Satsuma-imo

Satsuma-imo came to be generally cultivated in the country about two hundred years ago, entirely through the efforts of Aoki Konyo, scholar and student of Dutch culture. […] Konyo’s foresight in encouraging the growing of Satsuma-imo was deeply appreciated by farmers and others as the crop saved them many times from famine. […] Satsuma-imo is cooked in many ways as a vegetable.

Source: wiktionary

In those days, crop failures and famines were common, and the Satsuma-imo, as it was called, fed millions through harsh times, including World War II, saving many thousands from starvation. […] Here in the U.S., Satsuma-imo grows in every state in the lower 48, but in the northern climates you will want to start it inside, in a bucket of soil.

Source: wiktionary

These days, I go to Tanegashima island to buy Satsuma-imo [Satsuma sweet potato] syrup, which I use in my recipes.

Source: wiktionary

Even among the lower orders, the vendors of satsuma-imo (sweet potatoes) and the hercules of the arena, the labourers or the dwellers by the riverside, is exhibited a highly-developed poetic instinct.

Source: wiktionary