Okayama ... and Momotaro

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OKAYAMA

Momotaro Hodgepodge (momotaroo nabe)

***** Location: Japan, Okayama
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Momotaro (Momotaroo ももたろう, 桃太郎 )
the Peach Boy is the hero of Okayama city. The main street is even called "Momotaro Road", momotaroo doori 桃太郎通り and an annual festival is held in his honor.
Der Pfirsischjunge


Clay Bell from Okayama


. Momotaro 桃太郎 and Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 .
The Folktale Discussion
MOMOTARŌ NO TANJŌ (THE BIRTH OF PEACH BOY, 1933)

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The city of Okayama has now "invented" a hodgepodge named after this famous hero 桃太郎鍋.
It started off with a big pot serving visitors of a festival in 2006.
The hodgepodge includes ass the heroes of the story. Momotaro himself is represented by kibi dango, kibidango 黍団子 millet dumplings. The red demon is represented by mochi with red rice, whereas the green demon has yomogi mugwort mochi. The local momotaro jidori 桃太郎地鶏 chicken is used for the soup. Only local vegetables are used. They are cut into the heroes of the story, carrots are cut in little monkey shapes, the white dog is formed from radish. Yellow nira leek of Okayama is also added in great quantity to represent the tail of the pheasant.
It is quite fun to pick them all out of the pot when done. So the family has something to talk about when eating together.

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The main story of
Momotaro and Momotaro Dolls and Amulets

. Momotaroo 桃太郎 Momotaro the Peach Boy .

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Momotaro Festival in Okayama
"桃太郎祭り" Momotaro Matsuri
source : 　www.pref.okayama.jp

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

One of the attraction is the dance "uraja うらじゃ", where people paint the faces in all colors and wear fancyful costumes. Groups of many villages take part and often there is a competition for the best costumes and dancing.
My own village Ohaga also has a dance groupe of this kind.

. . . CLICK here for URAJA Photos !



桃太郎祭りずし弁当 Sushi for the Momotaro Festival
. . . CLICK here for Photos !





. Shrine Kibitsu Jinja 吉備津神社 .


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The story of Momotaro may be related to the old believes of the onmyodo 陰陽道　Yin-Yang Worldview. The direction of bad influence, kimon, is in the ushi-tora (bull tiger) direction. So one of the demons Momotaro is fighting has horns and the other wears a tiger skin.

And the Monkey, Dog and Pheasant are animals in the zodiac, in the opposite heavenly direction from the kimon　鬼門　.


The peach itself is seen as an auspicious symbol.
In the shrine Abe Jinja 安部神社 at the kimon related to the imperial palace in Kyoto is a metal peach, where people come to touch it to ward off evil 厄除けの桃 even today.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !　


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Momotarō (桃太郎)
is a popular hero from Japanese folklore. His name literally means Peach Tarō; as Tarō is a common Japanese boy's name, it is often translated as Peach Boy. Momotarō is also the title of various books, films, and other works that portray the tale of this hero.

The popular Children's song about Momotarō titled Momotarō-san no Uta (Momotarō's Song) was first published in 1911. One version of it is included below with romanization and translation.

Momotarō-san no uta (Momotarō's Song)
桃太郎さんの歌

Momotarō-san, momotarō-san (Momotarō, Momotarō)
桃太郎さん、桃太郎さん

Okoshi ni tsuketa kibidango (Those millet dumplings on your waist)
お腰につけたきびだんご

Hitotsu watashi ni kudasai na? (Won't you give me one?)
一つ私に下さいな！

Agemashou, agemashou (I'll give you one, I'll give you one)
あげましょう、あげましょう

Ima kara oni no seibatsu ni (From now, on a quest to conquer the ogres)
今から鬼の征伐に

Tsuite kuru nara agemashou (If you come with me, I'll give one to you)
ついてくるならあげましょう
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




4月に行われていた岡山桃太郎まつり
おかやま桃太郎まつり - Wikipedia -


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Momotaroo tomato 桃太郎トマト
Momotaroo tomato serii 桃太郎トマトセリー
Jelly from Momotaro Tomatoes
Momotaroo goorudo 桃太郎ゴールド Momotaro Gold Tomatoes
The skin is rather thin.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
These tomatoes are a special kind of "sugar tomatoes シュガートマト" with a high sugar content.



Momotaro tomato amanatto トマト甘納豆
Sweet tomatos with a sugar coating


Momotaro grapes 桃太郎ぶどう momotaroo budoo
are big and green and very sweet. They have no kernels and the skin can be eaten too.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Momotaro and Daruma ... 桃太郎とだるま


23x35cm
Painted with the wish to recover from illness.
source : 　www.eisai.co.jp/museum

One of the "smallpox paintings" . hoosoo-e 疱瘡絵 .


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Showa 33 in Shimonoseki
source : www.darmax.co.jp


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Chawanmushi served in a Daruma bowl
together with a Momotaro Sushi


桃太郎寿司でだるまの ハンニバル茶碗蒸し
source : 　blog.nan-can.com

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Bichu, Kurashiki Anko Meguri Stamp Ralley, October 2009
備中・倉敷あんこめぐり スタンプラリー


WASHOKU -Sweets from Okayama


Kurashiki Tenryo Sushi Matsuri / Okayama no Matsuri Sushi
and other festivals in Kurashiki


Bii Kyuu Gurume Ｂ級グルメ Grade B Gourmet, Okayama prefecture


Grade B Gourmet Meeting in Tsuyama
おかやまＢ級グルメフェスタin津山
B Kyu Gurume .. Festa in Tsuyama
March 20 / 21, 2010 in Tsuyama town


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Other dishes from Okayama

amidaikon あみだいこん
amiebi (ami-ebi) shrimp, radish and ginger are cooked with soy sauce, rice wine and sugar. A dish to bring autumn to the region of the Inland sea.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of ami-ebi あみえび!


aounagi, ao-unagi アオウナギ, アオ鰻 blue eel from Bizen Kojima Bay


arasuka アラスカ, arasuka mame アラスカ豆 Alaska green peas
arasuka gohan アラスカご飯 cooked rice with green peas.


barazushi ばらずし　バラ寿司)Gemischtes Sushi
In Okayama wird ein reichbestücktes Sushi in einem Teller angerichtet. Auf den Sushi-Reis kommen verschiedene Auflagen, es ist eine Art, die auch „chirashizushi“ genannt wird. Der Segen des Meeres und der Segen der Berge leuchtet in bunten Farben auf dem weißen Reis. Der Regionalfürst von Bizen und Okayama, Ikeda Mitsumasa (1609-1682), erließ damals einen Sparbefehl, nach dem für eine Mahlzeit nur „eine Suppe und ein weitere Speise“ serviert werden durften. Seine schlauen Untertanen umgingen diesen Befehl, indem sie auf einem großen Teller Reis allerlei Fischstücke, Garnelen und andere Meeresfrüchte sowie viele Gemüsesorten der jeweiligen Saison anhäuften. Dieses farbenprächtige Sushi hat sich bis heute erhalten und darf bei keiner Feier oder Festlichkeit fehlen, es wird daher auch „Festtags-Sushi“ (matsurizushi) genannt.


bengara karee ベンガラカレー Bengara Curry from Fukiya Village


dodomese どどめせ sushi rice with mixed ingredients
a kind of takikomi gohan with vinegar, to make a sushi. The beginning of the chirashizushi of Okayama. Already prepared in the Kamakura period. At that time, there was a stop-over for ships from Bizen to Fukuoka, where the takasebune ships used this kind of mixed rice as obento. The original word was doburoku meshi どぶろくめし (doburoku is cloudy white sake rice wine). It is also the origin of Bizen barazushi 備前ばらずし.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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FAGI FOODS ファジフーズ
Fagiano Okayama ファジアーノ岡山

icecream from Hiruzen milk
onigiri with mentaiko
Fagi Chicken KATSU Burger ファジチキン勝バーガー
Fagi crepe
Chahan bento チャーハン弁当 fried rice bento
pon juice ポンジュース orange juice

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Fagiano Okayama Football Club is a football club from Okayama, Okayama, Japan. Fagiano currently play in the J. League Division 2, the second-tier professional football league in the country. Fagiano in Italian means "pheasant", and it's a reference to the pheasant that was a companion of local legend character Momotarō. Their mascot Fagi-kun is based on the specific species native to Japan, the Green Pheasant.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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funameshi フナ飯 rice with funa fish


gonboo baagaa ゴンボーバーガー,牛蒡バーガー,　ごんぼうバーガー” hamburger with gobo
Ibara town　井原
The town grows a lot of the variety Meiji goboo (gonbo in the local dialect) and puts this vegetable in many dishes. It is also sold as a "station lunch" ekiben.
明治ごんぼうバーガー
CLICK here for PHOTOS !



hime toogarashi 姫とうがらし roter Pfeffer aus Okutsu
hime togarashi, red hot chili peppers
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
It is sold in various preparations, dried, as powder or in hot oil salad dressing. Even Konnyaku is flavored with red chili (konnyaku hime).


