Shiruko is a hot, sweet soup-like dessert flavored with azuki beans and mochi that is very popular in Japan. It can be found on the menus of traditional style tea houses. I was given an elegant set of 5 shiruko in packages on the theme of the Daimonji. Daimonji is an event unique to Kyoto in which huge Chinese characters and pictograms bonfires are burned on the mountainsides of Kyoto in late August. Each serving of shiruko in this set is in an edible toasted mochi package that melts when hot water is poured on it. Each mochi package is branded with one of the 5 bonfire symbols.

Shiruko usually is a thick and sweet soupy paste of boiled and crushed azuki beans and is often garnished with mochi and candied chestnuts. This is a Kyoto-style shiruko is a bit more refined. Each serving is a sealed, toasted, seared and branded envelop made from mochi flour, this cracker-like shell is called monaka in Japanese. The azuki beans are finely powdered and mixed with sugar and potato starch. To prepare you simply break apart the package in a bowl and pour on boiling water. After a minute or so it is ready to slurp or spoon. The monaka mochi envelop is of course edible as well. It has an earthy, toasted rice taste and is pleasantly gooey and spongy after soaking.

Kyogozan Shiruko Package

The Chinese characters; 京 (Kyoto), 五 (five), 山 (mountain) are read as Kyogozan in Japanese. These are the five mountains around the city where the bonfires are burned.

Kyogozan Shiruko Package Opened

This is a bit over-packaged but not too bad by Japanese standards. (I took out some bubble wrap for this photo.) The paper explains about the Kyogozan. Of course everyone that can afford to shop for this kind of wagashi knows the history. There are also beautifully printed preparation instructions.

Daimonji Bonfire

This is the largest of the characters. ‘大’ means ‘great’.

Kyogozan Shiruko

Daimonji: A festival like non other in the entire world! Daimonji, literally means ‘great (big) character’. On a mid-August night massive bonfires are burned on 5 mountainsides surrounding Kyoto in the form of Chinese characters and pictograms to guide the visiting spirits back to the other world.

The Five Mountains
大 Daimonji This character means ‘great’ and is the ironic character of the custom.
妙 法 Myo Ho These two characters refer to the teachings of Buddhism and are a part of a mantra.
Funagata Funagata is a pictogram of a boat.
大 Hidari Daimonji Hidari Daimonji literally means ‘left’ daimonji, it is far smaller and on a hill in the west of the city.
Toriigata Toriigata is a pictogram of the torii gate that marks the enterence to a Shinto shrine.
(quoted from this KyotoFoodie article)

Kyogozan Shiruko Detail – Dai (大) Character

Kyogozan Shiruko Detail – Myo Ho (妙 法) Characters

Kyogozan Shiruko Detail – Funa (boat) Pictogram

Kyogozan Shiruko Detail – ‘Left’ Dai (大) Character

This dai is smaller than the first.

Kyogozan Shiruko Detail – Torii (Shinto Shrine Gate) Pictogram

Preparation

Kyogozan Shiruko Preparation and Serving – Break

Kyogozan Shiruko Preparation and Serving – Pour

Kyogozan Shiruko Preparation and Serving – Stir and Wait

Kyogozan Shiruko Preparation and Serving – Slurp

Most people would use a spoon.

How Did it Taste?
It tasted very good. I was surprised how much I liked the soft and spongy toasted monaka package. I really like how that ‘package’ is eaten, and not just eaten, it adds an essential flavor to the overall balance and complexity.

The ingredients are simply: mochi rice, azuki bean, sugar, potato starch and salt. The elegance of the taste comes from the selection of the ingredients, preparation and presentation. That is what makes Kyoto ‘different’, or so we say.

