Warding off the summer heat with Himuro Manju

There are many sweets rooted in local culture, aren't there?

Ishikawa Prefecture is the land of the Kaga Domain, home to Kenrokuen, one of the three great gardens of Japan.
It is a land where the tea ceremony culture, cherished for generations by the Maeda family, the lords of the Kaga Domain, flourished.

I believe it is a region with many Japanese confectionery shops and famous sweets, not just in Kanazawa City but in other cities as well.

It was about a year after I got married that I first encountered this traditional sweet.

In the last week of June, as summer begins in earnest, large, eye-catching characters catch my eye at the supermarket.

"Himuro Manju"

It is said that even in the Kaga Domain, the ice houses were opened on the first day of the sixth lunar month (July 1st in the modern calendar), and the snow and ice stored during the winter were presented to the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo.
The origin lies in the common people offering wheat manju to the gods and Buddha to ensure the ice was delivered safely on its journey.
Later, the custom changed to eating them to pray for good health and ward off illness, which remains today as Himuro Manju.

They are about 4 to 7 centimeters in size.
They are sake manju, made by wrapping bean paste in a dough mixed with wheat flour and a sake starter made from rice and koji, then steaming them.
Some Japanese confectionery shops are said to make them using yeast.

The filling inside varies depending on each Japanese confectionery shop.
In addition to standard bean paste, there are also fillings kneaded with Kaga roasted tea or made using local soy sauce, so I recommend those if you want to enjoy a flavorful Himuro Manju.
By the way, I like smooth bean paste.

A characteristic feature is the three colors of the dough: red and white, and green.
Just like the diamond-shaped rice cakes for Hinamatsuri or the dumplings for cherry blossom viewing, it seems to have the meaning of bringing good luck.

Red represents "flowers" and is for "warding off evil".
White represents the "sun" and is for "purity".
Green represents "fresh greenery" and is for "health and longevity".

A box with three colors of Himuro Manju lined up is very beautiful, but you don't have to buy a whole box; you can also buy them individually.

The first thing that caught my eye was the name "Himuro Manju" written in large letters.

The name "Himuro" also remains in the region where I was born and raised, so I felt a sense of familiarity from the moment I saw the name and immediately looked up the origins of Himuro Manju.

Since it corresponds to the first day of the sixth lunar month, I was confused about whether it was a topic for June or July.

However, for Himuro Manju, I feel there is a strong sense of determination that says,
"Let's eat Himuro Manju on July 1st to ward off the summer heat and welcome the summer that begins in July."

Perhaps this is because the recent intense and extreme heat has been so severe that I am prepared for the season of bracing myself that is about to arrive.

The scene where banners and signs go up all at once at the end of June at local supermarkets, large supermarkets, and Japanese confectionery shops, and then disappear cleanly after July 1st passes, is something I really love because it feels like the unity of the Kaga Domain in "eating Himuro Manju to ward off the summer heat and get through the summer."

I really love that sense of unity of the Kaga Domain in "eating Himuro Manju to ward off the summer heat and get through the summer."

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This is an article participating in Rinka Sanjo's"July x Lifestyle Essay"project.

I was really torn about whether to post it in June, but I love that atmosphere of "It has to be July 1st!" so...

Thank you for reading✨