🍱 Nyumen

Miwa, Sakurai City, Nara prefecture is known as the birthplace of somen, and the somen made in this region is called Miwa Somen. Over 1200 years ago at Omiwa Shrine, the oldest shrine in Japan dedicated to Mt. Miwa, when people prayed for relief from plague and starvation, they received a revelation from the gods and began sowing wheat in the village of Miwa, then milling it into powder, adding water, and stretched it into thin strings. This is said to be the origin of somen. Even today, the enshrined deity of Omiwa Shrine is considered to be the guardian deity of somen, and the Bokujosai festival that forecasts the market price of the local specialty Miwa Somen for that year is held at the shrine. The technique of applying oil and stretching the noodles thinly was introduced from China during the Kamakura period, and the manufacturing method was nearly perfected during the Muromachi period. The wheat in that region flourishes in the abundant water, and the development of water wheel milling led to the production of high-quality flour. The cold winters and mostly clear skies were suitable for somen production, and the quality of Miwa Somen was so exceptional that it was prominently featured in the Edo period gourmet book "Illustrated Famous Products of the Mountains and Seas of Japan."