Daimonji and Chofu: Pay Your Taxes in Wagashi!
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.
God, this looks yum