Who Makes This Wagashi?
This wagashi is made by Suetomi. We featured them in this article last year about namagashi for the tea ceremony and while their wagashi tastes just fine, their haughty attitude leaves me with a yucky taste in my mouth. But it is not like I am not grateful, thanks to cold, stuck-up, pretentious phonies like Suetomi, I was inspired to start my new project: OpenKyoto. You can read about my frustrations at ‘Trying to Open Kyoto‘ here. Please cheer me on! (I need it.)

Daimonji Gozan-no-Okuribi Viewing Party and Torii ‘Gate’ Bonfire
I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend a Gozan-no-Okuribi viewing party in Sagano, the still somewhat rural western edge of the city. This area has the torii shrine gate which cannot really be seen from central Kyoto anymore. This year was the first year that I had seen it up close. The hosts kindly sent each of us off with a box of this wonderful shiruko . Read this article on OpenKyoto for more.

Torii Bonfire and Floating Lanterns on Hirosawa Pond

More Daimonji! The biggest of the big characters of the late-summer mountainside bonfires is ‘dai’, literally ‘great’ or ‘big’. Here it is on a sweet, soft and chewy tea ceremony confection.
大 (dai) on Namagashi

The curved line of darker blue is the slope of the mountain and the lighter blue is the sky with gold leaf as stars. Mountains and night sky are not very blue, I am not sure about the color scheme here. Perhaps the blue is intended to convey ‘summer’, as in clear blue skies. An alternative theory would be that the blues in this namagashi look cool, so it provides some psychic relief to the sultry summer heat of the season.

About the taste, this namagashi tastes like nearly every other the incorporates sweet bean paste and mochi.

Now it occurs to me that some foodies may find a conundrum with namagashi because while the motifs, shapes, colors and so on are countless, the taste is always the same. Visually, namagashi should be on a seasonal and/or cultural theme, and this is very rich and varied. (Tea ceremony namagashi article) The taste is intended to balance the bitterness of maccha and is always the same. In a country where development of products and food happens at a dizzying pace, it could seem odd to many that the taste of namagashi doesn’t develop.

What do you think?

To read about Daimonji in greater detail, please see this article.

大 on Namagashi

Notice the azuki bean paste ball inside wrapped with mochi.

大 on Namagashi

Daimonji Namagashi Served

Dai – 大

Peko took this photo this year (August 2008).

Dai – 大

This is a photo from a few years ago, you can really see the smoke at this angle.

A new and excellent sake discovery! Photos with Paku’s new iPhone. Great label design. New, and secret Peko project!

I discovered this incredible namazake with an even more incredible name from my favorite brewery (that doesn’t seem to want to be interviewed). Fifty-two day moromi. (I think that means that the mash (moromi) is fermented for 52 days, rather than the usual 30 or so. This sake seems to me to be of biblical proportions — or perhaps I just imbibed too much. This is another genteihin (限定品), or ‘limited product’.

Then Paku got a sexy new iPhone 3G and I am trying it out for foodie photos. It is very convenient and takes pretty good photos.

Furosen (不老泉)

Furosen is the brand name of perhaps my favorite sake brewery. The name means something like ‘Fountain of Youth’, but not quite.

52 Day Mash (五拾弐日もろみ)

The other words state that this sake is fermented in a wooden vat (木樽) and that it is a limited edition　product (限定品).

52 Day Mash (五拾弐日もろみ)

Junmai Ginjo Nama (純米吟醸生)

This sake is nama, meaning that it is unpasteurized. At the bottom is the name of the brewery (Uehara Shuzo), the address (Shiga Prefecture) and the brewery’s stamp (red).

52 Day Moromi
As you pour this sake into an uncolored glass the first thing you notice is the color which is a rich ‘ogon-iro‘, or golden color. Most sake is not actually colorless but this is quite golden.

Next you get the bouquet, from a good distance away too. Like a lot of premium modern sake, 52 Day Moromi’s bouquet is fruity.

52 Day Moromi is namagenshu (生原酒), it is unpasteurized and not diluted with water. As it is nama (unpasteurized), the flavor is quite fruity and very complex, very natural. As it is genshu (undiluted), the alcohol content is a whopping 17-18%!

