Hanami and Sakura-mochi
As spring slowly arrives, each year I realize the particular feelings I have connected to cherry blossoms may well be the same as many other Japanese.
If you have the chance to spend March and early April in Japan, you will notice that people get excited with the annual announcement of the “cherry blossom forecast” by the Meteorological Agency. After this announcement has been made, many people can be seen busily planning “hanami,” (cherry blossom viewing). They check weather forecasts carefully, coordinate schedules with their family, friends or colleagues, and fix dates and places for the anticipated event. It seems that Japanese people cannot fully enjoy spring without hanami, and they cannot imagine a spring season without cherry blossoms.
The traditional Japanese event of hanami started back in the eighth century. Initially, it was more of an upper class form of spring leisure, in line with the composing of poems or even dancing under the cherry blossoms. In modern Japan, hanami mainly indicates a time of eating and drinking under the cherry blossoms. This practice is said to have spread in popularity among the working class folk during the 17th century.
“Nowadays, as the cherry blossoms just start to bloom, is the busiest season in our shop as many cherry blossoms viewers drop by” says an employee of “Chomeiji Sakura-mochi Yamamoto-ya,” a traditional Japanese confectionary shop close to the Sumida River in Tokyo.
The banks of the Sumida River have been one of the most famous cherry blossoms sites in Japan for hundreds of years and it was in 1717 that the founder of the shop first produced “sakura-mochi,” a Japanese sweet containing bean paste and wrapped in salted cherry leaves. The sweet became popular with people who visited the banks for hanami viewing. What impresses us most is the fact that this sweet has been favored by so many people as a symbolic taste of the spring for almost three centuries.
From February to April, Japanese confectionary shops sell their own versions of sakura-mochi, such as those decorated with salted cherry blossoms, or in differing colors. There are many designs, but there are just two classifications of the sweet according to the ingredients used. One is the “Chomeiji” type, which follows the original sakura-mochi produced by the Chomeiji Sakura-mochi Yamamoto-ya, and the other is the “Domyoji” type. The “Chomeiji"- type sakura-mochi is made of a thin flour crepe, which is popular in the eastern area of Japan. The “Domyoji"-type is made from Domyoji rice powder and is traditionally favored in western Japan. An interesting thing is that opinions are often divided over whether cherry tree leaves should be eaten or not. You don’t have to worry about this question though as the leaves are edible and it is left to personal taste whether to enjoy their salty taste or to just try the flavor. Their real time function is keeping the enclosed sakura-mochi fresh and full of flavor.
As the cherry blossom is nation’s symbolic flower using the flower’s image in many ways is something that can be seen all over Japan. The flower itself gives us different impressions depending on time of day and / or weather. As with sakura-mochi, the blossoms have long been favored in different ways by different people. To this end, some enjoy parties under cherry blossoms at their peak on sunny days while others love strolling at nighttime amidst the ‘dancing’ petals and do so to savor the flowers as long as possible. If you have an opportunity to visit Japan in spring I truly hope you will enjoy this beautiful flower which we have loved and cherished for so long but please do enjoy them in your own preferred way.
[Sakura-mochi]
Sakura-mochi are a moist-type of sweet wrapped in salted cherry leaves.
*Chomeiji type
Main ingredients: flour, sugar, bean paste and salted cherry leaves.
Looking like a folded crepe, tasty bean paste can be found on the inside.
*Domyoji type
Main ingredients: domyoji rice flour, sugar, bean paste and salted cherry leaves.
The domyoji type of sakura-mochi is a rice cake made of steamed domyoji rice flour paste - again with bean paste inside.
by Sawako Fujii
4月のお菓子
桜餅
日本では、毎年3月、気象庁から「桜の開花予想」という情報が発表される。このニュースをきっかけに、人々は「今年はいつ、どこで花見をしようか。」とそわそわし始める。開花予想をもとに、家族や友人、会社の同僚達と日程を調整し、場所を選定、その日を待つ。
この「お花見」は、8世紀後半（平安時代）、貴族が、桜の花の下で歌を詠み、舞を舞って楽しんだことから始まったという。現代の日本人は、桜の下で賑やかに酒や食事を楽しんでいるが、この形式のお花見は、17世紀（江戸時代）に庶民の間で広がったそうだ。
「毎年この時期は大忙しなんです。桜を見に、たくさんの方がいらっしゃいますので。」
とおっしゃるのは、桜の名所、東京隅田川に近い和菓子屋さん「長命寺さくらもち 山本や」さん。1717年、このお店の創業者が土手の桜の葉を塩漬けにしたもので餅をくるみ、「桜餅」として売り出したところ、花見客の間で人気を呼んだという。そして、驚いたことにこのお菓子は、300年近く経った現代においても、桜の季節に欠かせない味として、変わらず多くの人々に愛されているのだ。
桜餅は、餡を餅でくるみ、桜の葉の塩漬けで包んだ伝統的な春の和菓子。2月下旬から4月にかけて、各地の和菓子屋さんで買うことができる。桜の花の塩漬けをあしらったもの、生地をピンク色に着色したもの等、様々なデザインのものが作られているが、桜餅の種類は、生地の材料によって大きく2種類に分けられる。元祖「長命寺」桜餅のように、小麦粉をねって作った薄い生地のものは、主に関東地方で食されている。もう1種類の「道明寺」桜餅は、米を原料とした「道明寺粉」という粉で作った餅。主に関西地方で食される。そのため、同じ日本人でも、出身地によって好きな桜餅のタイプが異なるのが面白い。また、細かいことであるが、その食べ方においても、桜の葉を食べる食べないで、意見が分かれることがある。葉は生地の乾燥を防ぎ、香りを加えるために添えてあるもの。食べて塩気を味わうもよし、香りだけを楽しむもよし、である。
桜餅と同様、お花見にも色々な楽しみ方がある。晴天のもと、満開の桜の下でのパーティーや、夜、散りぎわの桜を眺めながらのそぞろ歩きなど。この美しい季節、日本にいらっしゃることがあったら、私たちが愛してきた美しい花を、お好みのスタイルで存分に楽しんでいただきたいと思う。
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