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Hiruzen Yakisoba 蒜山焼そば fried noodles from Hiruzen
Flavored with miso sauce.
This has become more popular with the B-Kyu Gurmet movement, and even one prizes.
It is an old dish, keeping the tradition of the region. In winter, when snow covered the exit passes fro the highlands, farmers had to make do whith what they could preserve. So each family used some kind of miso pickles and a home-made miso-sauce mix for a "family flavor".
The chicken for this dish come from old hens, which have done their duty laying eggs. It was suggested to use young chicken with softer meat, but that is not the tradition of Hiruzen farmers, so the old ways were revived in this popular noodle dish.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Hiruzen okowa 蒜山（ひるぜん）おこわ Mochi-Klebreis mit roten Bohnen
und anderem Gemuese aus dem Hiruzen Hochland
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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horumon udon ホルモンうどん udon noodles with innards
hormon udon
In the town of Tsuyama 津山市 this is quite popular as one of the B-kyu B 級グルメ second class gourmet foods. It even won third grading in the All Japan B-Kyu events in 2009. It was served at our village sports festival this autumn, look at the delicious photo above!
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

ホルモンのうどん振舞う運動会

they even serve
hormon udon noodles -
villge sports festival

Gabi Greve, October 2009


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inoshishi raamen いのししラーメン　with wild boar meat
from Niimi town, Okayama　新見市岡山県



kakioko, kaki oko カキオコ omelette with oysters
kaki okonomiyaki ... kakioko was coined in 2008 for promoting the village.
About 10 to 15 oysters per portion are put in a kind of okonomiyaki pizza style omelette with a lot of cut cabbage.
It is also called "Hinase yaki" 日生焼き
from Hinase fishing port 日生地区, near Bizen
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



kako no jabujabu 水夫のじゃぶじゃぶ sailor's jabu-jabu
Ushimado 牛窓




karee, furuutsu karee フルーツカレー　curry with local fruit
like peaches, persimmons, pione grapes, Momotaro tomatoes and even innards of pork (horumon karee)
Click on the photo to start your walk through our local specialities.



Kasaoka raamen 笠岡ラーメン Kasaoka ramen noodle soup
made only with chicken meat (chikin chaashuu) and chicken soup, since more than 50 years.
After the war, Kasaoka town was surrounded by chicken farms.
CLICK here for PHOTOS !



kenbiki-yaki, kenbikiyaki ケンビキ焼き, けんびき焼き
Kenbiki, kembiki in local dialect means "to be tired".
In the local dialect, the first of June, rokugatsu ichinichi, rokugatsu hitohi was pronounced rokkahidee ロッカッヒテエー was one whole day in June when the farmers did the planting of rice seedlings. All villagers would stop their other work and be out in the fields, also called shiromidi シロミテ, white day.
On this day, the kenyiki-yaki, prepared in a hooroku ホウロク earthen pan wrapped in leaves of myoga ginger was offered to the local deities (ujigami 氏神様、内神様) and later eaten by the whole family.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Recipe see below.


kibimochi, kibi mochi きび餅 mochi with millet
Often mochikibi もちきび flour is used to make it.
They were a substitute for poor farmers who could not afford to use mochigome rice in olden times.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Kokerazushi こけら寿司 / 柿寿司 / こけら鮨 layered sushi
from Hiruzen. kokera sushi


kurobuta from Nagi, Sakushuu　作州 black pork meat
Sakushuu kurobuta sushi with sushirice and black beans
yellow nira from Nagi



kusagina kakemeshi くさぎなかけめし
rice with kusagina leaves
From Kibi Chuo Town, Kibi Kogen highlands 吉備高原
kusagina are the leaves from a tree of the verbena officinalis family (kumatsuzura クマツヅラ科), which grows about 3 meters in hight. The leaves are big and eggshaped and have a strong smell. The leaves are dried and eaten as hozonshoku by the hunters of the mountainous area. They are rich in vitamin C and Calcium.
It is now also prepared as a school lunch and sold in packs online.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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mamakari, sappa ままかり（さっぱ） Sardinella zunasi
. . . . . mamakarizushi ままかりずし sushi with mamakari fish


mogai 藻貝 / もがい も貝 small clams
Boiled as tsukudani, put on the bento lunchbox or in miso soup.


mokuzugani　藻屑蟹 / モクズガニ Japanese mitten crab
from Kumenan, along the river Asahigawa 久米南, 旭川


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otsukakegohan, o-tsu kakegohan お汁かけごはん
rice with miso sauce
A bowl of local rice is doused with a bowl of miso sauce. A few pickled vegetables as a side dish make a simple farmer's meal.
Kumen Town, Michi no Eki 道の駅久米の里
source : Sanyo Shinbun, December 2009


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- new instant ramen soups　インスタント　ラーメン

gomamiso raamen　ごまみそラーメン　with sesame seeds and miso paste

momotaroo dango raamen 桃太郎団子ラーメン　with chicken meatballs

satoyama raamen　岡山里山ラーメン "Village noodle soup" with mushrooms and all kinds of vegetables

setouchi kaki raamen　瀬戸内カキラーメン from Setuichi, with oysters


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sabazushi サバずし / 鯖ずし
Speciality in Northern Okayama prefecture, especially prepared for the autumn festival. The salted fish was brought from Tottori during the Edo period and the farmers could only afford to buy it just after the harvest.
In my village, the farmers wifes offer their handmade sabazushi to friends and family.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Sakushuu kuro 作州黒 Black beans from Sakushu province
Sakushu is an old name of some northern parts of Okayama prefecture
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


sawara no kookozushi サワラのこうこずし


shirasagi komugi しらさぎ小麦　"white heron" type of wheat
good for making udon noodles.
CLICK here for PHOTOS !



tai no hamayaki 鯛の浜焼き
sakuradai no hamayaki 櫻鯛の浜焼き
from Kasaoka Town
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



. WASHOKU
Tamagokake gohan TKG 卵かけご飯 boiled rice with raw egg 　
Misaki Cho, 美咲町. made from tanada mai, rice from the terraced rice fields of Ohaga Nishi　大垪和西.
Ohaga, home of Gabi Greve



. Tsuchinoko ツチノコ or 槌の子 hammerspawn
legendary reptile souvenir food, Akaiwa and Yoshii



Tsuyama, B Kyu Gurume .. Festa おかやまＢ級グルメフェスタin 津山
March 20/21, 2010



Urajima renkon 連島レンコン lotus roots from Urajima town
連島町（つらじまちょう）. Kurashiki 倉敷市
They are quite delicious when eaten raw. Harvested from late autumn onward.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
They are also trying to make shochu (renkon shooshuu レンコン焼酎) liquor with this roots.


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. Oishii o-hanashi Okayama
おいしいおはなし 岡山 .
Literature and Food Event from February to March 2012

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- source : kyoudo-ryouri.com/en.. okayama .. -
Bukkake Udon
Hawasabi Sushi
Iidako boiled with soy sauce
Jaku Tempura
Manzen Kabura
Shino Udon
Takomeshi
Ujo Golden Sushi


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Kintaro, the Golden Boy
Daruma Museum


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HAIKU

kibi, millet and
millet dumplings 黍団子（きびだんご） kibi dango
kigo for mid-autumn

ume saku ya inu ni matagaru momotarô

plum blossoms --
riding a dog
the Peach Boy



老が世に桃太郎も出よ捨瓢
oi ga yo ni momotaroo mo deyo sute fukube

to an old man's world
Peach Boy, come out!
hollow gourd


Kobayashi Issa

In Issa's journal this is the first haiku of Eighth Month, 1816. Earlier that year, the last haiku of Second Month began with the same first two phrases, but ended with "peach blossoms" (momo no hana). Though the kanji for "gourd" is today read as hisago, Issa read it as fukube. Shinji Ogawa notes that a hollowed fukube could be used as a container or bottle.
In this haiku, "the gourd becomes a magic lamp or a bottle where a Genie comes out, in this case, Peach Boy." He adds, "There is a Japanese phrase, hyootan kara koma which means 'a horse from a gourd' or 'an unexpected thing happened'."
Tr. David Lanoue


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Kurashiki 　倉敷　 is famous for its canals and willow trees. There is a group of elders who go around town with masks and large fans and tap people on the head for good luck.
They walk around as representatives for their friends who are bedridden and can not go out.



suinkyo, su-inkyo 素隠居 （すいんきょ）persons in retirement
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Suinkyo Matsuri - Festival at Achi Shrine 阿智神社 .


