Ohagi is a Japanese sweet made with glutinous rice and sweet red bean paste. The cooked rice is lightly mashed and formed into ball shapes and thick red bean paste is hand-packed around them. They are commonly eaten during higan periods in spring and autumn, Buddhist holidays celebrated during both equinoxes. The name, Ohagi, came from the autumn flower, Hagi (bush clover).
Origin of Ohagi-ya
In the old days of the Motomochi clan, we always celebrated spring and autumn higan with ‘Ohagi’, and we remember our mother sharing her homemade Ohagi with her friends and neighbours. We hope that you will enjoy the ‘heart of hospitality’ our mother had passed down to our generation.
Four seasons of Mt. Fuji
We have sublimated ‘our mother’s Ohagi’ into ‘Japanese hospitality’ and symbolized the four seasons of Mt. Fuji. Please enjoy our Ohagi that has no additives for your safety and peace of mind.
1Set (4 pieces) 1,500yen (Include Tax)
Spring: Mt. Fuji lying in fresh greenery
Summer: Shining moonlight on the surface of Mt. Fuji
Autumn: Crimson dancing in the sea of golden Fuji
Winter: Mt. Fuji layered with a colour of pure white
Classic Ohagi
1Piece 200yen (Include Tax)
3flavors
Azuki Flavor (Most standard in Japan)
Shirohanamame Flavor
Kinako Flavor
About Ohagi
This sweet is also called ‘Botamochi’ in spring, which was named after the spring flower, Botan (peony). These seasonal names also have official names for summer and winter (although this custom is rarely followed in modern days). Here are the names and origins of ‘Botamochi’ for each season.
Spring: Botamochi (peony rice cake)
Red bean paste was used as an offering for the Shinto gods and Buddha as well as ancestors in the season of peony, that is, the spring equinox. The name ‘Botamochi’ came from the resemblance of the offering to the peony flowers. In the Wakan Sansai Zue (an illustrated Japanese encyclopedia published in the early 17th century), it is stated as ‘Botamochi and Ohagi are named after the shapes and colours of their flowers’.
Summer: Yofune (night boat)
The way Botamochi is made is different from regular rice cakes. Since it can be made without the ‘pounding’ sound, the people living next door will not know ( shirazu) when Botamochi is made. The word ‘to pound’ is pronounced as ‘tsuki’ and the word ‘to arrive’ is also pronounced as ‘tsuki’ in Japanese. Playing on words, ‘They don’t know ( shirazu) when it is pounded (tsuki)’ became ‘They don’t know when it arrives (tsuki) ’. It is called ‘Yofune’ (night boat) because it is too dark at night to know when boats arrive.
Autumn: Ohagi
Like Botamochi, the red bean paste resembles hagi flowers that bloom during the autumn equinox.
Winter: Kitamado (northern window)
Just like the night boat, this is another wordplay. The word ‘pounding’ is pronounced as ‘tsuki’ and the word ‘moon’ is also pronounced as ‘tsuki’. Playing on words again, ‘They don’t know when it is pounded’ became ‘They don’t know where the moon is’. The northern window is where you can’t see the moon from, thus, it is called ‘northern window’.
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