Today is Himuro Day!

(Prayers for good health and good health were and still are passed down through the generations as Kaga’s heat rite.)

Today is Himuro day. I bought a lot of Himuro manjuu at various Japanese confectionery shops in the prefecture.

Himuro manjuu is basically a sake manjuu. Most stores use sake in their manjuu.

Himuro manjuu with too much sake

Koda Futaba” in Komatsu City.

It contains a lot of sake; if you eat 2 or 3 pieces and drive a car, you will be caught by the police. Be careful!

Himuro manjuu with little or no alcohol

Urata in Kanazawa City.

Even children can eat safely.

Recommended Himuro Manjuu

Morihachi” in Kanazawa City.

This wagashiya is considered the best in the prefecture. It is a wagashiya designated by the Kaga Clan in the castle town of Kanazawa.

Ice house

An ice house (himuro, haishitsu, English: ice house) is a specialized facility that functions as a cold storage facility by storing ice or snow. It is a thermal storage facility that has been used in many parts of the world since ancient times. Although the use of ice houses has decreased dramatically in modern times with the spread of refrigeration and air conditioning using electric devices, they continue to be used for the purpose of saving electricity, aging sake and food, and for cultural events in regions where the climate has high temperatures that cause ice and snow to melt and disappear, or where ice and snow are not present all year round.

Wikipedia

Kaga Clan and Ice House

In the Edo period (1603-1867), it was customary for the Kaga clan to offer ice from the Ice House to the Shogun’s family on June 1 of each year (according to the lunar calendar).

There is a Noh play with Himuro as its subject and title. It is one of the side Noh plays of Aragamimono.

Wikipedia

Himuro Manjuu

Himuro-manju is a traditional bun in Ishikawa Prefecture. It is an auspicious confection eaten in early summer on July 1 every year. It is a round shaped sake bun filled with red bean paste, and the skin comes in three colors: white, red (peach), and green.

History

• During the Edo period, the Maeda family of the Kaga Domain offered snow ice from their icehouse to the shogunate every July 1 (June 1 on the lunar calendar). During the reign of Tsunanori Maeda, the fifth lord of the Kaga domain, a manjuu (steamed bun) was invented by Dogan-ya Hikobei, a confectioner in Kanazawa, and offered at a shrine to pray for safety on the road. This event is said to be the origin of Himuro-manju.
• Even in the Meiji era (1868-1912), July 1 was still regarded as the day of the opening of the ice house (Himuro no Hi), and the custom of eating manjuu to pray for good health remained.

Wikipedia