who also sold [[wikt:moxa|moxa]] of [[Mount Ibuki]] from the same [[Ōmi Province]]. The 3rd man in the party was a resident of Kamiyachō, the ''kyōka'' poet Sasano Ippō (笹野一方[[Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text]]) whose [[art name]] was ''Higenaga'' or \"longbeard\""},"parts":[{"template":{"target":{"wt":"Refn","href":"./Template:Refn"},"params":{"group":{"wt":"\"lower-alpha\""},"1":{"wt":"The 2nd man in the group was {{nihongo|Shigaraki Sōsuke|信楽宗介}}, a resident of Takasagochō and also a ''myōdai'' merchant of [[Shigaraki ware]], who also sold [[wikt:moxa|moxa]] of [[Mount Ibuki]] from the same [[Ōmi Province]]. The 3rd man in the party was a resident of Kamiyachō, the ''kyōka'' poet {{Nihongo|Sasano Ippō|笹野一方}} whose [[art name]] was ''Higenaga'' or \"longbeard\""}},"i":0}}]}"> [lower-alpha 3] This old man Hanryo was the grandfather Takeda Hanzō (武田伴蔵), and a member of the Takeda family who later founded Kōeidō. This snack was for pastime purposes only and not meant for business, but since leaving it nameless did not seem fitting, they pondered until they struck up the idea of borrowing the province name and calling it Kibi-dan-go (吉備だん粉, きびだん粉) "Kibi dan powder", something of a nonce word. This much is given in an article by a Meiji era popular culture researcher, Beninoya Oiro (紅の家おいろ) entitled Kibidangokō (「きびだんご考」) "Thoughts on the kibi dango". [13] [14]
Although this dessert was initially only distributed among friends and family, it was eventually offered for sale and gained popularity. Takeda Hanzō (died in 1901 at age 81) then outfitted a shop named Sōkandō (相歓堂) after his own art name, and had his mistress sell the Kibi-dan-go. [13] [lower-alpha 4] Although Oka also heard dissenting reports that this Kibi-dan-go was millet dumpling with a "rather long thin thread of red bean paste poured over it," he was skeptical, and concluded it was in fact "probably kakimochi". [lower-alpha 5] After Hanzō's mistress died, the Sōkandō business was passed over to Hanzō's relative Takeda Asajirō, the founder of Kōeidō. [13]
It was not until Takeda Asajirō's takeover that the merchandise became the present-day soft gyūhi product packed in boxes, according to the memory of Nishio Kichitaro, founder of the Sanyō Shimpō , for many years the only newspaper of the area. [13] Asajirō's own book too states that it was only after the Meiji Restoration (1867-) that his product changed from the rectangular items of the past to the round cakes the size of two go stones, sold in boxed in sets of 30 or 50. [15]
In 1885 (Meiji 18) Kōeidō's Kibi dango was presented to Emperor Meiji who was visiting the area, and he wrote a waka poem praising it, which translated to "Kibi dango such that no two such exists in Japan / Indeed such is the taste and it has earned its name, this". The sellers subsequently began to enclose leaflets with this poem printed inside its boxes. [16] [17]
There are a number of sources attempting to trace the pre-history of the Kibi dango to some food, or custom, or legend associated with Okayama's Kibitsu Shrine, though each line of inquiry differs from one another.
As aforestated, there had been a piece of anecdote or rumor (perhaps collected in the Meiji era), claiming that the Kibi dango recipe was created on suggestion of former feudal advisor Igi San'ensai, and that he used the millet dumplings served at Kibitsu Shrine as hint.
The founder of Kōeido (the purveyors of Kibi dango) authored a travel guide in 1895, in which he claimed that Kibitsuhiko rolled with his own hand some kibi dango to give to Emperor Jimmu who stopped at Takayama Palace in Okayama. [12] This episode is anachronistic and hence faulty, [lower-alpha 6] but illustrates that the manufacturer was attempting to associate their product with this deity at a relatively early juncture.
