🍚 Sakuramochi (pink-colored rice cake filled with red bean paste wrapped with a cherry blossom leaf)
Sakuramochi is a confectionery characterized by a pink rice cake wrapped in salted cherry blossom leaves, symbolizing the arrival of spring. While Sakuramochi is enjoyed nationwide, there are regional variations. In the Kanto region, Sakuramochi features thin crepe-like wrappers enveloping "Anko," Kansai's version uses ”Domyojiko," a coarse glutinous rice flour, to create a textured rice cake that encases "Anko." Both styles share the common practice of wrapping the confection with salted cherry blossom leaves. Originally invented by Yamamoto Shinroku, a gatekeeper at Chomeiji Temple along the Sumida River during the Edo period, Sakuramochi gained popularity when he utilized fallen cherry blossom leaves by pickling them in salt and wrapping them around rice cakes. His innovation received widespread acclaim, leading to the confection's spread across the country. In the Kansai region, including Osaka, sakura mochi made with domyoji flour is the mainstream. Domyoji flour, made from steamed, dried, and coarsely ground glutinous rice, is often used in "Wagashi (=Japanese confectionery)" and was first made more than 1,000 years ago at Domyoji in Fujiidera, Osaka, where it was valued as a preserved food. Pink rice cake with a slight aroma of cherry blossoms. Sakuramochi is a tasteful confectionery that evokes the feeling of spring in both appearance and taste.