The Taste
One the front end, the taste is rather soft and though this sake is plenty potent, it is decidedly delicate.

By the time you are at the back end of this one though, it is completely different. While still fruity the high powered aspect asserts itself and your mouth is hit with a full on, full bodied blast of what makes a good nama genshu, nama genshu. Raw and unrestrained, yet refined and somehow retaining its delicacy. Quite a combination!

Peko’s New Project

Then, a few days ago, I started another little project. This photo is the very first thing for the world to see. Paku doesn’t even know what it is all about. Stay tuned!

Me and My Beagle

This is the very top of the ‘大’ on the mountain where the Daimonji character bonfire is done. That’s Kyoto down below. Daimonji is Higashiyama, or the East Mountains and off in the distance are the Western Hills.

Daimonji: A festival like non other in the entire world! Daimonji, literally means ‘great (big) character’. On a mid-August night massive bonfires are burned on 5 mountainsides surrounding Kyoto in the form of Chinese characters and pictograms to guide the visiting spirits back to the other world. Tawaraya Yoshitomi uses the mountainside motifs on its seasonal senbei.

Senbei is a rice-based cracker common in Japan that is usually grainy in taste and flavored with salt, shoyu and/or sugar. This senbei is intended for the tea ceremony and is quite flavorless and slightly sweet.

The Main Event: Daimonji

This character means ‘great’, or ‘large’.

The Five Mountains Senbei with Kompeito and Kohaku

Tawaraya Yoshitomi Okuribi Senbei

The Package – Wrapped

Unwrapping the Package

The characters on the right of the label, ‘送り火’ mean, ‘send-off fire’.

Okuribi Box

The 4 Chinese characters and 2 pictograms on 5 mountains of Kyoto.

The Five Mountains (from top to bottom)
大 Daimonji: This character means ‘great’ and is the ironic character of the custom.
妙 法 Myo Ho: These two characters refer to the teachings of Buddhism and are a part of a mantra.
Funagata: Funagata is a pictogram of a boat.
大 Hidari Daimonji: Hidari Daimonji literally means ‘left’ daimonji, it is far smaller and on a hill in the west of the city.
Toriigata: Toriigata is a pictogram of the torii gate that marks the enterence to a Shinto shrine.

The Five Mountains Senbei with Kompeito and Kohaku

Kompeito, like kasutera (castella) came to Japan via the Portuguese during the Warring States period. It is a sugar candy and called confeito in Portuguese. The flowers and leaves are called kohaku, literally amber, kohaku is a sweetened gelatin. Neither would be considered particularly tasty by modern standards but these were among the finest sweets of the aristocracy in Japan hundreds of years ago.

Myoho – 妙法

Myoho comes from a Buddhist mantra, it refers to the ‘law’ or teachings of Buddhism. It is thought that there were once more characters from this mantra on the surrounding mountains.

Dai – 大

This is the bigger of the two 大s, it is one of the largest mountains surrounding the city and a popular hiking destination.

Toriigata – 鳥居形

The torii is a Shinto symbol yet Obon and Okuribi are Buddhist. Interestingly the Japanese have no trouble believing both Buddhism and Shinto, even though they are completely unrelated religions. Most Japanese now have a Shinto baptism and a Buddhist funeral.

Funagata – 舟形

This is a boat.

Hidari ‘Left’ Daimonji – 左大文字

This is a smaller ‘大’ character on a hill in Western Kyoto.

Senbei Broken

It’s a good thing that these are visually very attractive because the flavor is not much to write home about. I suppose that this taste is evocative of the wabisabi of the tea ceremony.