. Toys and Talismans from Japan .



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Related words

Momotaro Food / my photos

***** WASHOKU : Local chicken (jidori)

Shoodoshima 小豆島 Shodoshima
Kagawa prefecture, but close to Okayama


***** WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes


***** . Momotaroo 桃太郎 Momotaro the Peach Boy Dolls .

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- #okayama #momotaro -
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NEW YEAR FOOD

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The Japanese Food Saijiki

和食歳時記　　

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New Year Food, Neujahrsessen

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: New Year
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

There are many food specialities for the New YEAR in Japan.
In Alphabetical order of the Japanese.
Use your browser to find a word, please !

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Food of the New Year Season, O-Setchi Ryori
(osetchi ryoori おせち料理, 御節料理 )


The Japanese New Year lasts for three days, when the housewife is not supposed to do any cooking, except for the New Year Soup. So all is prepared in beautiful boxes (jubako 重箱) and served to the family and to the many seasonal visitors. Sharing the food with visitors was the custom called kuitsumi 食摘み, くいつみ during the Edo period.

There are usually three layers of the boxes, the first contains the entree and hors d'oeuvre, the second has the fish and the lowest one the boiled vegetables. Sometimes there is a fourth box with more side dishes.

Most dishes are choosen because they are "engi ga yoi", auspicious of some kind, with a pun.
Japanese are very fond of engimono of all kinds.

. Engimono 縁起物 little things for good luck .

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Collectively known as osechi ryori, these dishes are served generally on the first three days of January, usually at breakfast, when the whole family is together. Tradition has it that they will bring good health to all throughout the year. This cuisine is beautifully arranged in tiered lacquered boxes called jubako.

The name of each osechi food has a fortuitous meaning, either through a play of words or the resemblance of the food with an auspicious item.
For example:

Kazunoko (herring roe) symbolizes prosperity for one's descendents because this delicacy consists of many eggs.
Kuromame (black boiled beans) symbolizes being hardworking or industrious.
Gomame (small dried sardines) symbolizes a bumper crop or rich harvest.
Kobumaki (rolled seaweed) symbolizes pleasure or delight.
Ebi (prawn) symbolizes a wish for long life.

Another New Year's favorite is ozoni, a soup containing sticky rice dumplings (Omochi). Every area has its own recipe. People from the Kanto district, for example, like the soup seasoned with soy and square rice dumplings, while people from the Kansai district prefer soup made with miso (fermented bean soy paste) and round rice dumplings.
http://www.ajinomoto.com/traditions/winter_02.html



Sechi burumai 節振舞 (せちぶるまい)
treating visitors to New Year Food
sechi ae 節餐（せちあえ）, toshi no ae 年の餐（としのあえ）
day for eating sechi food, sechi no hi 節の日（せちのひ）

"rice in a bowl", ooban 椀飯（おうばん）
entertaining visitors, ooban burumai 椀飯振舞（おうばんぶるまい）

New Year's Food, sechi ryoori 節料理（せちりょうり）
visitor for the New Year's Food,
sechi kyaku 節客（せちきゃく）
special guest room for this occasion,
sechi zashiki 節座敷（せちざしき）





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Acharazuke 阿茶羅漬 (あちゃらづけ, 阿茶羅漬け)
sliced turnips in vinegar dressing

A typical dish of Kyoto and the Kansai area. Radishes and turnips are used most often and some cut kombu seaweed and carrots are added. A special vinegar brew with soy sauce, sugar and sweet ricewine is added (sanbaizu 三杯酢).
It is often eaten at the end of a course.

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Bai no mi 海蠃の身 (ばいのみ) flesh of the bai conch
Babylonia japonica （貝、蛽、海蠃、海螄, バイ）
CLICK for photo !

The shell has the form of half a circle, with some black spots. It ressembles the tanishi shells of the rice paddies, but is a bit longer. It lives in the sandy beaches of many bays.
The white flesh is boiled in sweetened soy sauce. The shells are used by children as spinning tops.

Since poor farmers in the Edo period could not afford expensive food, they also used the normal tanishi conches as food. These were called
nishizakana 螺肴 (にしざかな) , conch snacks.


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chokudaigashi 勅題菓子 (ちょくだいがし)
sweets served for the New Year Imperial Poetry Contest
shokudaika 勅題菓（ちょくだいか）gyodaigashi御題菓子（ぎょだいがし）
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



Chorogi 草石蚕 (ちょろぎ) knotroot , Knollenziest
甘露子, 滴露, 丁呂喜,、長老木

Stachys sieboldii（Stachys affinis).
The roots are colored with red shiso perilla juice to make an auspicious color. They are often served together with black beans. This plant has been introduced from China during the Edo period. It is alse a medicinal plant and now available during the whole year.


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Daikon iwau 大根祝う (だいこんいわう)
"celebrating with radish"
decorating radish, daikon kazaru
大根飾る（だいこんかざる）

It is often placed above the kagami mochi.
This decoration was used for the ceremony of . . . "strengthening the teeth", hagatame . 歯固.
The radish can also be put into zoni soup later.
Radish is a typical vegetable of winter, good for digestion and has been the subject of Japanese poetry since olden times.

Radish (daikon) Pickled radish, takuan.


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Fukucha ... 福茶 "Good Luck Tea"
..... oobuku, oofuku　大服
..... oofukucha, oobukucha　大福茶 , 皇服茶
..... ofukucha　御福茶


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Ganjitsu no Sechi-E 元日節会
Audience and Reception of Politicians

Introduced after the Meiji Reformation. The Emperor meets with the politicians for a first audience and exchanges a glass of ricewine.

Hare no Gozen 晴の御膳 Official Lunch Reception
Hare no Omono 晴御膳　はれのおもの
..... Gozen no gi 御膳の儀
In the Phoenix Hall of the Imperial Palace. Now it can be held on any of the first three days of the new year.

The menu was composed first in the Heian period and is still served today.

vinegar, ricewine, salt and soy sauce, the four condiments

plum branches, baishi 梅枝（ばいし）
Rice flouer was kneaded into the shape of plum branches. They were fried in oil before serving.

peach branches, tooshi 桃枝（とうし）
The same as the plum branches, but in a different form.

"scorpion snack", kakko かっこ　餲餬, □餬
Snacks kneaded with wheat flour, in the shape of a scorpion (蝎 すくもむし sukumomushi). They were either fried or steamed. Also called kappei かっぺい. pei ぺいwas another word for mochi 餅.

dumplings with cinnamon, keishin けいしん　桂心
Wheat or glutinous rice flour and medical cinnamon where kneaded into a form of a three-cornered priest hat. Fried in oil.

round dumplings, tsuishi　ついし 鎚子
made from flower, rolled round like "bullets", or round "like satoimo potatoes", then fried or boiled.

"navel cakes" densei, tensei てんせい 黏臍/ （でんせい）
dumplings with a shape of the human navel. Made from flower, then fried.

crackers, hitsura, hichira, hira ひつら,ひちら 饆饠
Made from rice flour mixed with foxtail millet (awa) and millet (kibi). Round and flat types of bisquits, almost like our rice senbei these days.
Others are made of wheat flour and inside is anko sweet bean paste. hira ひら
Also a kind of mochigome 糯米 is used.

dumplings, danki だんき　団喜, kankidan 歓喜団
Made from wheat flour and flour of green beans (edamame), with some poppy seeds (keshi) and dried lotus. Fried in sesame oil. Today they are still used as offerings in Buddhist rituals.
Also called danki 団喜（だんき）.
Modern seijoo kankidan 清浄歓喜団 have the ingredients wrapped in the dough like a pouch.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



Others (altogether there are 14 differenr types
14種の果餅（かへい）kahei

dumplings, konton こんとん　昆飩 餛飩
round dumplings with minced meat and vegetables, served with broth

noodles, sakubei さくべい　索餅
The oldest form of the noodles, sakubei, produced by adding rice powder to flour, was introduced from China in the eighth century. Now we have udon and soomen nodles.

crackers, senbei 煎餅
Wheat flour and rice flour are mixed, rolled round and fried in oil. The beginning of our senbei.

dumplings, hakutaku 餺飥（はくたく）
Wheat flour is kneaded and rolled flat until they are all of the same size. Tooshi Chooja of the Fujiwara clan ate them always at the shrine Kasuga Taisha.
Now they are called Hootoo ほうとう, a kind of udon, a speciality of Yamanashi pref.
Yamanashi : Hootoo noodles


The above types of snacks were also introduced from China in the Heian period. There are eight famous snack from China (hasshuu no karagashi, yakusa no kara kudamono 八種の唐菓子, 八種唐菓子). This custom of serving them shows the strong influence of the Chinese culture on the aristocracy during the Heian period. The lists do differ in including various snacks.