From modern academia, one theory notes that Japanese shrines have a custom called naorai ( 御直会 ) whereby food offerings to the resident deity would afterwards be consumed. Kibitsu Shrine observed this custom in the early Edo Period, and this was the origin of the Kibi dango, according to Okayama University professor Taniguchi Sumio in his book on the history of the prefecture. [14] [18]
On the other hand, Fujii Shun (藤井駿), also of Okayama University, who had the ancestral line of the shrine's priests (kannushi) in his family background, conjectured that the sweet was an adaptation of the Miyauchi ame (宮内飴), a specialty of the Miyauchi and Itakura hamlets in the neighborhood of Kibitsu Shrine (i.e., the community served by Bitchū-Takamatsu Station) which is in the environs of the shrine. [19] [lower-alpha 7]
Kōeidō's Kibi dango's national fame came after the private San'yō Railway came into operation through its city. [20] This new line connected the Kobe (which was the terminus of the state-run line) to Okayama in 1891, and extended the line to Hiroshima just before the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1894. Since the Daihonei (Imperial General Headquarters) was located in Hiroshima, all the troops were amassed here and shipped in and out of Ujina Harbor (宇品港) (Hiroshima Harbor). Those residing farther east and serving the war by necessity rode the San'yō line, and passed the Okayama station in transit. Kōeidō, which been peddling their goods in Okayama Station now expanded business to the Hiroshima Station, and capitalized on the soldiers and send-off parties buying the Kibi dango as souvenirs. [9] [20]
It was at this time that Kōeidō began its marketing strategy connecting its product to "Peach Boy". Reputedly, proprietor Takeda Asajirō himself dressed up as Momotarō and held up the "Nippon-ichi (number one in Japan)" banner to pitch sales, [9] [20] and persons dressed up as oni ogre handed out leaflets. [13] The peddling at the station was so successful, that a lady from Yamawaki (Sangetsudō), who also had Takeda Hanzō connections, was recruited to help. [13] By April 1897 (Meiji 30), there were 12 establishments that billed themselves as the "original" (honbo, honke, ganso) Kibi dango sellers. [14] [21]
A 1901 article by folk historian Mizunoya Takashige [?] (水の家隆成) stated that while "Kōeidō used millet, mochi, and sugar as ingredients, Sangetsudō used mochi and sugar," and that Sangetsudō stressed the fact they did not use millet and was different item than "Japan's number one kibi dango." [13] [22]
As already described, during the Meiji Era, the Kibi dango business had already appropriated the "number one" slogan [12] from the Peach Boy folktale, and was using the hero's costume to promote sales. [20] But eventually, the entire Okayama prefecture began to promote the Kibi dango and Momotarō as inextricably connected part of their prefectural heritage. This was mostly a post-World War II phenomenon, [23] [24] Okayama had not been the foremost contender as the home of the Peach Boy (Inuyama, Aichi and Kinashi in Takamatsu on Shikoku previously laying strong claims). [25] [26] However, that changed with the advent of amateur ethnographer Nanba Kinnosuke (難波金之助) (1897–1973), Momotarō no Shijitsu (桃太郎の史実) ("The True History of Momotarō," 1930), which claimed that the Momotarō folktale was an adaption of legend Kibitsuhiko no Mikoto no Ura Taiji, which recounts Kibitsuhiko's suppression of a local oni (ogre) named Ura . [27] [28] This ogre-slayer Kibitsuhiko, as his name suggests, is the deified being venerated in Kibitsu Shrine, Okayama.