About Daimonji and Gozan-no-Okuribi

Daimonji is a festival like none other in Japan. It takes place on the evening of August 16th and marks the end of the Obon festival. The Obon festival is a Buddhist custom in which the spirits of the dead return from the spirit world for several days to be with their still living family members. Offerings of food and prayers are made and family graves are visited and cleaned. Daimonji, or more properly Gozan-no-Okuribi (五山送り火), literally means ‘five mountains send-off fire’ marks the end of Obon and guides the visiting souls of the departed back to the spirit world.

The origins of Kyoto’s Daimonji Okuribi festival are unclear. Some scholars believe that it dates back to the 700′s, around the time Kyoto was founded. The historical record is replete with evidence that there were many more characters and pictograms, but today only 6 remain. While Japan has many fire festivals, this one is completely unique.

The first fire it lit on daimonji at 8pm and the other start at intervals of 5 to 10 minutes. Each fire burns for 30 minutes, then they are extinguished. Before high-rise development in Kyoto, at 8:30 it was possible to see all the characters simultaneously from most any residential rooftop in central Kyoto.

Daimonji Okuribi Photos (大文字 五山送り火)

Okuribi Dai – 大

This ‘大’ is of truly great proportions, 160 by 120 meters!

Okuribi Dai – 大

This is a photo from a few years ago, from a different place. You can really see the smoke at this angle.

Okuribi Ho – 法

Okuribi Myo – 妙

This year, at about 8:20 we quickly bicycled over to Myo to shoot some photos up close. This was our first time up on the mountain while the bonfires were burning. We were surprised to see many people chanting mantras at the base of the mountain. Some people were even holding framed photos of deceased relatives.

Okuribi Myo – 妙

Each fire has at least one person watching over it.

Okuribi Myo – 妙

Priests and laypeople chant mantras and hit drums while the fires are burned.

Okuribi Myo – 妙

Notice the firefighter on the left.

Okuribi Myo – 妙

After 30 minutes, everyone pours on a jug of water to extinguish the fire that they are in charge of. This leaves charcoal which in coming days people will collect and place in their homes as talismans to ward off evil, sickness and misfortune.

The Okuribi senbei came from Tawaraya Yoshitomi which we reviewed in our ayugashi confection article and wasanbon sugar article.

Tawaraya Yoshitomi 俵屋吉富
Tawaraya Yoshitomi established in 1755 and is now a very well known throughout Japan. Tawaraya Yoshitomi even has a wonderful confectionary history museum that is free and open to the public. They have a new store and cafe near both Omotesenke and Urasenke School of Tea H.Q.

English:
English website: no
English menu: no

Tawaraya Yoshitomi Honten (Main Store)
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minute walk from Imadegawa Station (Karasuma Subway Line).
Address: 602-0029 Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Muromachi-dori Kamidachiuri-agaru (京都市上京区室町通上立売上ル)
Telephone: 075-432-2211
www.kyogashi.co.jp/b-1.html (Japanese language only)
Map:

View Larger Map

It’s chofu, a waffle wrapper with gooey gyuhi inside — and it has a ‘大’ branded on it. What the heck is this all about?

Daimonji: A festival like non other in the entire world! Daimonji, literally ‘big character’. Massive fires burned on the mountain sides of Kyoto in the form of Chinese characters and pictograms to guide the deceased spirits back to the other world.

Daimonji doesn’t just appear on the mountain sides, various incarnations of it appear on one’s plate!

Chofu and ‘Dai’

Chofu – Cutaway View

This is a generous portion of gyuhi!

Chofu and ‘Dai’

This is chofu from another wagashi store.

Another Chofu and ‘Dai’

The line on the left is the mountainside.

Chofu Bottom

Notice the gyuhi inside.

About Chofu (調布)
Chofu is similar in construction and taste to ayugashi but has a longer history. Chofu, historically was a handwoven linen cloth. People wove them, rolled them up and submitted them to the government as a tax payment. This sweet is said to resemble that rolled up peice of fabric, so it is called chofu. Only the Kyoto version has the daimonji ‘大’ branded on it.