Hello everyone, this is KOTO Kyoto.

Summer coming to Kyoto finally.

 

This season.
Do you know that you can eat a Japanese traditional sweets only in Kyoto on 30th June?

That’s here.

It’s a traditional Japanese sweets “Minazuki”.
(Photo by site of cooking.)

Minazuki is a Japanese sweets with a triangular shape, put Azuki(red beans) on Uiro(rice flour pudding) and hardened it.
It’s soft and chewy like Yokan and large drops of Azuki are combined.
In Kyoto, It’s seasonal from the middle of June, Minazuki is in store.

The name Minazuki refers to June in the lunar calendar.
It originally in the Muromachi period, people eaten the ice to prayed for prevent exhaustion from the summer heat on the first day of June in the Imperial Court. However, it was difficult for ordinary people at that time to get ice because it was a luxury item. So they eaten ice-like sweets. That is Minazuki.

The triangular shape resembles a piece of ice or an ice horn, and Azuki has an important meaning that expels evil spirits or exorcism.

Born in Kyoto and raised in Kyoto, I thought that it was normal to eat Minazuki in June, but I learned about this custom is only Kyoto recently.

When you come to Kyoto, would you try this Minazuki?

See you next time!