🍱 Karasumi
Karasumi is said to have been made in the Tono region around the end of the Edo period for the Peach Festival. "Karasumi" is a well-known delicacy made from salted and dried ovaries of mullet and other fish, but this is a Japanese confectionary made from kneaded rice flour and steamed. The characteristic feature of karasumi is its mountain-shaped cross section. The two peaks of the mountain are the most common, but in rare cases there are three. It is said that the mountain shape was created to imitate Mt. Fuji in the hope that the child would be the happiest in Japan. There are various theories as to the origin of the name. One theory is that the name was derived from the fact that karasu, a luxury delicacy, was so precious in this region, which is far from the sea, that it was replaced by a confection similar in shape to it. The other theory is that the name is derived from its similarity in shape to the Chinese ink stick, which served as both a paperweight and a tin in the Tang Dynasty.