# Botamochi

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Botamochi
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Botamochi.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botamochi
> Source revision: 1337502783
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Japanese confection}}
{{Italic title|reason=[:Category:Japanese words and phrases](/source/%3ACategory%3AJapanese_words_and_phrases)}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = ''Botamochi''
| image            = Ohagi Botamochi.jpg
| image_size       = 300px
| caption          = 
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = [Japan](/source/Japan)
| region           = 
| creator          = 
| type             = [Confectionery](/source/Confectionery), [Rice cake](/source/Rice_cake)
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [glutinous rice](/source/glutinous_rice), [short-grain rice](/source/Japanese_rice), sweet [red bean paste](/source/red_bean_paste)
| variations       = Ohagi
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}
{{nihongo|'''''Botamochi'''''|ぼたもち or 牡丹餅}} is a [wagashi (Japanese confection)](/source/Wagashi) made with [glutinous rice](/source/glutinous_rice), white [rice](/source/Japanese_rice) (ratio of 7:3, or only glutinous rice), and sweet [azuki](/source/azuki) paste ([red bean paste](/source/red_bean_paste)). They are made by soaking the rice for approximately 1 hour. The rice is then cooked, and a thick azuki paste is hand-packed around pre-formed balls of rice. Botamochi is eaten as [sacred food as offering](/source/sacred_food_as_offering) during the weeks of the spring and the autumn [Higan](/source/Higan) in Japan.

Another name for this kind of confection is {{nihongo|'''''ohagi'''''|おはぎ}}, the origin and meaning of which is a subject of debate, with some saying <ref>{{Cite book |date=1998-03-01 |script-title=ja:丸善食品総合辞典 |publisher=丸善 |page=116 |language=ja}}</ref> that ohagi uses a slightly different texture of azuki paste but is otherwise almost identical. It is made in autumn and some recipe variations in both cases call for a coating of soy flour to be applied to the ohagi after the azuki paste.

[[File:Botamochi,Ohagi,Katori-city,Japan.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Botamochi (Koshian type, which is smooth and fine-grained [red bean paste](/source/red_bean_paste) type）]]
The two different names are, some people say,<ref>{{Cite book |date=1998-03-01 |script-title=ja:丸善食品総合辞典 |publisher=丸善 |page=1014 |language=ja}}</ref> derived from the Botan ([peony](/source/peony)) which blooms in the spring and the Hagi (Japanese [bush clover](/source/Lespedeza) or Lespedeza) which blooms during autumn.

''Botamochi'' is the modern name for the dish ''kaimochi'' (かいもち) mentioned in the [Heian period](/source/Heian_period) text ''[Uji Shūi Monogatari](/source/Uji_Sh%C5%ABi_Monogatari)'' (宇治拾遺物語).{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

The proverb {{nihongo|''Tana kara botamochi''|棚からぼたもち}}, literally "a botamochi falls down from a shelf", means "receiving a windfall", "a lucky break".{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

The term is also used for a specific pattern of [Bizen ware](/source/Bizen_ware) with two, three or five round marks, as if the marks of the small balls of rice cakes were left on the plate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=That's Bizen Pottery > Bizen Pottery and Its Beauty |url=http://www.city.bizen.okayama.jp/english/bizen/miryoku.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127000023/http://www.city.bizen.okayama.jp/english/bizen/miryoku.html |archive-date=2020-01-27 |access-date=2017-04-02 |website=Bizen City Okayama}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bizen'yaki no yaki-iro |script-title=ja:備前焼の焼き色 |url=http://bizenyakija.com/bizenyakiColor.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326202627/http://bizenyakija.com/bizenyakiColor.html |archive-date=2017-03-26 |access-date=2017-04-02 |website=bizenyakija.com |language=ja}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commonscat}}
* [Higan](/source/Higan)
* [Mochi](/source/Mochi)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Wagashi
Category:Glutinous rice desserts
Category:Adzuki bean desserts
Category:Japanese legume dishes

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Botamochi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botamochi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botamochi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.