{{Short description|Japanese sweet}} {{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}} {{Infobox food | name = Hanabiramochi | image = Hanabiramochi.JPG | image_size = 300px | caption = | alternate_name = | country = [[Japan]] | region = | creator = | type = [[Wagashi]] | served = | main_ingredient = [[Mochi]], [[miso]], [[Gyūhi]], [[Arctium lappa|burdock]] | variations = | calories = | other = }}
{{Nihongo|'''''Hanabiramochi'''''|葩餅}} is a Japanese sweet (''[[wagashi]]''), usually eaten at the beginning of the year.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=He |first=Yiting |date=2018 |title=Culinary Integration and Sweet Imagination: The Case of Japanese Confectionery under Globalisation |url=https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/64328}}</ref> Hanabiramochi are also served at the first [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]] of the new year.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315753454/routledge-history-food-carol-helstosky |title=The Routledge History of Food |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Helstosky |editor-first=Carol |doi=10.4324/9781315753454|isbn=978-1-317-62113-3 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Hanabiramochi {{!}} Traditional Dessert From Japan {{!}} TasteAtlas |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/hanabiramochi |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=www.tasteatlas.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldstein |first=Darra |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |last2=Mintz |first2=Sidney |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780199313624 |edition=Reprint}}</ref>
==Origin== The name "hanabiramochi" literally means "flower petal [[mochi]]". The original form of Hanabiramochi is ''Hishihanabira'', a dessert that was eaten by the [[Imperial House of Japan|Imperial family]] at special events coinciding with the beginning of the year.
''Hanabiramochi'' was first made in the [[Meiji Era]], and is now a familiar New Year ''[[wagashi]]''.<ref name=":0" />
==Form== The exact shape of ''hanabiramochi'' is strictly defined by tradition. The white ''mochi'' covering is flat and round, folded over to form a semicircular shape, and must have a pink color showing through in the center of the confection, fading to a white at the edge. Unlike a ''[[daifuku]]'', the ''mochi'' must not completely seal the insides.
In the center of a ''hanabiramochi'' is a layer of ''[[Red bean paste|anko]]'', a sweet bean paste, commonly the white kind made from sweetened [[mung beans]]. In the very center is a thin strip of sweetly flavoured ''gobo'' ([[Arctium lappa|burdock]]), which protrudes from the ''mochi'' on both sides.
==Significance and symbolism== Each element of the ''hanabiramochi'' is significant:
The red colour showing through the white ''[[mochi]]'' is not only appropriate to the celebration of the new year, but also evokes the Japanese apricot/plum (''[[ume]]'') blossom, which in turn represents the purity, perseverance, and renewal associated with the New Year.
The ''gobo'' represents pressed ''[[Ayu sweetfish|ayu]]'', a fish exclusive to East Asia, and a prayer for a long life.
==See also== * [[Sakuramochi]] * [[Hwajeon]] * [[Japanese New Year]]
== References == {{Reflist}} [[Category:Japanese cuisine]] [[Category:Wagashi]] [[Category:Chadō]] [[Category:Japanese New Year foods]]