is a wagashi (Japanese confection) made with glutinous rice, regular

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

(ratio of 7:3, or only glutinous rice), and sweet

azuki ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East As ...

paste ( red bean paste). They are made by soaking the rice for approximately 1 hour. The rice is then cooked, and a thick azuki paste is hand-packed around pre-formed balls of rice. Botamochi is eaten as

sacred food as offering Sacred food as offering is a concept within anthropology regarding the study of food as it relates to religious ritual. Many religions have prescriptions about the correct preparation and cooking of food, besides the taboos about forbidden subj ...

during the weeks of the spring and the autumn

Higan is a Buddhist holiday exclusively celebrated by Japanese sects for seven days; three days before and after both the Spring equinox ( shunbun) and Autumnal equinox ( shūbun). It is observed by nearly every Buddhist school in Japan. The tra ...

in Japan. Another name for this kind of confection is , which the origin and the definition of is in argument but some people say uses a slightly different texture of azuki paste but is otherwise almost identical, it is made in autumn and some recipe variations in both cases call for a coating of soy flour to be applied to the ohagi after the azuki paste. Botamochi,Ohagi,Katori-city,Japan

The two different names are, some people say, derived from the Botan ( peony) which blooms in the spring and the Hagi (Japanese bush clover or Lespedeza) which blooms during autumn. ''Botamochi'' is the modern name for the dish ''kaimochi'' (かいもち) mentioned in the

Heian Period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

text

Uji Shūi Monogatari is a collection of Japanese tales written around the beginning of the 13th century. The author is unknown, and it may have been revised several times. The title means "gleanings from '' Uji Dainagon Monogatari''", a book which no longer exists. T ...

(宇治拾遺物語). The proverb , literally "a botamochi falls down from a shelf", means "receiving a windfall", "a lucky break". The term is also used for a specific pattern of

Bizen ware is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally from Bizen province, presently a part of Okayama prefecture. History Bizen ware was traditionally produced in and around the village of Imbe in Bizen province, from where it received its name. It ...

with two, three or five round marks, as if the marks of the small balls of rice cakes were left on the plate.

References

{{Reflist Wagashi

See also

References