The main foods of the Dragon Boat Festival in Japan are rice dumplings and mistletoe cakes. Rice dumplings are eaten in the Kansai region, while the mistletoe cakes are more common in the Kanto region. Rice dumplings were called "grass rolls" in ancient Japan. They were originally wrapped with thatch leaves in a conical shape. Later, rice dumplings wrapped with calamus leaves, bamboo leaves, and reed leaves appeared. The Japanese Dragon Boat Festival drink is naturally calamus wine.

 

The reason why the Japanese eat hú leaf cake is that the old leaves of the mistletoe leaves will not fall before the tender leaves grow, which also contains the beautiful meaning of the prosperity of the children and grandchildren. To date, the Japanese still attach great importance to the Dragon Boat Festival, and the festive atmosphere is very lively.

At the same time, the Dragon Boat Festival is also the time for merchants to promote. Many merchants will launch some festival-related products, such as chocolates in the Warring States period and samurai-shaped cakes to attract children.

 

Japanese rice dumplings/grass rolls:

Japanese rice dumplings were introduced from China during the Heian period after the Nara era. At that time, the rice dumplings were only offered as offerings during the Dragon Boat Festival in the imperial palace and were later popularized. The rice dumpling skins in Japan are also diverse, including Pakchoi, bamboo leaves, artemisia leaves, etc.

Therefore, the rice dumplings are also called "maki rolls" in Japanese. In Japan, people make dumplings instead of glutinous rice but use ground rice flour. The shape of the dumplings is different from that of China. They are used to making dumplings.

 

Kushiwamochi: Kashiwamochi is more common and more popular. It is actually a kind of wagashi and mochi. It is mostly made with red bean, honey bean, chestnut, miso and other fillings. Wrap a layer of glutinous rice coat and a layer of flour, and then wrap it in half with a leaf of oak. The leaves of the mistletoe cake cannot be eaten. The reason is that the leaves of the oak (hú lì) have a prosperous meaning in Japanese culture, which symbolizes the harmonious flow from generation to generation, and on the other hand, because there are stories circulating in the workshop, the Showa has always been called the "winding" habit Emperor, a stomach discomfort due to consuming mistletoe without following the tradition. Of course, the fact is that the mistletoe is not edible.

 

Calamus wine: Calamus wine is a must-have item for the Dragon Boat Festival in Japan. Calamus not only plays a role in warding off evil spirits in Japan, but its sword-shaped appearance is also reminiscent of slaying monsters, plus its Japanese pronunciation and "Shangwu" "The same is a symbol of bravery. Japanese people also drink calamus wine and bath with calamus water. Japanese bathing with calamus water is called calamus soup. At night, regardless of sex, men and women, they should take calamus bath. It is said that the aroma of calamus can drive away demons.