They are mostly made of rice or wheat flour, kneaded into auspicious shapes, filled with minced meat or vegetables and fried for consumption. They were also called "fruit" kudamono 果物.
KU meand KI, tree, "ki no mono" like nuts. These snacks were made from the fruits of trees also.
Another old meaning of KUDAMONO is "fish snacks to be eaten with ricewine".

Snack from the Heian Period

http://evagenji.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kudamono1.htm

http://www.meikatanbou.com/chi_/chi_w/w_s055.htm
http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~heian/kenkyu/gourme/okasi.htm


and

Hagatame, O-Hagatame (teeth strenghtening)
tooth hardening, teeth hardening
hagatame 歯固 歯がため　はがため

rice cakes for strengthening the teeth
..... hagatame no mochi 歯固の餅　はがためのもち
Diamond Petal Rice Cakes
..... hishi hanabira mochi, 菱葩餅 ひしはなびらもち

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

quote
Tang confectionery
Japan sent envoys to the Sui and Tang Dynasty from the Asuka period to the beginning of the Heian period. They brought back eight Tang confectioneries (唐菓子 ,Tō-gashi or kara-kudamono) and 14 grain flour-based confectioneries (果餅) and the recipes. The Tang confectioneries were kneaded wheat flour and rice flour, and fried in oil. These were more advanced than the confectionery technology of Japan in those days. They were served at the Imperial Court and offered to Shintoist and Buddhist deities.
According to one view, a dark brown sugar was also brought back from China by Jianzhen who came to Japan from the Tang in this period. However, since sugar-refining technology was not introduced to Japan at this point, the sugar was very rare and was treasured like a medicine. Generally, the syrup that resulted from boiling the sap of Grape ivy down (甘葛煎 ,amazura-sen) was used as a sweetener at this time.

During this period, many diaries and tales were written among upper class and aristocrats. The Tale of Genji, The Pillow Book and The Diary of Izumi Shikibu have some episodes about confectionery. Moreover, the records manifesting a life situation also increased with improvement of a government institution. They are how we know confectionery culture of those days.

Tang confectioneries
Major eights: Baishi, Danki, Hichira, Kakko, Keishin, Tensei, Tōshi and Tsuishi.
Others: Buto, Fuzuku, Heidan, Hōtō (According to one theory, it is an archetype of Hōtō hootoo), Kakunawa, Konton, Magari, Mugikata and Sakuhei (sakubei).
Aozashi: It is made of parched green wheat flour and twisted like a thread.
Kezurihi: Shaved ice flavored with amazura-sen syrup. It is called kakigori today.
..... Some mochi-based confectioneries. For example:
Tsubaki mochii: A mochi flavored with amazura-sen syrup.
Inoko mochii: A mochi shaped as a wild boar piglet.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. WASHOKU
Neujahrsessen bei Hofe


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Gomame ごまめ , 五万米（ごまめ)
"preparing the fields", tatsukuri 田作（たづくり） ）
kotono bara 小殿原（ことのばら）
Small dried sardines, broiled in sweetened soy sauce. They are also served on other felicitous occasions. During the Edo period, farmers prepared fertilizer for the fields from small sardines and ash from the hearth.
These fish are eaten with the wish for a bountiful harvest.


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hatsutawara 初俵（はつたわら）"first bundle of rice"
first namako Holothurie (Seewalze, Seegurke)
tawarago 俵子 たわらご , 俵魚（たわらご）
kinko 金海鼠（きんこ）, iriko 煎海鼠（いりこ）



Haze 葩煎 (はぜ) "popped" rice
"rice flower", komebana 米花（こめばな）
vendor of haze, haze uri 葩煎売（はぜうり）
bag to sell haze, hasebukuro 葩煎袋（はぜぶくろ）
Prepared from roasted glutinous rice (mochigome). The result looks like a white "flower" of the rice. It was often served to visitors.
It was often placed on a special decoration shelf (hoorai dai 蓬莱台) which symbolized the Buddhist mountain Horai in China, where people would live forever.
This custom has died out, but even nowadays some of this popped rice is sold at the festival of some temples and shrines in Osaka.
komebanatoo 米花糖 sugar like "rice flowers"
in the colors green, yellow, red, pink and white, which looks gaudy.


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Hirakimame 開豆 (ひらきまめ) "open" boiled soybeans
Some beans open a bit when boiled. They are picked out especially and added on an extra dish. This is a word play with "opening the good luck", kai-un 開運.


Hiraki goboo 開牛蒡 (ひらきごぼう) "open" burdock
"divining sticks" burdock, sangi goboo 算木牛蒡（さんぎごぼう）,
"crushed" burdock tataki goboo 叩牛蒡（たたきごぼう）
The long burdock roots are inscised various times and boiled long as they are. They resemble the divining sticks of temples and shrines. Sometimes the burdock is crushed. Sesame is added for flavor.
Wish to become as strong as the burdock root in the coming year.
In Kansai, it is used instead of kuromame black beans for the three side dishes (mitsuzakana).


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Imogashira 芋頭 (いもがしら) tubercle of taro potatoe
imo no kami 芋の頭（いものかみ）, kashira imo 頭芋（かしらいも）
celebrating with taro, imo no kami iwau
芋の頭祝う（いものかみいわう)
imogashira iwau 芋頭祝う（いもがしらいわう）

This is a pun with the word "kashira", being the head of a group, and is therefore considered auspicious food.
It is either put into the zoni soup or prepared boiled as a side dish.


Scened of Edo
Vendor of things for the new year, including the taro potatoes


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Kagami mochi ... 鏡餅　 ... Decoration Rice cakes for the New Year
Their decorations are full of auspiciuos symbols.

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Kazu no ko 数の子 (かずのこ) , 鰊鯑（かずのこ）
kado no ko かどのこ
shio kazunoko 塩数の子（しおかずのこ）

Herring roe. Herring is also called "kado" in the language of the Ainu. The name derived from kado-no-ko "children of kado fish". it comes dried or salted and is a MUST for the New Year. Because there are millions of eggs in a herring ovary, it symbolizes good luck with many children and generations of the family.


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Kirizanshoo 切山椒 (きりざんしょう) desert dish
lit. "cut mountain pepper"

A kind of sweet made from rice flour, sugar and mountain pepper. It can be cut and served over a bowl of rice for a quick snack. It is usually served steamed, which enhances the fragrance of the pepper. It is supposed to brick luck with money affairs.
A prepacked cake of this kind is also sold at the New Year Fair "Tori no ichi" at Asakusa, Tokyo.


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Kobumaki, konbumaki, kombumaki 昆布巻き (こぶまき)

A roll of tang containing dried fish simmered in sweetened soy sauce.
A play of words with yorokobu, to have pleasure, to enjoy something.
Some saijiki do not list this as a kigo.


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Kohada no awazuke 小鰭の粟漬 (こはだのあわづけ)
Spotted shad pickled in foxtail millet

Typical New Year Food of the Kanto area. Fish of medium and small size are placed in a foxtail millet pickles mixture. This preparation can stand for many days and is therefore suitable for the cold food of this season. To get rid of all the small bones the fish is cut into three slices and salt added to the pickles mixture. When take out of the mixture, it is simmered in sweetened vinegar.


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Kuitsumi 喰積 (くいつみ)
juuzume 重詰（じゅうづめ）, juuzume ryoori 重詰料理（じゅうづめりょうり）
kumijuu 組重（くみじゅう）, kuitsugi 食継ぎ（くいつぎ）
o-tegake お手掛（おてかけ）
o-torizome お取初め（おとりぞめ）

Rice and food to be shared with visitors. Includes chestnuts, dried persimmons, soure oranges, konbu seaweed, popped rice and dried abalone. All this food represented auspicious symbols for the new year.


. . . Haiku with KUITSUMI


喰つみも子隅の春と成にけり
kuitsumi mo ko sumi no haru to nari ni keri

stockpiling rice
for Little New Year's...
little nook of spring

Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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Kuromame 黒豆　（くろまめ）black beans


mame also means diligent hardworking and healthy, so the beans are eaten with the wish to stay healthy and not experience any disaster in the coming year.

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Musubi konbu 結昆布 (むすびこんぶ)
finely cut kombu seaweed
musubi kobu 結びこぶ（むすびこぶ）
mutsumi konbu 睦み昆布（むつみこんぶ）
It is placed in the "Lucky Tea" and the zoni soup.
A play of words with yorokobu, to have pleasure.


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Noshi 熨斗 (のし) abalone decoration
long noshi, naganoshi 長熨斗（ながのし）
abalone noshi, noshi awabi 熨斗鮑（のしあわび）
打熨斗（うちのし）、
thin abalone, usu awabi 薄鮑（うすあわび）

A thin strip of dried abalone wrapped in folded red and white paper or served on a piece of green bamboo. It used to be eaten, but since the Edo period became a piece of decoration. Because the meat of the abalone tends to strech long, it is a symbol of the long and good human relations. Now even paper imitations of a noshi can be used.

