Dig Japan vol.25 “Monaka (最中)”

Monaka is wagashi that has azuki bean paste wrapped in a crispy crust made from mochi. Originally, it was just the crust and eaten as a rice cracker-like sweet. The prototype of the modern monaka was developed in the Edo period, and the current form was completed after the Meiji period. Monaka belongs to the category of han'namagashi, and there are many different brands and a wide variety of fillings.

A wagashi confectioner, Kanazawa-urata's monaka (Photography by 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐨)

Monaka is a type of han'namagashi (soft, semi-fresh confectionery) and classified as Okamono: consists of a crust called monaka-dane that covers the surface, and a filling such as bean paste, and is made by combining these different materials without heating. The basic ingredients are glutinous rice, azuki beans, water, sugar, agar, and starch syrup. It is typically made by steaming and baking glutinous rice, forming it into a crust, and filling it with azuki bean paste.

Monaka come in a variety of shapes and fillings. The standard shape is a cute round or square one like a trinket box, but there are also many variations, including natural motifs such as stars, shells, animals, plants, etc. The oval shape, which is familiar from “Wairo monaka,” a souvenir sweet from Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is also famous.

In addition to the basic azuki bean paste, there are a variety of other fillings, including white bean paste and sesame paste. There are also monaka filled with chestnuts, gyuhi, mochi, chocolate, and ice cream. For instance, Morinaga & Co.'s “Choco Monaka Jumbo” is a monaka filled with chocolate and ice cream that is popular nationwide.

A wagashi confectioner, Koundo-honten's monaka (Photography by 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐨)

The word “monaka” first appeared in Japan during the Heian period. In the “Shui wakashu,” a collection of waka poems compiled during the Heian period, this word is used in a poem depicting a round rice cake. However, what is being said here has nothing to do with the modern-day monaka; it is simply the first time the word has appeared.

At that time, the modern-day monaka, which is filled with azuki bean paste, did not yet exist. The origins of monaka date back to the Edo period. Takemura Ise, a Japanese confectionery shop in the Yoshiwara red-light district, began selling “Monaka no tsuki,” and in the mid-Edo period, stores in Nihonbashi such as Yoshikawa Fukuyasu and Hayashiya Zensuke began selling “Monaka manju.”

“Monaka no tsuki” did not contain bean paste, but was made by baking and shaping round dough made with glutinous rice, and we can see the origin of the current crust. On the other hand, “Monaka manju” contained azuki bean paste, and it is thought that this was the prototype of modern one. After that, through the Meiji and Taisho periods, monaka spread throughout Japan, and many different types of monaka have been developed to this day.

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.