🍚 Fukidawara (Butterbur Lead-wrapped Soybean Rice Balls)

Mie Prefecture is a center for the cultivation of rice varieties such as Iga-gome and Musubi-no-Kami. In many areas of the prefecture, events are held to pray for a good harvest each year. In the Iga region, for example, people offer fukidawara (butterbur bales) to the god of the rice fields along with things like Japanese pampass grass, which easily diverts water to the mouth of the waterway, and the branches of chestnut trees, which bear large fruit, to pray for a good harvest and give thanks to the god when rice is planted for the first time. Thirteen fukidawara are placed on a colander and offered to the gods, one for each of the months of January through December and one for the god of the rice fields. Fukidawara, which look like small rice balls, are also made as a light lunch (snack) for rice planting. Wrapping the warm rice in a butterbur leaf enhances the aroma of the butterbur and salty flavor of the soybean rice. Fukidawara can also be made from fava beans, which are said to bring good luck because they are the only beans that grow upward, or other peas. Fukidawara exemplify the wisdom of daily life as they can be eaten as a snack or light lunch while working in the fields without having to wash your hands, while the leaves can be returned to nature after eating. Furthermore, in the Nakanosho region (Matsusaka City), “saburagi gohan” is made by wrapping soybean rice in a butterbur leaf, then tying it with straw. The name is derived from the fact that the dish is made during the “saburagi (opening of the rice fields)” event to pray for a good harvest.