Job's-tear is used as a healthy food of high economic value in many Asian countries. Six lines of job's-tear were introduced from Japan in 1982 and evaluated for their adaptability in the spring crop of 1983. One of the introduced lines, Obanazawa Native, was high in yield potential but exhibited inferior agronomic characteristics in plant height and tillering ability. Accordingly, mass selection method was employed to improve the lines for four consecutive crops (two spring and two fall crops) from 1983 to 1985. A superior line, 74-T5 was selected and later renamed as Taichung Selection Yu No. 5. Advanced, regional, and local yield trials, as well as chemical analysis and other field tests were then conducted between 1986 and 1993. The combined results indicated that Taichung Selection Yu No. 5 possessed strong stem, resistance to lodging, drought tolerance, high yield and wide adaptability. The new line was therefore officially registered as job's-tear cultivar Taichung No. 1 in January, 1995 and released to farmers for commercial production.