satsuma-imo

A form of satsumaimo — A Japanese form of sweet potato.

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Meanings

satsuma-imo1

nounsatsuma-imo (countable and uncountable, plural satsuma-imo)
  1. alternativecountableuncountableAlternative form of satsumaimo.

    Deliciously defying categorization are caramelized pieces of miso-glazed pork loin ($16) with cute yellow cakes of starchy-sweet Japanese satsuma-imo (sweet potato) and cubes of cooked apple.

    2013 February 2, Amy Pataki, “JaBistro lures us in”, in Saturday Star, Toronto, Ont., →ISSN, →OCLC, page L8, column 5
    2 more examples

    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.

    1905 April 1, J. C. Balet, L. Defrance, “Japanese Poetry”, in W[illiam] L[eonard] Courtney, editor, The Fortnightly Review, volume LXXVII, number CCCCLX, London: Chapman and Hall, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 640

    Riku loved satsuma-imo as soon as he tried it, so he and the boys would help the farmer, learning what they could about growing, taking care of the sweet potatoes, the best time to harvest, and how to cook them properly.

    2024, N.K. Padua, “Epilogue”, in Sweet Memories (Tales from the Thousand-Year Capital; 1), Altona, Man.: FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 196

Satsuma-imo2

nounSatsuma-imo (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of satsumaimo.

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

    2024 January 26, Mihoko Iida, quoting Yusuke Takada, “The Dragon-Shaped Japanese Region Where Tokyo Locals Go to Unwind”, in T: The New York Times Style Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2024
    2 more examples

    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.

    1960, Mock Joya, “Satsuma-Imo”, in Quaint Customs and Manners of Japan, volume IV, Tokyo: Tokyo News Service, →OCLC, chapter IV (Food, Drinking and Smoking), page 160

    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.

    2023 February 22, Ari Levaux, “Flash in the pan: Japanese sweet potato”, in Billings Gazette, volume 137, number 293, Billings, Mont., →ISSN, →OCLC, page B7, column 4
Cite this entry
APA

satsuma-imo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/satsuma-imo

MLA

“satsuma-imo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/satsuma-imo. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “satsuma-imo,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/satsuma-imo.

Source: satsuma-imo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.