Hassaku orange
A Japanese citrus fruit, similar to a grapefruit but less bitter, typically eaten fresh in winter and early spring.
Hassaku oranges are in season from winter to spring.
This Hassaku orange is sweet and juicy.
1st day of the 8th month (lunar calendar)
Refers to the first day of the eighth month in the traditional Japanese lunar calendar. Now mostly a historical or cultural reference, sometimes associated with seasonal customs.
The first day of the eighth month in the old lunar calendar falls around early September in the modern calendar.
Standard kanji spelling for both the fruit and the calendar date.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially for the fruit.
The name 八朔 (hassaku) is said to come from the fact that the fruit was traditionally harvested around the first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar (八朔). The exact origin of the cultivar is uncertain, but it is believed to be a chance seedling discovered in the late Edo period in present-day Hiroshima Prefecture.