April 2024

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[Toman Buns Sold at Fujiya]

There is a bun called "Toman" sold at "Fujiya," a long-established confectionery store that has been loved by Sapporo residents for more than 70 years. Sapporo has many nationally known sweets as souvenirs, and although they are not fancy, they are gentle and nostalgic sweets that you would like to eat at a moment's notice.

Toman is similar to the sweets called oyaki, imagawayaki, and obanyaki, and is made of sponge cake dough made of flour, sugar, and eggs, baked in a round mold, and filled with white bean paste. The inside is filled with white bean paste. The sweetness is just right, and the white bean paste inside is light, making it a widely favored flavor. The size is smaller than oyaki and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. It is a little big to eat in one bite, but it is big enough to be eaten in two or three bites. It is just right for eating one or two as a tea snack, and is also recommended as a snack for children.

It is said that the origin of toman is a baked sweet called "tomanju," which is made by baking sponge cake dough with red bean paste. Similar buns such as ningyoyaki and momiji manju are found throughout Japan, but buns named "tomanju" are made in Uwajima City in Ehime Prefecture and Sera Town in Hiroshima Prefecture exactly as they are! Ehime's buns are said to have originated in Nagasaki during the Edo period (1603-1867) when they were introduced by the Dutch. They are flat and thicker than rice crackers, made of flour and starch syrup, and filled with yuzu (citron) or brown sugar bean paste. The Hiroshima version is also a hard-baked sweet with white bean paste inside the dough without eggs, and is said to have been introduced to Japan by Kobo Daishi, a Buddhist monk, from the dango buns of Tang China.

It is said that many other places in Japan have similar buns called by different names, and although the origin of Sapporo's toman could not be clearly traced, it seems certain that this traditional bun is widely loved by the Japanese people.

Toman Fujiya
https://maps.app.goo.gl/dB7dvTdZKDWr6dNX8
Otaru Showroom
https://www.shokunin.com/en/showroom/otaru.html

References
https://sweetsvillage.com/blog/taiyaki/touman/
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%94%90%E9%A5%85%E9%A0%AD

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[Oita Prefecture's Chicken Rice]

Oita Prefecture purchases the largest amount of chicken meat per household per year in Japan. Chicken is used in a wide variety of dishes, including fried chicken, toriten (chicken tempura), and chicken soup. There are various recipes depending on the region and the household, and chicken rice is an indispensable dish for events where relatives gather and for special occasions. It is also popular in school lunches. It is said that the origin of this dish is that it was made from pheasant, pigeon, and other poultry meat by hunters to entertain their guests.

There are two main ways to make it: one is to cook the ingredients with soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings first, and then mix them into the cooked rice; the other is to cook the rice and ingredients together from the beginning. This time, I made it the way I found it on Instagram, by mixing the ingredients into the cooked rice. To two cups of shiny rice cooked in a Suzuki's Hagama Rice Pot, add stir-fried chicken thighs and burdock root cooked in a mixture of sake, soy sauce, and sugar, mix well, and voila! Stir-frying brings out the umami flavor of the chicken thighs and burdock root, giving the dish a robust and satisfying taste. If you use Yamaichi's Triangular Onigiri Mold to make small onigiri, they are perfect for bento lunches or for snacking when you are feeling a little hungry.

With the weather getting warmer, we are hearing talk of Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) from all over the Japanese archipelago. Why not pack Oita Prefecture's chicken rice balls for your hanami bento this year?

Suzuki's Hagama Rice Pot
https://www.shokunin.com/en/suzuki/
Hakusan Porcelain's Hirachawan
https://www.shokunin.com/en/hakusan/hirachawan.html
Yamaichi's Triangular Onigiri Mold
https://www.shokunin.com/en/yamaichi/onigiri.html
Matsuya Shikkiten's Shirakinuri Lunch Box
https://www.shokunin.com/en/matsuya/

References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E9%87%8E%E9%B6%8F%E3%82%81%E3%81%97
https://www.maff.go.jp/j/keikaku/syokubunka/k_ryouri/search_menu/menu/torimeshi_oita.html
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cq4VBl9vyzV/ (recipe)

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[Kutaniyaki]

Kutaniyaki (Kutani ware) is one of Japan's representative colored porcelains. When I visited the area where Kutaniyaki is produced, I was often impressed by the bold and gorgeous overglaze enameled in unique colors such as green, purple, and yellow, which is typical of Kutaniyaki.

Kutaniyaki was born in Kutani Village, Enuma County, Kaga Province, now Yamanaka Town, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and is said to have been produced around 1665, when the Daishoji Clan discovered pottery stones used to make porcelain in Kutani Village during the development of a mine in their domain. Kutani ware produced during this period in the early Edo period is called "Ko-Kutani." However, for reasons that are still unclear, production of Ko-Kutani was discontinued only about 50 years after the kiln was opened.

For about 100 years after the kiln was closed, Kutaniyaki remained in a state of limbo, and Japanese pottery was dominated by Imariyaki. However, the success of the porcelain industry in Seto in the late Edo period led the Kaga Clan to invite Aoki Mokubei from Kyoto to open the Kasuga-yama Kiln in Kanazawa in 1806 (Bunka 3). Beginning with this, numerous kilns such as the Wakasugi Kiln and the Yoshidaya Kiln were established throughout the Kaga region, and Kutaniyaki underwent a revival. The products of these kilns are referred to as "Re-recreated Kutaniyaki." All of these kilns produced everyday items with the aim of becoming more industry-oriented, and the distinctive styles of each kiln are the origin of today's Kutaniyaki.

Kutaniyaki is known for its overglaze enamel. Uezashi refers to the technique of painting patterns with pigments on the glaze of ceramics after firing and re-firing and is widely used in Kutaniyaki and Aritayaki. The painting styles of Kutaniyaki include "Gosai-te" (commonly known as "Kutani Gosai"), in which five colors (red, yellow, green, purple, and navy blue) are used to draw picturesque and realistic patterns; "Aote", in which green, yellow, purple, and navy blue are used and the entire vessel is covered with colored pigments as in "Nuriume"; "Akae (Kinran)", in which red and gold are used to draw fine patterns (called "Hosogaki") on the entire vessel.

During my visit to several kilns, I felt that the industrial nature of Kutaniyaki and the detailed painting by craftsmen are major characteristics of Kutaniyaki, based on its production volume and production methods, but as mentioned above, each kiln has its own style of painting. I visited the "Kutaniyaki Art Museum" and "Kutanimangetsu" where you can see many Kutaniyaki works at once, so please compare works from different kilns and trace the roots and history of Kutaniyaki.

Kutaniyaki Art Museum
http://www.kutani-mus.jp/en/
Kutani Mangetsu
https://www.mangetsu.co.jp/history.html

References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%9D%E8%B0%B7%E7%84%BC
https://nanao-araki.com/traditional_craft/kutani.html