mikan are sold in London supermarkets as “Satsuma.”

The wife of a certain American diplomat delighted in the mikan she tried in Kagoshima, and took some home with her. They made their way to Florida, and began to be cultivated in America.

At the start of the twentieth century, several regions that cultivated the mikan changed their names to “Satsuma.” From such regions, mikan spread throughout the English-speaking world. Eventually, the mikan themselves came to be known as “Satsuma.”

Did you know that in Europe, the “Pocky” sticks made by Glico are known as “Mikado”? Why not take a photo of yourself standing outside a restaurant called “Shogun,” holding a “Satsuma” and a “Mikado”? What better way to invoke the Meiji Restoration during a trip to Europe?

Unfortunately, I have yet to come across a product named “Chōshū.”