🍱 Kuri Okowa

“Kuri Okowa”, also known as “Kuri Kowai” and “Kowai”, is a traditional dish of Saga prefecture and served at local festivals and celebrations at home. When the dish is made as offerings to gods, the rice is shaped in the form of circular cones or triangles called “Gokkusan”. “Kuri Okowa” is also an indispensable part of “Kunchi” or “Okunchi” (=festival) held in the northern Kyushu areas in autumn. At these festivals, newly harvested rice is offered to the gods and people show appreciation for the bountiful harvest. The "Imari Kunchi" held in Imari-cho, Imari City in October is a fighting festival in which portable shrines and Danjiris fight each other, and is called "Imari Ton-ten-ton" from the sound of the taiko drums. Traditional families of the region prepare for this festival a few days ahead and make “kikka kabu” (=pickled chrysanthemum turnip), “kogui” (=crucian carp prepared with seasonal vegetables), “nishime” (=simmered vegetables) and “amazake” (=sweet, fermented rice drink). “Kuri Okowa” was made and given to the participants of “Kunchi” as a gift to take home with them. In other regions as well, "Kuri Okowa" is an indispensable dish for autumn festivals. At the autumn festivals of Niu Shrine in the Shiota and Ookusano districts and Hachimangu Shrine in the Kuma district, they make a lot of "Kuri Okowa" to entertain their guests. In Arita, during “Kunchi” in October, the “Kuri Okowa” is served in the shape of a folding-fan, which is considered good luck. This dish is often made with dried chestnuts as the name for this in Japanese is “Kachi Guri”, and the word “kachi” means to win in Japanese, and so this ingredient was used to incorporate the wish of winning the festival. The recipe differs depending on the region and family that makes it.