Ji - foxtail millet

Japanese: 稷 - アワ

In China, this is another name for millet, one of the five grains. There are three theories about what Ji is today. In annotations of classic texts such as the Erya and the Book of Rites, it was considered to be millet until the Tang Dynasty. However, a herbalist from the Tang Dynasty put forward the theory that it was called "Ru-kibi," which became widespread, and in the Qing Dynasty, Cheng Yaotian advocated the Gaoliang theory. However, considering the usage of Ji as the first of the five grains, Hou Ji, who was an official in charge of agricultural affairs in ancient times and was also the other name for the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, and as a grain god who is on a par with the god of the land as Sheji, it seems appropriate to consider it to be millet.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国で，五穀の一つの粟（あわ）の別称。稷が現在の何にあたるかについては3説ある。《爾雅（じが）》や《礼記（らいき）》など経書の注釈では，唐までは粟とされてきた。ところが唐代の本草家(薬草学者)が穄（うるきび）という説をたてそれが流布し，さらに清代に程瑶田が高梁（コーリヤン）説を主張した。しかし，五穀の筆頭におかれ，太古農事をつかさどった官，ひいて周の始祖の別名となった后稷や，社稷として土地神にならぶ穀物神とされる稷の用法からも，粟とするのが妥当であろう。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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