Noshibukuro, envelop for presenting money


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Oobuku, oofuku　... 大服
New Year's Tea, Good Luck Tea (fukucha)


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Oshi ayu 押鮎 (おしあゆ) pressed sweetfish
The fish is salted and kept in a pot with a heavy stone on the lid for pressing.
This food was used for the ceremony of . . . "strengthening the teeth", hagatame . 歯固.
Because of its fast growth during just one year it is auspicious to eat it during the New Year days. It is a speciality of the Tosa area of Shikoku, but now eaten all over Japan.
It is also called "fish of one year", nengyo 年魚.
It is now the prefectural fish of Gunma.



押鮎や日に日に十句たまりゆく
oshi ayu ya hi ni hi ni tooku tamariyuku

pressed sweetfish -
every day, every day
10 more new haiku

Ozawa Katsumi 小澤克己

source : 　鮎 ..62句
Tr. Gabi Greve


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Ryoo no mono 料の物 (りょうのもの) two side dishes
..... 両の物（りょうのもの）
Beside the main tray with New Year food, there are two small dishes, one on each side, which contain some beans or other vegetables. This is an old custom of decoration from Kyoto.
Sometimes they are also placed on both sides of the zoni soup container.
Open soybeans, open burdock and fern are used most often for these dishes.


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Sainichi 斎日, さいにち Fasting day, sixteenth day

During the season of the New Year and O-Bon, on the sixteenth day,the memorial day of Enma, King of Hell, everyone took a day off and fasted. Servants and monks and sometimes even the prostitutes were sent home for a general holiday (yabu iri, yabu-iri 薮入), so the stores closed early and most people stayed at home with the family. Holidays like this for the servants were not common during the Edo period, where they had to work seven days a week the whole year.

. The First Lunar Month　一月 ichigatsu - in Edo .


けふこそは地獄の衆もお正月
kyoo koso wa jigoku no shuu mo o-shoogatsu

today even the
hordes of hell celebrate
the new year

Issa, 1820 (Tr. David Lanoue)

Haiga by Nakamura Sakuo

Sakuo san translates "jigoku no shuu" not as the demons, but the humans that had fallen to hell after death and are usually maybe eaten by the demons. These poor sould had a day off, since the demons and all else were on a fast.

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薮入の大輿の通りけり
yabuiri no oomikoshi no toori keri

Servants' Holiday--
the great festival shrine
passes by

Kobayashi Issa
(Tr. David Lanoue)

Read more
Emma (Enma ten, Enma Oo) 閻魔天、閻魔王)
The King of Hell and Haiku


.............................................................................


やぶ入やきのふ過たる山神楽
yabuiri ya kinoo sugitaru yama-kagura

home for a day --
the Hachiman shamans
danced yesterday

This hokku was written in Edo on 1/22 in 1804, so Issa is imagining, probably based on a memory or on something he has heard, a scene near Kyoto on 1/16. The 16th is the day when servants are allowed to return to their parents' houses to celebrate New Year's and when wives who live some distance from their natal homes return home for a day. Before Japan imported its lunar calendar from China, the day of the first full moon of the year, 1/15, may have been more important than 1/1, when the lunar year begins on the Chinese lunar calendar. By Issa's time, however, marriage had become patriarchal under warrior-class rule, and 1/1 was called Big New Year's and 1/15 was called Small New Year's. The latter was also called Women's New Year's, onago no shougatsu, and in rural areas women generally became a year older on 1/15, while men became a year older on 1/1. Both 1/15 and 7/15 were times when ceremonies were held to welcome back the spirits of the dead, and the return of wives and servants was originally for the purpose of greeting the spirits of their ancestors together with their families. On the other day of returning home, 7/16, people who went home were able to join in the ceremonies to greet their ancestors, since the large O-Bon Festival of Returning Souls was held from 7/14 to 7/16, but probably because there were two New Year's Days in the first month, Big and Small, those who returned to their hometowns on 1/16 were too late to join in the ceremonies for ancestors on 1/15. This is the situation Issa's hokku assumes.

Women from the villages around Kyoto were in great demand in the city, where they were hired as servants and maids and given lessons in "high" culture by aristocratic and merchant families, and the majority of returnees from Kyoto to the countryside around it were women, so I'll refer to the servant or wife who returns in Issa's hokku as "she." The woman's parents live a few miles south of Kyoto near Mount Otoko, literally Male Mountain. On that mountain was a very large and famous Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple complex (in Issa's time Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples were usually located next to each other and shared the power of the place), with the shrine being dedicated to Hachiman, the god-bodhisattva of shamanic flags, bows and arrows, and rice paddy fertility.

The shrine is called the Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine, and the woman's family probably made a pilgrimage up the mountain the day before and watched sacred kagura dancing by the shrine's female shamans, whose dance was believed to welcome back the returning souls of ancestors on 1/15. The woman's parents may also have prayed at a large bonfire on the night of 1/15 in which all the implements and decorations used at Big and Small New Year's were burned and thereby sent back to the other world. By the time the woman returns to her home on the 16th, the ceremonies and festivities have finished, and she is unable to greet her own ancestors' souls directly, when they descended to the shrine. All she can do is pray from a distance, after their souls have returned to the other world. She must be very glad to see her family, but she also feels a day late and a bit empty. If she is a returning wife, then on 1/15 she probably had to go with her husband to pray to her husband's ancestors, so the sense of returning late must make her return bittersweet.

Tr. and comment by Chris Drake
Translating Haiku Forum


. Kagura Dance - Sato Kagura 里神楽 of Shinto Shrines .


. Iwashimizu Hachimangu 石清水八幡宮.


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Shida ... 歯朶 しだ　 ... Fern　
Fern and the Seven Herbs of Spring

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suwaridai, suwari dai 据り鯛 (すわりだい) "seated sea bream"座り鯛／据わり鯛
Four grilled sea breams are put on a plate with the heads and tails up.
This kind of decoration is also used for other celebrations.



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Toso iwau 屠蘇祝う（とそいわう）
celebrating with spiced ricewine
spiced ricewine tosozake 屠蘇酒（とそざけ）
bag to prepare this, tosobukuro 屠蘇袋（とそぶくろ）
spices for toso, toso san 屠蘇散（とそさん）、
life-prolonging spices for toso, toso enmeisan
屠蘇延命散（とそえんめいさん）
nenshu, ricewine of the year 年酒
... toshizake としざけ
nenshi zake 年始酒（ねんしざけ）
nenshu iwau 年酒祝う（ねんしゅいわう）


A sip of this mulled wine will bring long life!
It contains the extract of various spices and herbs.
The toso spices mixture originated as a prescription of the famous Chinese physician Hua Tuo in the period of the Three Kingdoms.
It contains Japanese pepper, rhubarb, Chinese bellflower, Radix asiasari, Apiaceae or Umbelliferae, cinnamon powder, dried ginger, Atractylodes Japonica and a few others.


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Zoni... 雑煮　(ぞうに) New Year Soup
Mixed vegetable soup for the new year is eaten on January first in the morning, usually after the first shrine visit and prepared with the first well water (wakamizu, see below) .
In Western Japan, it is the custom to add a lot of yellowtail (buri) to the broth of vegetables. The soup is seasoned with white miso and the mochi are round.
In Kanto the soup is prepared with soy sauce and the mochi are square.

People greet each other on the first of January:
What did you eat in your zooni?
After that, no hot food was eaten until January 4, to give the housewive and the kitchen and hearth deities a short holiday.

Every family has its own recipe of how to prepare it, handed down from mother to daughter as the "taste of mother".

zooni iwau ... 雑煮祝う To celebrate with zoni New Year Soup
and more ZONI KIGO.


First Water, "young water" (wakamizu) Japan.
Including more kigo of this water-drawing ceremony.


mochinashi zooni 餅なし雑煮
new year zoni soup without mochi
from the Iya valley, Tokushima. With ishidoofu 石豆腐 "stone tofu".


gomadare zooni 雑煮　胡麻ダレ zonimochi with walnut sauce
from Iwate, where the mochi are dipped in a thick sauce of ground walnuts and miso paste.



insutanto zooni インスタント雑煮 ready-made zoni soup
from various regions of Japan, you only have to poor some hot water on the mix in the plastic pot.
The perfect treat for a lonely-living person in our modern world.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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otoso Seasoned rice wine, kind of herbal medicine



Other dishes not KIGO

baigai バイガイ, ばい貝, 梅貝 small water snails
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
A play of words with BAI, to come back to you manifold. 福が倍にくる
a speciality of the Noto peninsula and Sea of Japan coast. They are prepared as sashimi, sushi or tsukudani broiled in soy sauce. They taste rather sweet.
Children used the empty shells to play with.
Die ostasiatische Meeresschnecke (baigai) ist in gesüßter Sojasauce gekocht eine besondere Delikatesse. Die armen Bauern der Edo-Zeit verwendeten stattdessen Teichschnecken aus den Reisfeldern. Die Schneckenhäuser dienten den Kindern als Kreisel für die Neujahrsspiele.


