日本語版の記事はこちらから: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/568445
Kanagawa, JAPAN (June 24, 2026) – Over 80 years ago, on August 30, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur arrived on the airfield which is now Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi. Today his legacy in the area lives on through statues, gardens, and produce bearing his name.
Ebina Lettuce, grown in and around Ebina city, has a nickname that has been adopted by some of the residents, MacArthur Lettuce.
Lettuce cultivation in the area began shortly after MacArthur’s arrival in Kanagawa in 1945. According to local Ebina lore, lettuce cultivation in the region began after MacArthur requested the lettuce be grown locally. Ebina city was one of the supply areas for U.S. military in Japan during this time.
At first, local farmers had difficulty growing Western varieties of lettuce, but by the 1950s, production stabilized and then grew to the point Ebina farmers were shipping lettuce to markets in Yokohama and Tokyo.
“Kanagawa soil is the best!” Shoji Kawaguchi, a lettuce farmer in Ebina, proudly exclaimed during an interview with NAF Atsugi Public Affairs. “The climate in this area allows for different crops to be grown through double-cropping, which improves the soil even more, allowing us to grow fresh lettuce with minimal chemicals.”
Lettuce production continued to increase in Ebina during the Vietnam War due to the U.S. military procuring food supplies for the war effort. After the war, the U.S. stopped procuring lettuce from Ebina and farmers began to expand distribution in Kanagawa and Tokyo prefectures.
Today, the locally grown lettuce has become a staple in the local community and is sold around the area, advertised as Ebina Lettuce, Kanagawa Lettuce, and in some stores in the Ebina city limits, MacArthur Lettuce. Keita Kanasashi, a lettuce farmer in Ebina shared his thoughts about growing MacArthur Lettuce during an interview with NAF Atsugi Public Affairs.
“At the time [during the initial lettuce cultivation] growing lettuce carrying the nickname of a prominent figure like MacArthur was perhaps something to be proud of for local farmers of the time. Despite the generational gap between then and now, the people in this area are still proud of their lettuce today. MacArthur is famous here even today; the lettuce bearing his name has helped built a good relationship [between the U.S. and Japan] and we hope to continue with that legacy.”
NAF Atsugi supports the combat readiness of Commander, Fleet Air Western Pacific, Commander, Carrier Air Wing FIVE (CVW) 5, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51 and 23 other tenant commands, and provides logistic support, coordination, and services to units assigned to the Western Pacific.