🍱 Oshimon/Okoshimon

‘Oshimon' is a local sweets made from rice flour kneaded with hot water and put into a mold, then colored with food coloring. It is offered to the Hina Dolls during the Girl's Festival. When it comes to foods served during the Girl's Festival, ‘Hina Arare' (=colorful rice snack), ‘Hishi-mochi' (=diamond-shaped colored mochi) or ‘Chirashi-zushi' (=sushi with various ingredients placed on top of vinegar rice) are famous. In Aichi Prefecture, ‘Oshimon' is prepared in addition to those foods. In Nishi-Mikawa region, ‘Iga Manjyu', buns with red bean paste, with or without mashed, wrapped with rice flour and put colored sticky rice on the surface, is prepared during the Girl's Festival. There are several stories about the origin of its name; some say that it's because this food is made by being pressed into a mold (‘oshimono' in Japanese), others call ‘Okoshimon' because it is removed (‘okoshi-hazusu' in Japanese) from a mold. This food is often called ‘Oshimon' in Nagoya, and ‘Okoshimon' in its surrounded area. There are various shapes in wooden molds; flower shape (cherry blossom, plum flower or chrysanthemum), animals (sea bream, mandarin duck or butterfly), and lucky motif (‘noshi' (=Japanese gift wrapping), Chinese treasure ship, drawstring money bag or ‘Fukusuke' lucky doll.