Chikuzen-ni 筑前煮 "boiled vegetables from Chikuzen area.
Gameni mixed vegetables and chicken. Fukuoka


datemaki 伊達巻　(だてまき) sweet rolled omelette
It reminds us of the daimyo Date Masamune, who always wore a gaudy outfit. So we can wear it at least once a year. and MAKI is maku, rolling in new culture and education for the future, also becoming more intelligent in aquiring such education.


hinode ebi, hinodeebi,hinode-ebi 日の出海老
"prawns for the first sunrise" boiled



kachiguri 搗ち栗／勝ち栗 dried chestnuts
A pun on the word katsu 勝, to win. These dishes were also served when a samurai returned home victoriously.



kurikinton, kuri kinton くりきんとん　栗きんとん, 栗金団 sweet potatoes and chestnuts mashed
Brings wealth for the coming year. The yellow color reminds us of golden pieces of money (koban).
KURI can change bad luck into good one. (hikkuri-kaesu)
KIN 金 implies money.


kuwai 慈姑 (くわい) arrowhead
Sagittaria trifolia. Pfeilkraut
Since its buds sprout quite visible, it is an auspicious food for "me ga deru", to have good luch (eyes coming out). It can be cut with six corners to resemble a little bell.
arrowhead, kigo for early spring
Suita kuwai 吹田くわい arrowhead from Suita town, OsakaKuwai Zooni くわい雑煮



namasu なます　vinegared vegetable dish
to keep for many days
usually koohaku namasu 紅白なます in the auspicious colors red and white.
made from radish and carrots
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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red and white auspicious renkon dish

renkon 蓮根 レンコン lotus roots
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Lotoswurzeln
It is an auspicious food,since you can see through the holes of the root "into the future", saki ga mitooseru　先が見通せる, mitooshi ga kiku 見通しがきく, which is lucky. Therefore lotus dishes are always prepared for auspicious situations, festivals and the New Year food.
Lotus roots as food


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tazukuri たずくり young dried sardines (gomame) with seasoning
Wish for a good harvest.
Seasoned with sake, mirin and white sesame seeds.



uchiawabi, uchi awabi 打ち鮑 flattened abalone
auspicious pun about striking an enemy down (utsu 打つ).
These dishes were also served when a samurai returned home victoriously.



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yanagibashi やなぎばし chopsticks made from willowtree wood
The middle part is thickest. To use them for eating brings good fortune to the kids and grandkids and more descendants.
. Chopsticks as KIGO for the New Year 　



yatsugashira ヤツガシラ / 八つ頭 "eight eight heads"
satoimo サトイ モ Taro as kigo
Just as this parent potato has many child potatoes (sprouts), we eat it with the wish for many children and further generations.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



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Worldwide use

China

Chinese New Year's rice cake (Chinese: Nian gao 年糕)
is a special kind of cake made of stick rice. Eating nian gao symbolizes elevating oneself higher in each coming year.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


passing Chinatown...
the scent of nian gao wafts
my way home

Chen-ou Liu, Canada


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


皺面にとそぬり付るわらひ哉
shiwazura ni toso nuritsukeru warai kana

he smears New Year's sake
all over his wrinkled face ...
what a laugh

Kobayashi Issa, 1821


*****************************
Related words


***** Pounding Rice (mochi tsuki) for the New Year Mochi


***** The New Year and its Kigo (shin nen)
essen zum Neuen Jahr


SAIJIKI of Buddhist, Shinto and other Ceremonies and Events of Japan



BACK TO
*********** SPRING FOOD

BACK TO
*********** WINTER FOOD


. WASHOKU
New Year Food and Decorations


MORE DISHES

WASHOKU :
YASAI . Vegetable SAIJIKI

WASHOKU :
FISH and SEAFOOD SAIJIKI



WKD : SAIJIKI New Year 　


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REGIONAL DISHES LIST

[ . BACK to TOP . ]

Use SEARCH BLOG in the top left corner to find your keyword.
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REGIONAL DISHES

local dishes, regional specialities ...
kyodo ryori, kyoodo ryoori 郷土料理

lokale Küche, Küche der Heimat
from all prefectures of Japan


Here I will list some typical dishes of each area, trying to find a haiku as we go along.
Travel from the North to the South of Japan, and through the seasons !

Most prefectures have antenna shops in Tokyo, where you can sample regional specialities.


LINKS only to this BLOG

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Check the local dishes HERE!

HOKKAIDO 北海道 [ 道北 道東 道央 道南 ]


Ainu Food ... アイヌ料理


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TOHOKU 東北 [ 青森 岩手 宮城 秋田 山形 福島 ]


AKITA
WASHOKU : Kiritanpo (kiritampo) きりたんぽ skewers of mashed rice
しょっつる鍋 shotsuru nabe, shottsuru nabe
made with fermented sauce of hatahata fish
はたはたずし hatahata sushi
じゅんさい junsai vegetables
rolled yellowtail, makiburi 巻鰤（まきぶり）
toofu kasutera 豆腐カステラ Castella cake with tofu instead of flower.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
speciality of Noto peninsula
とんぶり, tonburi seeds from the summer cypress Kochia scoparia
matsukawa mochi 松皮餅（まつかわもち）"mochi from pine bark"
Akita miso
MORE dishes from Akita



AOMORI
いちご煮 ichigoni, soup with uni and awabi
たらのじゃっぱ汁 tara no jappa jiru, soup with cod
八戸するめ Hachinohe surume, dried cuttlefish from Hachinohe
りんご apples
MORE
famous dishes from Aomori



FUKUSHIMA
さんしょううおのくんせい sanshoo-uo no kunsei, smoked salamander
komugi manjuu 小麦まんじゅう manjuu cakes from wheat flour
kozuyu こづゆお椀 from Aizu Wakamatsu 会津
MORE
Dishes from Fukushima



IWATE
わんこそば Wankosoba, Morioka, noodles
南部鼻曲がり Nambu hanamagari, dried salmon
松藻 matsumo, kind of hornwort
Nanbu senbei, Nambu senbei, Nambu Sembei 南部せんべい waffles from Morioka
More dishes from Iwate and Morioka



MIYAGI
ほやの酢の物 hoya no su no mono, vinegared sea cucumber
笹かまぼこ sasa kamaboko, boiled fish paste in sasa leaves form sasakamaboko
塩釜 shiogama, salt from Shiogama
Sendai Miso
MORE
famous dishes from Miyagi and Sendai and Kesennuma


YAMAGATA
いもっこ汁　 imokko jiru, soup with sato-imo poatotes RP
imoni, imo-ni 芋煮 boiled sweet potatoes in large pots
dongarajiru 寒鱈汁（どんがら汁）
さくらんぼ sakuranbo, cherries
Minden Nasu 民田なす Eggplant from Yamagata
modatsu もだつ kind of mushroom
Dadacha mame, dadachamame だだちゃ豆 Edamame from Yamagata
米沢こい Yonezawa koi, carp from Yonezawa
Yonezawa gyuu, beef from Yonezawa
MORE
Dishes from Yamagata



memo
"Hokki Ichigoni", "Hokki-shell Soup", and "Mashed Sardines"
Peppers Pickles Misawa Town
Nanbu-Miso
Long taros harvested in Misawa
Misawakko sweet cakes
"Ichigo-ni" literally means "boiled strawberries". Hachinohe
sweet chrysanthemum petals for food
Hachinohe: "Ika-Sommon," "Shio-kara," "Ichiya-boshi,"
Preserved Pond Smelt from Towada



Sweets from Tohoku 東北の甘いもの


. Tohoku after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011　.


