is a type of

mochi A mochi ( ; Japanese ) is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain Japonica rice, japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The steamed rice is pounded into paste and molded into the ...

made in the Chubu region of central

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, specifically in Nagano,

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

, and

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

prefectures. Unlike regular mochi it is coated with a type of

sweet and sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...

sauce, usually composed of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, and

mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol (drug), alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms natur ...

. The mochi is then

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...

ed and grilled. Goheimochi is typically made in one of two shapes:

Waraji () are light tie-on sandals, made from ropemaking fibers (usually straw), that were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan. Use resemble other forms of traditional Japanese footwear, such as zori and geta, with a few key ...

is shaped like a traditional sandal and rounded mochi is served on a skewer. The mochi is usually only half-cooked so that some grains of rice remain, the rice is usually short-grain rice giving goheimochi a firmer texture compared to standard mochi.

Varieties

Across the Chubu region there are many types of goheimochi. In the

Kiso Valley The is a geographical area that centers on the valley of the upper portions of the Kiso River in the southwestern part of Nagano Prefecture in Japan. It is a v-shaped valley with length of approximately 60 km (36 mi) that follows the ...

and Hida region, goheimochi is often coated with soy sauce and sugar. In

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

, goheimochi is often covered in

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...

which is considered the region's specialty. Other examples of goheimochi sauce include

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

, egg, and hachinoko (wasp larvae). Frozen goheimochi is now exported around Japan in vacuum sealed bags and can be found in supermarkets in Japan's larger cities.

History

Goheimochi was invented in the

Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, though its origins are unknown. Despite this there are a few theories regarding the origins of the dish. As the name of the dish is similar to that of

Gohei , , or are wooden wands, decorated with two (zigzagging paper streamers) used in Shinto rituals. It may be considered an Ōnusa with only two Shide. The streamers are usually white, although they can also be gold, silver, jade, or a mixture of ...

(Shinto streamers) many theorize that the reason the dish was created as a form of money that was offered to Shinto gods. Another theory regarding the origins of the dish is that it came from the Japanese word for

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

"Gobei".

Cultural references

In the TV series ''

Hanbun, Aoi is a Japanese television drama series and the 98th Asadora series, following ''Warotenka''. It premiered on April 2, 2018, and concluded on September 29, 2018. Mei Nagano was cast in the lead role of Suzume Nireno after an audition of 2366 wome ...

'', one of the main characters opens a goheimochi shop. This feature increased the dish's popularity outside of Chubu. The film ''

Your Name is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films, and distributed by Toho. Inspired by the frequency of natural disasters in Japan, the film depicts the story of high scho ...

'' is set in the

Hida Region is the northern portion of Gifu Prefecture in the Chūbu region of Japan.Hida Promotional Office

and characters are seen eating goheimochi in various scenes.

References

{{Japanese food and drink, state=autocollapse Japanese cuisine Japanese desserts and sweets Glutinous rice dishes

Varieties

History

Cultural references

See also

References