Food · Fermented foods

Sato-imo (Standard Japanese Taro)

さといも (Sato-imo)

Also known as: Sato-imo, Taro, Standard Japanese taro, Colocasia esculenta, 里芋

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At a glance

CategoryFood
Japanese labeling nameさといも
Common Japanese notationsさといも, 里芋, サトイモ
OriginStandard Japanese taro (Colocasia esculenta); the volume taro category for everyday cooking; principal modern domestic production regions Saitama, Chiba, Miyazaki, Ehime; multiple regional cultivars
Typical functionsUniversal Japanese household cooking — nikkorogashi, imo-ni (Tohoku regional festival), Foodservice nimono and stews, Frozen retail volume convenience
Regulatory status in JapanStandard agricultural product labeling. Origin disclosure (Saitama, Chiba, Miyazaki, Ehime, imported) appropriate. Not a designated allergen.

Sato-imo (さといも / 里芋) is the volume Japanese taro for everyday household cooking — distinct from premium yatsugashira (Osechi specialty) and takenokoimo. Saitama, Chiba, Miyazaki are major production regions. Imo-ni (Tohoku autumn festival) is the iconic regional preparation.

Classification

Tags below link to other ingredients sharing the same attribute, so you can pivot from one ingredient to its peers.

Functions

Regulatory tags

Used in (typical product categories)

Finished-product categories that commonly include this ingredient in Japanese-market formulations.

  • Fresh whole sato-imo retail (year-round, autumn-winter peak)
  • Pre-peeled and pre-cooked frozen sato-imo (volume convenience format)

What it is

Colocasia esculenta standard Japanese taro.

Typical uses in Japanese products

Universal Japanese cooking — nikkorogashi, imo-ni, foodservice nimono.

For OEM: fresh retail, pre-peeled and pre-cooked frozen retail OEM.

Regulatory classification in Japan

Standard food labeling. Origin disclosure. Not a designated allergen.

Regulatory classification in other markets

EUImported as taro. Established global Asian-cuisine specialty.
USAEstablished US taro retail.
ChinaMajor Chinese taro production.
KoreaEstablished Korean toran tradition.

Example products

Example finished products will be added after verification of regional origin.

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Related ingredients

References

  1. MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition — さといも 各形態

Last updated: 2026-04-28. Ingredient entries are reviewed at least annually against current regulatory listings.

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