Dig Japan vol.8 “Manju (饅頭)”

Manju is wagashi that originates from Chinese mantou. There are many different types, but most are made from wheat flour, rice flour, arrowroot flour, buckwheat flour, etc., and are steamed with azuki bean paste. Manju has been loved by the Japanese people for a long time since the 1340s.

A wagashi confectioner, Tamagawa-kashiten's Oiwake manju (Photography by 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐨)

There are two main theories about the origin of manju in Japan. One is that it was passed down by Rinjoin, who accompanied the Rinzai sect monk Tokumi Ryuzan as a lay disciple when he returned to Nara in 1349. Rinjoin thought of manju as a confectionery to accompany Zen tea, but since traditional manju contained meat, he is said to have invented one using azuki beans instead. He later moved to the area near Kankoku Shrine in Nara and opened a shop called Shiose.

The other theory is that En'ni, who studied in the Southern Song Dynasty, brought the method to Hakata, Fukuoka in 1241. En'ni founded the Rinzai sect of Buddhism and Joten-ji Temple in Tsuji-no-do, and when he was traveling around the Aratsuyama area west of Hakata to raise alms, he taught how to make manju to the owner of a teahouse who had always been kind to him. The manju that was introduced to Nara is said to be “Yaku manju” which uses leavening agent, while the Hakata one is said to be “Sake manju” which uses amazake.

When manju were introduced to Japan, there were two types: sweet manju that are similar to today's, and “Sai manju” which was mainly made with vegetable filling. The latter is thought to be closer to modern-day nikuman, but in pre-modern Japan, due to the influence of Buddhism, the filling was almost exclusively vegetable.

Sai manju is often archived in records of meals at temples, and its recipe is recorded in the Edo period book “Tofu hyakuchin,” so it seems that it has been eaten as a snack at temples since ancient times. However, the recipe is complicated, and it did not catch on easily in general society, where rice and noodles were staple foods and noodles such as udon and soba were eaten as snacks since ancient times.

A wagashi confectioner, Kanda-daruma's Karinto manju (Photography by 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐨)

After manju took root in Japan by the early modern period, its recipe and the outer dough were thought out variously, and many types of manju came to be made. Furthermore, after the Edo period, baked confectionery producing techniques spread to Japan as methods for making nanbangashi (European sweets) and togashi (Chinese sweets).

This technique was also applied to manju, giving rise to a uniquely Japanese genre called “Yaki manju.” Since early modern times in the Kanto region, “Yude manju” made by wrapping beans, miso, or vegetable filling in kneaded flour and boiling it, is a home-cooked dish. The texture is more similar to dango than manju, and its production method does not fit the modern definition of manju, however it is said that it was created as a substitute for real manju by changing the cooking method of oyaki. Some research suggest that yude manju evolved into puffed manju such as “Tansan manju” and “Inaka manju” with the spread of baking soda.

After the modern era, as communication with the continent became more active, the knowledge of mantou and baozi from the time was reintroduced through Chinese residents in Japan, and thick and fluffy chukaman was developed. In post-modern China, mantou was mainly made without fillings, and sweet bean paste was not very common even in baozi. Thus, chukaman including anman, curryman and pizzaman is thought to made based on Japanese manju.

This article was written by 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐨, working as a freelance translator and press for overseas apparel brands in Japan, with the purpose of broadening her insight into the Japanese traditional culture.