🍱 Itokoni

Itoko-ni-ni" is a dish of simmered azuki beans with taro or pumpkin. It is also a local dish that has spread throughout the prefecture, especially in the Kohoku region. It is often prepared on the occasion of Hoon-ko or Buddhist memorial services in memory of Shinran Shonin. "Itoko-ni-ni" with pumpkin is often eaten in the Koto region, and "Itoko-ni-ni" with taro is often eaten in the Kohoku region. There are many origins of the name "Itoko-ni-ni," including the theory that it came to be called "Itoko-ni-ni" because the ingredients take time to simmer, so they are simmered "oi oi" (in turn), or that it is eaten when brothers, sisters and cousins get together, or that the name "Itoko-ni" is a corruption of "Itoko-ni-ni. There are various theories. It is also said that "Itoko-ni-ni" is a dish of kabocha (pumpkin) and yuzu (citrus fruit), and is often eaten on the winter solstice. The reason for eating pumpkin on the winter solstice, when the daytime is the shortest of the year, is to prevent colds and illnesses. Pumpkin is a highly nutritious vegetable that contains a large amount of -carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body when consumed. Azuki beans are high in protein and rich in dietary fiber, and people in the past ate pumpkin and azuki beans to recover from illnesses and to prevent them.