🍱 Mayudama(Cocoon Balls)

The sericulture industry has been thriving in Gunma for quite some time, and even now the prefecture is focused on the industry's further cultivation via such methods as the use of original silkworm breeds to make “Gunma silk,” as well as practical applications for genetically modified silkworms. For that reason, “cocoons” became highly valued and indispensable in the sericulture industry, and “cocoon balls,” an event food made from rolling right flour, millet flour, and corn flour became popular. However, unlike many other local delicacies, rather than being made for immediate consumption, cocoon balls are traditionally served as offerings. For example, on January 13, two days before the Little New Year festival, it is customary to make cocoon balls from millet flour and attach them to the branches of mulberry trees, resembling flowers. Additionally, Hatsuuma, a celebration of the first day of the ox in February, is a day for plentiful silkworm harvests within Agatsuma County, Gunma. 16 cocoon balls are made and offered to shrines and wells. It could be said that these customs show vividly the value people place on the cocoons that bolster the sericulture industry.