On May 5 every year, it’s Children’s Day in Japan. On this national holiday, children are celebrated and honored for their individual strengths, and happiness is wished upon them. As a part of the celebration, we eat Kashiwa Mochi (柏餅).
What is Kashiwa Mochi?
Kashiwa Mochi is tender but chewy rice cakes stuffed with sweet red bean paste and wrapped in a kashiwa (oak) leaf. You may wonder why mochi is wrapped in an oak leaf. Since oak trees don’t shed old leaves until new leaves grow, the Japanese consider oak trees as a symbol of the prosperity of one’s descendants. These oak leaves are not edible; however, as they are wrapped around mochi, the nice earthy fragrance transfers to the mochi and it’s quite enjoyable.
Watch How To Make Kashiwa Mochi
Soft chewy mochi with red bean paste filling wrapped with an oak leaf, enjoyed on Children’s day in Japan.
Azuki An (小豆餡) vs. Miso An (味噌餡)
There are two kinds of fillings for Kashiwa Mochi – Azuki red bean paste and white bean paste with miso. Red bean stuffed Kashiwa Mochi is more popular and widely available and I actually never tried the white bean miso version before. How can you tell what’s the filling inside? It’s actually differentiated by which way you wrap the mochi with the leaf. For red bean filling, the back of leaf (veins are more visible) faces outside, and the front of leaf (smooth side) faces outside for white bean with miso filling.
Kashiwa Mochi vs. Chimaki
The origin of Kashiwa Mochi goes back to mid 18th century during the Edo period and it was mostly enjoyed in eastern Japan. In the Kansai and the west of Japan, where the oak tree does not grow naturally, Chimaki (sweet rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) were served instead of Kashiwa Mochi. When the imperial capital was in Nara and Kyoto between the 700’s and late 1100s (Nara & Heian period), many of Chinese cultures and customs were adopted in western Japan. It is believed that Chimaki was originated from Chinese Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), which is enjoyed on the fifth day of the fifth lunar calendar for DuanWu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival).
Children’s Day in Japan
The Children’s Day was originally called Tango no Sekku (端午の節句) and it was celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th moon in the lunar calendar. When Japan started to follow the Gregorian calendar in 1948, the date was moved to May 5. Originally, Tango no Sekku was a festival for only boys but Children’s Day is now for both boys and girls (Girl’s Day or Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) is a festival for girls on March 3). On Children’s Day, families fly huge carp-shaped streamers called Koinobori (鯉のぼり) outside their house. The Koi or carp symbolizes strength and success from a Chinese legend – a carp swam upstream to become a dragon. Besides koinobori, we also display warrior dolls, miniature suits of armor, and a warrior helmet called Kabuto, which are symbols of a strong healthy boy. Please check out this post on Children’s Day in Japan.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here. Sign up for the free Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