Nowadays, the Momotarō theme is used in train station advertisement, as well as being found in packaging of the kibi dango products. Since 1993, the Kōeidō Honten has sold the "Ganso Kibidango", featuring Momotarō character design by children's book illustrator Tarō Gomi. [29]
An assortment of varieties has been developed, such as mascatto kibi dango (Muscat grape syrup filling), momo kibi dango (white peach syrup filling), kinako kibi dango (sprinkled with kinako or dry soybean powder), and chocolate flavored varieties. [20]
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Dango is a Japanese dumpling made with regular rice flour and glutinous rice flour. They are usually made in round shapes, and three to five pieces are served on a skewer, which is called kushi-dango (串団子). The pieces are eaten with sugar, syrup, red bean paste, and other sweeteners. Generally, dango falls under the category of wagashi, and is often served with green tea. It is eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons. Dango is sometimes compared with mochi, but is different in that mochi is generally made only with glutinous rice.
Anmitsu is a wagashi that dates to the Meiji era.
Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 and has a geographic area of 7,114 km2. Okayama Prefecture borders Tottori Prefecture to the north, Hyōgo Prefecture to the east, and Hiroshima Prefecture to the west.
Momotarō is a popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as Peach Boy, but is directly translated as Peach + Tarō, a common Japanese given name. Momotarō is also the title of various books, films and other works that portray the tale of this hero.
Wagashi is a traditional Japanese confection that made of mochi, anko, and fruit. Wagashi is typically made from plant-based ingredients with an emphasis on seasonality, and generally making use of cooking methods that pre-date Western influence in Japan. It is often served with green tea.
Uchide no kozuchi is a legendary Japanese "magic hammer" which can "tap out" anything wished for. This treasure is also rendered into English as "magic wishing mallet", "lucky hammer", "the mallet of fortune", etc.
Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. As of February 2023, the city has an estimated population of 700,940 and a population density of 890 persons per km2. The total area is 789.95 square kilometres.
Kibi was a kingdom of fourth century Western Japan. The Kingdom of Kibi covered most of what is today Okayama Prefecture. Today, the Kibi Road crosses the plain between Okayama and Soja, what was once the heartland of Kibi no kuni.
Kibi Line is a railway line in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company. The nickname used by JR West in maps and timetables is the Momotaro Line (桃太郎線).
In Japanese mythology, Kuniumi is the traditional and legendary history of the emergence of the Japanese archipelago, of islands, as narrated in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. According to this legend, after the creation of Heaven and Earth, the gods Izanagi and Izanami were given the task of forming a series of islands that would become what is now Japan. In Japanese mythology, these islands make up the known world. The creation of Japan is followed by the creation of the gods (kamiumi).
Kibitsu Jinja (吉備津神社) is a Shinto shrine in the Kibitsu neighborhood of Kita-ku, Okayama in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Bitchū Province. The shrine’s main festivals are held on the second Sunday in May and October 15th each year.
Kibitsuhiko Jinja (吉備津彦神社) is a Shinto shrine in the Ichinomiya neighborhood of the city of Okayama in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Bizen Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on the third weekend of October. Theshrine is also known in literature as the Asahi-no-miya (朝日の宮).
Kibitsu Shrine (吉備津神社) is a Shinto shrine in the Shin'ichi-chō neighborhood of the city of Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is the ichinomiya of former Bingo Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on November 23.
Kibitsu-hiko-no-mikoto (吉備津彦命), also known as Hiko Isuseri-hiko no mikoto, was a legendary Japanese prince.
Kibi dango may refer to:
Kibi dango is Japanese dumpling made from the meal or flour of the kibi grain. The treat was used by folktale-hero Momotarō to recruit his three beastly retainers, in the commonly known version of the tale.
The Office of Japanese Classics Research was a central government organization for the training of the Shinto priesthood in Japan. It was established by the Meiji Government in 1882 as the successor organization to the Bureau of Shinto Affairs. Prince Arisugawa Takahito was its first leader.
Ani Shrine (安仁神社) is a Shinto shrine located in Okayama City, Japan. It is one of three governmental Shinto shrines dedicated to imperial ancestors. It is a Beppyo shrine, or a shrine that is particularly notable in a certain way with a significant history to it.
The Kibi clan was a Japanese clan centered in Okayama Prefecture descended from Wakatakehiko the son of Emperor Kōrei.