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KANTO 関東
[ 東京 神奈川 埼玉 千葉 茨城 栃木 群馬 山梨 ]


Sweets from the KANTO region


CHIBA
なめろう・さんが nameroo, sanga, kind of chopped fish
かわはぎ kawahagi, filefish; a leatherfish; Stephanolepis cirrhifer
落花生 rakkasei, peanuts
imo yookan, imo yokan　芋洋館 from sweet potatoes
Rape blossom dishes (nanohana, na no hana)
shungkiku 春菊 (しゅんぎく )garland chrysanthemum
MORE
Dishes from Chiba


GUNMA, GUMMA
刺身こんにやく　sashimi konyaku, raw konyaku slices
キャベツ　kyabetsu, cabbage　　　
Okirikomi, okkirikomi おきりこみ, おっきりこみ
下仁田ねぎ Shimonita negi, leek
MORE
Dishes from Gunma


IBARAKI / IBARAGI
ankoo あんこうのとも酢 . 鍋　. どぶ汁　 ankoo nabe, dobujiru and more anglerfish specialities
水戸納豆 Mito no natto
わかさぎ wakasagi, pond smelt
かんぴょうの立田揚げ kanpyoo, dried gourd shavings, special preparation
しもつかれ imotsukare, PHOTO and recipe
いちご ichigo, strawberries
かんぴょう kanpyoo, dried gourd shavings
shungkiku 春菊 (しゅんぎく)garland chrysanthemum
MORE
Dishes from Ibaraki



KANAGAWA
ねぎま汁 negimajiru, soup with leek
小田原かまぽこ Odawara kamaboko
小梅干し ko-umeboshi, small dried apricots/plums
... Enoshima Tsuboyakikigo
MORE
Dishes from Kanagawa 神奈川　郷土料理



SAITAMA
gokaboo 五家宝 kind of sweet (see sweets link above)
kikuimo, kiku-imo キクイモ　菊芋　"chrysanthemum potato"
Soka senbei, Sooka senbei 草加せんべい
MORE
Dishes from Saitama 埼玉郷土料理



TOCHIGI
moro モロ slices of shark. nezumi same
Shark 鮫 (さめ) same Haifisch
Ootsuka soosu 大塚ソース Sauce from Otsuka company, for yakisoba and many other dishes, made in Utsunomiya town
gyooza 餃子, Utsunomiya gyooza
shimotsukare しもつかれ Shimotsuke Family Dish
MORE
Dishes from Tochigi 栃木の郷土料理



TOKYO
うなぎのかば焼き unagi no kabayaki, eel on skewers
江戸前ずし Edomae zushi
天ぷら Tempura
柳川鍋 yanagikawa nabe
くさや kusaya, "smelly one", dried horse mackerel (which has a very strong smell)
つくだ煮 tsukudani, simmered food in the style of Tsukuda Island
七色唐辛子 ground mixture of red pepper and aromatic spices
べったら漬け bettarazuke, radish pickles
Senjunegi, Senju negi 千住葱 leek from Senju, Tokyo
MORE
Dishes from Tokyo



Fujisan 富士山 and food specialities from Mount Fuji


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Beginning of Chubu, Chuubu Chihoo 中部地方




SHINETSU 信越 [ 新潟 長野 ]

NAGANO
こいの洗い koi no arai, carp
ハチの子，ザザムシ hachi no ko, zazamushi, bee larvae
そばがき sobagaki, soba dumplings
五平餅 gohei mochi, rice dumplings with miso
のざわな漬け Nozawana zuke, pickles of nozawa leaves
Rokuben, Bento for a kabuki performance ろくべん, 大鹿歌舞伎 Nagano.
Horse meat, baniku (ばにく/ 馬肉) basashi, sakuranabe
MORE
Dishes from Nagano / shio no michi, the Salt Road



NIIGATA
のっぺ汁 , noppejiru, vegetable stew
Sasadango 笹団子 (ささだんご)
わっぱ煮 wappani, food prepared in a wooden wappa container
いごねり igoneri, seaweed food, Sado Island
たらの親子漬け tara no oyako zuke, cod roe pickles
MORE
Dishes from Niigata 新潟郷土料理


Shinshuu Soba, Shinshu Soba 信州蕎麦


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HOKURIKU 北陸 [ 富山 石川 福井 ]

FUKUI
今庄干しがき Imajoo hoshigaki, dried oysters from Imajo
ゆでがに yudegani, boiled crabs, Echizengani, Echizen Kani
へしこ heshiko, pickled saba mackerel for one year
MORE
Dishes from Fukui


ISHIKAWA
じぶ煮 jibuni, stewed duck with vegetables and more specialities
ごりの唐揚げ gori no kara-age, deep-fried gori fish
..... gorijiru is Summer Kigoカブラずし kaburazushi, turnip sushi
たいの唐蒸し tai no karamushi, steamed sea bream with vegetables
(jap. wiki)
あまえび　amaebi, sweet small shrimp
くちこ kuchiko, the roe of namako, dried in triangular shape, bachiko (eaten by Rosanjin)
konowata (is CHINMI and kigo for winter)
MORE
Dishes from Ishikawa


TOYAMA
いかの黒作り ika no kurozukuri, squid with black
越中ばいがい Etchuu baigai, bai-shells. (Balylonia japonica)
ほたるいか hotaruika, hotaru squid (Akaika (Ommastrephes bartramii))
MORE
Dishes from Toyama


YAMANASHI
MORE
Dishes from Yamanashi 山梨郷土料理


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TOKAI 東海 [ 愛知 岐阜 静岡 三重 ]

AICHI
かしわの水炊き kashiwa no mizutaki
chicken and vegetables cooked in a pot at the table and eaten after being dipped in a sauce
miso of variuos kinds
きしめん kishimen, kishimen noodles
このわた konowata, dried roe of fish
MORE
Dishes from Aichi 愛知郷土料理


GIFU
富有がき fuyuu gaki, pregnant oysters
あゆの塩焼き ayu no shioyaki, grilled ayu fish and other sweetfish dishes
朴葉（ほおば）みそ hooba miso, with hooba leaves
tamari miso
MORE
Dishes from Gifu 岐阜の郷土料理



SHIZUOKA
しらすタタミ shirasu tatami, small fish spread
麦とろ mugitoro, creamy wheat sauce for topping
静岡茶 Shizuoka cha, tea from Shizuoka
わさび漬け wasbizuke, wasabi pickles spring kigo
MORE
Dishes from Shizuoka



... End of Chubu ...

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KINKI / KANSAI 近畿 [ 大阪 兵庫 京都 滋賀 奈良 和歌山 ]

HYOGO Kobe, Himeji
たこの直煮（じかに） tako no mani, jikani, boiled squid
赤穂の塩 Akoo no shio, salt from Akoo
Akashiyaki 明石焼, Takoyaki from Akashi
MORE
Dishes from Hyogo



KYOTO, Kyooto
Kyoyasai, kyooyasai 京野菜 vegetables from Kyoto
京懐石 Kyoo kaiseki, Kaiseki from Kyoto
湯葉 yuba soy milk skin
Uji-Cha 宇治茶 tea from Uji
Hamo no kawa 鱧の皮 (はものかわ)
skin of the conger pike; pike eel
MORE
Dishes from Kyoto



MIE
てこねずし/ てこね寿司 tekonezushi, fish zushi mixed with the hands
牛肉の網焼き gyuuniku no amiyaki, grilled beef on the net (Matsuzaka beef)
Matsuzaka beef
時雨はまぐり, 時雨蛤 shigure hamaguri, clamshells
tamari miso
Ise udon 伊勢うどん at Ise Shrine 伊勢神宮
fukuhiki senbei 福引煎餅 large threeangular senbei for setsubun, with talismans inside. you have to smash them and eat the crumbs.
MORE
Dishes from Mie prefecture



OSAKA
魚すき sakana suki, fish hodgepodge
お好み焼き・たこ焼き okonomiyaki, takoyaki, omelett or shid balls
船場汁 senbajiru, soup at the harbour
あわおこし awa okoshi, sweet from Osaka
塩こんぶ shio konbu, salted konbu seaweed
ばってら hattera, kind of saba makerel sushi
Kushiage, kushi-age 串揚げ deep-fried food pieces on bamboo skewers
shungkiku 春菊 (しゅんぎく )garland chrysanthemum
Osaka no kuidaoreEat until you are broke
unagizushi 鰻寿司 unagi eel on sushi rice (not common elswhere)
MORE
Dishes from Osaka (Naniwa)


NARA
かきの葉ずし kaki no hazushi, sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves
茶がゆ・茶飯 chagayu, chahan, rice gruel with tea
奈良漬け Narazuke, pickled vegetables
三輪そうめん Miwa soomen, thin noodles from Miwa
MORE
Dishes from Nara Prefecture


SHIGA
かもすき kamosuki, duck pot
ふなずし bunazushi, funazushi, crucian carp sushi
げんごろうぶな gengoroo buna, crucian carp pickled
丁稚（でっち）ようかん detchi yookan, sweet bean jelly
MORE
Dishes from Shiga Prefecture


WAKAYAMAKishu, Kishuu
紀州たかな・めはりずし Kishuu takana, mebarizushi, fish sushi
すずめずし suzumezushi, suzume fish sushi
なれずし narezushi, fermented sushi
紀州みかん 蜜柑 Kishuu mikan, mandarins from Kishuu
高野豆腐 Kooya doofu, dried tofu from Mount Koya, kigo for late winter
Kishu no Umeboshi
whale meat from Taji
MORE
Dishes from Wakayama


