🍁 Harvesting Astringent Persimmons at My Family Home
Recently, I harvested persimmons at my parents’ house.
Every year, my mother would gather the astringent persimmons, but as the tree grew taller, her legs grew weaker. Now, she can only reac
The upper branches are still heavy with fruit.
If left untouched, they may attract bears—persimmons are one of their favorite treats.
So my husband used a long-handled pruner to help with the harvest.
Some fruits had already been pecked by birds, but that too is part of nature’s rhythm.
🐦 A Philosophy of Coexistence with Wildlife
Even if the persimmons grow on our own land, I believe in leaving some for the wild animals.
It’s an unspoken agreement between humans and nature.
However, bears are a different matter.
Unlike birds or squirrels, they can pose a real danger to humans.
🐻 Why Mother Bears Come Near Human Settlements
Mother bears with cubs are especially cautious and may become aggressive if approached.
Why would such sensitive creatures bring their young into human territory?
The answer lies in the behavior of male bears.
Male bears are solitary outside of mating season and show no interest in raising cubs.
In fact, they may kill cubs—regardless of whether they are their own.
To protect their young, mother bears sometimes move closer to human areas, where male bears rarely venture.
In this way, human settlements become a kind of refuge.
Sadly, male bears seem to lack any sense of family.
While I sympathize with the mother bears raising cubs alone, true coexistence with humans remains difficult.
🌲 Changing Mountains and Bear Sightings
As Japan’s population ages, fewer people forage for mushrooms and wild vegetables in the mountains.
Perhaps it’s not a lack of food that drives bears into towns, but rather an increase in bear populations—especially mothers seeking safety from males.
🍂 How to Eat Astringent Persimmons
Astringent persimmons cannot be eaten fresh.
Here are two traditional methods:
Method 1: Removing Astringency with Shochu
- Wipe the persimmons clean.
- Spray them with shochu and seal them in a bag.
- After about two weeks, the astringency fades.
- Once ready, remove them from the bag to prevent over-ripening.
Method 2: Making Dried Persimmons
- Peel the persimmons.
- Briefly blanch them in hot water.
- Hang them in a dry, shaded area with good airflow.
- Ideally, under the eaves or on a veranda.
But this year, I couldn’t dry them outside—bears might come.
Last year, I hung them by the bedroom window, but mold grew and I had to throw them away.
This time, I used a mesh vegetable basket and dried a few outside briefly.
The less damaged ones were treated with shochu, and the slightly bruised ones were peeled thickly and dried.
Still, fearing bears, I brought them inside quickly.
During the day, I open the sunroom and window to let the breeze in.
I’m not sure how well they’ll turn out—there’s a bit of uncertainty.
🍬 The Sweetest of All: Dried Persimmons
There’s a saying: “Among all sweetness, dried persimmons reign supreme.”
Astringent persimmons often have higher sugar content than sweet varieties, and drying concentrates that natural sweetness.
It’s a gentle sweetness that seems to seep into the body—unlike artificial sugars.
Dried persimmons pair beautifully with Japanese tea, black tea, or Chinese tea.
Even Sen no Rikyū is said to have served them as tea sweets.
It’s a shame that fear of bears keeps us from making them freely.
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