From the Living Museum
Mutsu (Crispin)
- Origin
- Aomori Apple Experiment Station, Japan (Golden Delicious × Indo); crossed c. 1930, released 1948; known in Europe as Crispin
- Era
- Crossed c. 1930; released 1948
- Type / use
- Dessert · Fresh eating
History & Stories
Very large green-to-yellow fruit with crisp, juicy, high-quality sweet-tart flesh that holds well in storage. Unique for its exceptional size, Japanese origin, and ability to deliver both dessert quality and long keeping in a single large apple. Triploid and vigorous.
Folklore & Name
Japanese origin (1930), Golden Delicious × Indo. Introduced in the West as Mutsu (Japanese name) or Crispin. Exceptional size and quality; the dual naming reflects its international path.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Mutsu was bred at the Aomori Apple Experiment Station in northern Japan. A 1977 article in the Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly explains that the station's breeding program began in 1928, and that "after long term selections Mutsu and other three varieties were released in 1948." Its table lists Mutsu's parents as Golden Delicious × Indo 1. The same article notes that it was "renamed as Crispin in Europe," where "the culture of this large triploid variety is now increasing" 1.
The competing accounts
- Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly, 1977 1: bred at the Aomori Apple Experiment Station, whose program began in 1928, from Golden Delicious × Indo; released in 1948; renamed Crispin in Europe.
- A cross date of 1930 is often given. It falls within the station's first crossing years, 1928–34 1, but we have not seen it in a primary source.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): crossed around 1930 and released in 1948. The release date is documented, and the cross date is plausible but unconfirmed.
What we think: stories & traditions
A name from the north. Mutsu is the old name of the province that included Aomori, so the apple carries the name of its home region. That's general knowledge about the place name, not something the article states.
The station made its first crosses between 1928 and 1934 1; we haven't seen the exact year of the Mutsu cross in a primary source.
Sources
- Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly 11(1): 56–59 (1977), apple breeding in Japan. www.jircas.go.jp/sites/default/files/publication/jarq/11-1-056-059_0.pdf
Curious about Mutsu (Crispin)?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.