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"Nozawa-na" (Brassica campestris var. hakabura) belongs to Brassicaceae (the Mustard family). It is a biennial herb that is a variety of "turnip". It is said that the chief priest of Kenmei-ji Temple in Nozawa Onsen Village, in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture, brought back the seeds of "Tennouji-kabu" in the middle of the Edo period (about 260 years ago), and which mutated and became the current "Nozawa-na". However, genetic research has now denied the idea of a "turnip" variety, and it is thought to be another variety "ha-kabura" derived from "turnip". After World War II, it has been cultivated nationwide from Hokkaido to Kumamoto, mainly in Nagano and Niigata prefectures. The leaves are large, long ovate with a length of 60 to 90 cm. When this leaf is soaked, "glue" is produced, which is thought to be the effect of mucopolysaccharides.
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