This report examines the fixation of the cabbage dietary habit in modern Japan. Cabbage was introduced to Japan in the early Meiji era. Cabbage cultivation was easy, but cabbage production areas were not formed for many years. The main reason is that the recipes using cabbage did not conform with the Japanese eating habits.

Since the middle of the Meiji era, city dwellers showed great interest in cabbage. Cabbage recipes were published widely in cooking manuals, women's magazines and cooking columns of the newspapers, which led to significant increase the demand of cabbage in the Japanese cities.

From the late Meiji era, vegetables demand in urban areas was increased rapidly with urbanization. Because it is suitable for long-distance transportation, cabbage became a major vegetable. Eventually, it attracted private breeders who developed new cabbage breeds adapted in not only to local conditions, but also to the taste of city inhabitants. As a result, many cabbage production areas had formed in Japan by the early Showa era. This let to use more cabbage in home cooking by the middleclass people and meal of the general public in cities.

Most recent research had suggested that the formation of the vegetables production areas occurred due to appropriate natural conditions and the availability of transport. It becomes clear that the fixation of the dietary habit and spread of consumption are indispensable factors. Therefore it is important to understand the diffusion of the imported vegetables when considering production and consumption factors comprehensively.