KANSAI
Kansai Specialities

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CHUGOKU CHIHO 中国 [鳥取 島根 岡山 広島 山口 ]

HIROSHIMA
かきの土手鍋 kaki no dote nabe, oyster hodgepodge
わにの刺身, 鮫 wani no sashimi, shark sashimi
Shark 鮫 (さめ) same Haifisch
かき oysters
小いわし ko iwashi, small sardines
MORE
Dishes from Hiroshima


OKAYAMA
chirashizushi
ままかりの酢漬け　　mamakari suzuke,
mamakari fish pickled in vinegar
しらうお shirauo, whitefish
momo ... peaches and Peach Boy Festival
Momotaro Nabe ... Peach Boy Hodgepodge
pione grapes
tobiuo, flying fish
MORE
Dishes from Okayama 岡山




SHIMANE
some are similar to TOTTORI.
Izumo Soba
Imoni 芋煮 boiled sweet potatoes
Uzume sushi うずめ寿司
Gojiru 呉汁
Sasamaki 笹巻き
Shijimijiru しじみ汁
Tonbarazuke とんばら漬け
MORE
Shimane dishes



TOTTORI
ののこ , ののこ飯 nonoko, a type of Inari zushi
Inari Sushi (inarizushi いなり寿司)
あごちくわ, とうふ竹輪 ago chikuwa, tofu chikuwa
すずきの奉書焼き susuki no hoosho yaki, susuki fish wrapped in washi paper and fried
めのは飯 menoha meshi, rice with vegetables
津田かぶ tsuda kabu, turnips from Tsuta
Izumo Soba, Shimane Wariko Soba 割子そば（わりごそば）and more Izumo specialities
Kuromame, black beans, schwarze Bohnen
Rakkyo 、rakkyoo 辣韮 pickled shallots
MORE
Tottori dishes 鳥取



YAMAGUCHI
いとこ煮 itokoni, boiled pumpkin with red beans
岩国ずし Iwakuni zushi, sushi from Iwami
ちしゃなます chisha namasu
いりこ iriko, small dried fish, used to make dashi
うに uni, sea-urchin eggs
Fugu from Shimonoseki, pufferfish
MORE
Yamaguchi dishes 山口
external link : 山口名物



Setonaikai、瀬戸内海 from the the Inland See

tai 鯛　たい sea bream is best here.

akauni, aka-uni 赤海栗　red sea urchin
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Hakata no shio raamen 伯方の塩ラーメン salt ramen from Hakata, a small island famous for salt making.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Murakami Suigun Nabe 村上水軍鍋　Hodgepodge with seafod and one whole tako octopus
on Oshima Island.
tako octopus is also boiled like "cherry blossoms", tako no sakurani, sakura-ni 蛸の桜煮
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Western Japan 西日本 Nishi Nihon
Sweets from Western Japan


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SHIKOKU 四国 [ 徳島 香川 愛媛 高知 ]

EHIME
いずみや , 泉屋 izumiya, small fish in vinegar
ふくめん fukumen, noodle soup from Uwajima 宇和島
五色そうめん・たいめん goshiki soomen, taimen, noodles
いもたき　芋炊き boiled satoimo potatoes (different from Yamagata)
伯方の塩 salt from Hakata, salt icecream
タルト taruto, roll cake
World Tasty Museum 世界食文化博物館, Imabari
MORE
Dishes from Ehime



KAGAWA
MORE Kagawa Dishes
Oiri, yomeiri おいり　嫁入り　sweets for the bride Marugame, Sanuki


KOCHI (Koochi)
Sawachi ryoori 皿鉢料理 Sawachi cuisine, celebration food
katsuo no tataki かつおのたたき chopped katsuo tuna fish
かつお節 katsuobushi, bonito shavings
Tosa no Inakazushi (inaka sushi) 土佐の田舎寿司 sushi from the countryside of Tosa
MORE dishes from Kochi
Nasu 茄子 (なす), eggplant, aubergine


TOKUSHIMA
そば米雑炊 sobagome zoosui, porridge with buckwheat and rice
でこまわし dekomawashi, grilled on open fire, like potatoes and fish on a stick
すだち sudachi, type of citron fruit
鳴門わかめ Naruto wakame, seaweed from Naruto
MORE
Dishes from Tokushima



Settai, O-Settai ... Giving Alms to Henro Pilgrims
satsuma imo tempura 芋天ぷら in Tosa

Shikoku Sweets 四国スイーツ　Sweets from Shikoku


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KYUSHU Kyuushuu 九州
[ 福岡 佐賀 長崎 熊本 大分 宮崎 鹿児島 ]

FUKUOKA
あぶってかも abuttekamo, cooked susuki fish type
Gameni がめ煮 mixed boiled vegetables and chicken meat
博多水炊き Hakata mizutaki, chicken and vegetables cooked in a pot at the table and eaten after being dipped in a sauce
ふぐ刺し fugu sashi, fugu puffer fish
明太子（めんたいこ） mentaiko, roe of tara fish
八女茶 yamecha, green tea
Nasu 茄子 (なす), eggplant, aubergine
MORE
Dishes from Fukuoka and Hakata


KAGOSHIMA (former Satsuma)
酒ずし sakezushi, sushi
薩摩汁 satsumajiru, soup
豚骨 butabone, pig bones, kurobuta black pork
Shoochuu 焼酎 (しょうちゅう)
Shochu, strong distilled liquor, Schnaps
Satsuma-age さつま揚げ fried fish cake from Satsuma
Satsumazuke さつま漬け pickles from Satsuma
MORE
Dishes from Kagoshima / Satsuma




KUMAMOTO
いきなりだご ikinaridago, ikinari dango ... dumplings
肥後田楽 Higo dengaku,
ひともじのぐるぐる hitomoja no guruguru, pickles
辛子れんこん karashi renkon, lotus roots with mustard
朝鮮飴 choosen ame, Korean sweets
Higo zuiki 肥後ずいき dried taro root
Taipiien 太平燕（たいぴーえん）harusame noodle soup
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Nasu 茄子 (なす), eggplant, aubergine
kabosu　カボス citrus fruit
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Dishes from Kumamoto



MIYAZAKI, MIYASAKI
しいたけ飯 shiitake meshi, rice with shiitake mushrooms
冷や汁 hiyajiru, cold soup
サボテン漬け sabotenzuke, pickled cactus
日向かぽちゃhinata kabocha, pumpkin
Shoochuu 焼酎 (しょうちゅう) Shochu, strong distilled liquor, Schnaps
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Dishes from Miyazaki 宮崎料理



NAGASAKI
具雑煮 kai zooni, mixed boil of shells
卓袱（しっぽく）料理 shipoku ryoori, Shippoku dishes
チャンポン chanpon, mixed noodle soup
カステラ kasutera, castella sponge cake
からすみ karasumi, dried mullet roe ... chinmi
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Dishes from Nagasaki 長崎郷土料理　


OITA . ooita
だんご汁 dangojiru, soup with dumplings
頭（びんた）料理 binta ryoori, katsuo fish meal
やせうま yaseuma, "thin horse" wheat noodles and more specialities
かぼす kabosu, kind of sour mandarin
kabusu juice in ramen soup / kabosu aisu カボスアイス icecream
toriten 鳥天 tori tenpura
(different from karaage kara-age) chicken tempura / toriten raamen, toriten karee
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Dishes from Oita


SAGA 佐賀県
がん漬け ganzuke, pickles
松浦漬け Matsu-ura zuke, pickles from Matsuura
むつごろう mutsugoroo, haze-type mudskipper of the wetlands
dabu だぶ food for communal festivities
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Dishes from Saga : Arita, Karatsu, Imari, Ariake sea


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沖縄 [ 沖縄 ] OKINAWA FOOD

さつま揚げ satsuma age, fried sweet potatoes
さつま漬け satsuma zuke, pickles
沖縄そば Okinawa soba, noodle soup
チャンプルー chanpuru, soup
ラフテー fafutee, quare boiled pig meat, buta no kakuni
黒糖 kurosato, black sugar
地豆豆腐 "jiimamidoofu" jimame toofu, tofu from local beans, meaning peanuts.
inoshishi sashimi ... wild boar meat from Yanbaru
awamori schnaps


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Okinawa Ryori (Okinawa Ryoori) 沖縄料理



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Related words

***** Ekiben 駅弁 Train station lunch boxes
with local specialities


***** WASHOKU : FISH and SEAFOOD SAIJIKI


***** Hakubutsukan, 食文化博物館 　 Food Museums and Theme Parks



TOP
***** WASHOKU Regional Dishes from Hokkaido to Okinawa

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