Japanese Food Tips

In Japan, there is a custom called Tango-no-Sekku (Children's Day, now known as Kodomono no Hi) that has continued for more than 1,000 years, in which various events are held every year on May 5th to pray for the healthy growth of boys. By the way, Girls' Day (or Doll’s Day) is on a different day every year, March 3, and is known as Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Festival). Chimaki and kashiwa mochi are special sweets eaten on Tango-no-Sekku. The original Chimaki came from China in the Nara period (710-794) and spread throughout the Kinki region (including the capital Nara, Kyoto, Osaka and so on.) Chimaki is a cone-shaped sweet dumpling made from glutinous rice or normal rice, wrapped in bamboo leaves, and the dumplings are usually white. Kashiwa mochi is unique to Japan and apparently appeared around 1624-1644 during the Edo period. Kashiwa Mochi is a flat round dumpling, made from normal rice, with anko (sweetened red bean paste) folded in half and wrapped in oak leaf, or is a round dumpling filled with anko and wrapped in an oak leaf. Chimaki and Kashiwa Mochi are sold at Japanese sweets shops, department stores, and supermarkets from late April to May 5th. If you are in Japan at that time, you can try some of those sweets if you like.