{{Short description|Japanese confection}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=February 2018}} {{Expand Japanese|topic=cult|桜餅|date=November 2025}} }} {{Infobox food | image = A rice cake filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in a pickled cherry leaf,katori-city,japan.JPG | image_size = 230px | caption = Sakuramochi (Kanto-style) | alternate_name = | place_of_origin = [[Japan]] | region = | creator = | served = | main_ingredient = Sweet pink-colored [[rice cake]], [[red bean paste]], pickled cherry blossom leaf | variations = | calories = | other = Traditionally consumed on [[Hinamatsuri]] and at ''[[Hanami]]'' }}
[[File:Sakuramochi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kansai]]-style sakuramochi]]{{Nihongo|'''''Sakuramochi'''''|[[Wiktionary:桜餅|桜餅]]}} is a [[Wagashi|Japanese confection (''wagashi'')]] consisting of sweet, pink-colored rice cake (''[[mochi]]'') with [[red bean paste]] (''anko'') filling, wrapped in a pickled [[cherry blossom]] (''sakura'') leaf, which may or may not be eaten depending on individual preference. Traditionally, the sweet is eaten during the [[spring (season)|spring]] season,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sakuramochi (pink-colored rice cake filled with red bean paste wrapped with a cherry blossom leaf) |url=https://local-cuisine.maff.go.jp/en/recipe/6756/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=Our Regional Cuisines |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Publication |first=Takayuki Nakao / Special to Ryoko Yomiuri |date=2023-03-14 |title=Japan Tourism / Sakura Mochi Heralds the Coming of Spring |url=https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/features/travel-spots/20230314-97122/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=japannews.yomiuri.co.jp |language=en}}</ref> especially at the annual ''[[Hinamatsuri]]'' celebration on March 3 and flower viewing (''[[hanami]]'') parties.<ref>{{cite web |title=Only In Spring! Seasonal Japanese Desserts You Should Try |url=http://favy-jp.com/topics/32 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404130340/http://favy-jp.com/topics/32 |archive-date=4 April 2017 |website=favy}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sui |first=Hadley |title=Oishisou!! The Ultimate Anime Dessert Cookbook |date=June 14, 2022 |publisher=Insight Editions |others=Illustrated by Monique Narboneta Zosa |isbn=9781647225681}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kirker |first=Constance L. |title=Cherry |last2=Newman |first2=Mary |date=March 16, 2021 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=9781789142839 |pages=73}}</ref> [[File:Sakuramochi, inside.jpg|thumb|right|The interior of a sakuramochi, showing the red-bean paste inside]]
== History == The invention of sakuramochi is traditionally attributed to the [[Sumida, Tokyo#History|Mukōjima]] neighborhood of [[Edo period|Edo]] (today Tokyo) in the second year of the [[Kyōhō|Kyōhō era]] (1717 AD),<ref>{{Cite web |title=TOPページ{{!}}長命寺櫻もち |url=https://sakura-mochi.com/ |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=sakura-mochi.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sakuramochi: A Spring Delicacy {{!}} April 2021 {{!}} Highlighting Japan |url=https://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/html/202104/202104_07_en.html |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.gov-online.go.jp}}</ref> when Shinroku Yamamoto,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Sakuramochi {{!}} Traditional Dessert From Tokyo {{!}} TasteAtlas |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/sakuramochi |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.tasteatlas.com}}</ref> who had worked as a gatekeeper at [[:ja:長命寺 (墨田区)|Chōmei-ji Temple]]<ref name=":2" /> since 1691, established a teahouse named Yamamoto-ya in front of the temple.
Originally meant for those visiting their family graves in the Chōmei-ji cemetery, the sweet was wrapped in cherry blossom leaves Yamamoto collected while cleaning up the temple grounds.<ref name=":2"/> The sweet grew popular among the crowds of ''hanami''-goers, many of whom were attracted by the cherry blossom trees planted along the [[Sumida River]] by the order of the ''shōgun'' [[Tokugawa Yoshimune]].
Yamamoto-ya remains in business to this day and is often simply referred to as Chōmeiji. Available all year, its sakuramochi is made from wheat flour, [[Adzuki bean|adzuki]] from [[Hokkaido]], and [[Prunus speciosa|Oshima cherry]] leaves from [[Matsuzaki, Shizuoka]], using a recipe largely unchanged since the Edo period. [[File:Chomeiji Sakuramochi.jpg|thumb|Sakuramochi at Yamamoto-ya, also known simply as Chōmeiji.]]
== Types == There are two major types of sakuramochi: Chōmeiji and Dōmyōji.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Though their origins are regional, both types are often available at ''wagashi'' shops and supermarkets. ; Kanto style : Sakuramochi common in the [[Kantō region|Kantō]] region, particularly in Tokyo, also known as ''Chōmeiji-mochi''. This type is a kind of crêpe made from ''shiratama-ko'' (glutinous rice flour), though the original sakuramochi at Chōmeiji Yamamoto-ya uses wheat flour. ; Kansai style : Sakuramochi common in the [[Kansai region|Kansai]] region, also referred to as ''[[Dōmyō-ji|Dōmyōji]]-mochi'' after the Buddhist temple in [[Osaka]] where its nuns made the famous ''Dōmyōji-hoshii'' (dried glutinous rice). It is somewhat similar to [[Botamochi|ohagi]].
== See also == * [[Sakurayu]] * [[Sakura cheese]] * [[Hwajeon]] * [[Japanese tea ceremony]] * [[Wajik]] * [[Kashiwa mochi]] * [[Hanabiramochi]] * [[Hishi mochi]] * [[Warabimochi]] * [[Zunda-mochi]] * [[Kuzumochi]] * [[Kusa mochi]] * [[Hyōroku mochi]] * [[Botamochi]] * [[Kusamochi]] {{Commons category|Sakura mochi}}
==References== {{reflist}}
[[Category:Japanese cuisine]] [[Category:Cherry blossom]] [[Category:Wagashi]] [[Category:Adzuki bean desserts]]