Hanami & Sakura Mochi Amigurumi (Ollie+Holly)・花見と桜餅あみぐるみ

It's cherry blossom season in Japan and I've been tracking the sakura zensen on Japan Meteorological and Japan Guide. Yeah, it's a little silly because this just aggravates my and Hubby's Japan itch. Besides the cloud of fluttering cherry blossoms, and the chilly whip in the crisp spring air, I can almost taste spring's seasonal foods, my favourites of the season including sansai, all kinds of shellfish, and various spring fishes.

But today's theme is hanami and sakura blossoms. When it comes to sakura season in Japan, sakura mochi桜餅 is one of the must-try sakura food items. So, fresh off my hook is sakura mochi, domyoji style, which I'm matching with a cup of green tea. This amigurumi was made using the free sakura mochi crochet pattern by Ollie + Holly.

Enjoying a sense of spring — sakura mochi (IG).

It is said that sakura mochi appeared in the 18th century, around the time of the 8th Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune. There are 2 types of sakura mochi in Japan: the domyoji道明寺 style, and the chomeiji長命寺 style. Both styles are popular, but the domyoji style is the common style throughout Japan. It is made with domyoji-ko道明寺粉, rice flour made from coarsely ground steamed glutinous rice, which is why the mochi is sticky, soft and fluffy. And as we know, Japanese people love the mochi mochi texture. Actually I think most Asians do. We love things QQ, so naturally we love the sticky mochi mochi texture too. The domyoji style is also known as the Kansai style because its roots are in the Kansai region, i.e. Buddhist temple Domyoji in Fujidera, Osaka. While the mochi is supposedly named after the flour used, it is said that the temple is where domyoji-ko originated.

The chomeiji長命寺 style consists of a pancake-like mochi rolled around the anko filling. The mochi is made by baking shiratama-ko白玉粉, sugar and water. This style originated in another Buddhist temple, Chomeiji in Mukojima. This sakura mochi was created in 1717, when the Chomeiji gatekeeper Yamamoto山本 Shinroku新六 came up with the idea of pickling sakura leaves in salt, which he then wrapped around mochi and sold in front of the temple. It became popular during the Edo period, and became considered a famous Edo (Tokyo) specialty that was featured in Edo era ukiyo-e prints. For e.g. this 1847-1852 guide on famous Edo specialties by Ichieisai Yoshitsuya, aka Utagawa Yoshitsuya (一英斎芳艶「新版御府内流行名物案内双六」), and "Sakura blossoms on the banks of Mukojima and sakura mochi" from the 1864 series The Pride of Edo: 36 Scenes by Utagawa Hiroshige II and Utagawa Toyokuni III (歌川広重・歌川豊国「江戸自慢三十六興　向嶋堤ノ花并ニさくら餅」). His shop Yamamoto-ya still sells its original chomeiji sakura mochi today. The Mukojima district is on the east side of Tokyo's Sumida River, opposite Asakusa. The nearest best known tourist landmark is probably the SkyTree, which is actually officially located in the neighbouring Oshiage district.

All of this reminds me of a short but cute sequence in episode 1 of the anime Rokuhoudou鹿楓堂 Yotsuiroよついろ Biyori日和 when Gure, the Italian-Japanese ikemen barista working there, gets chided for not knowing the 2 styles when he works in a traditional Japanese teahouse.

Screenshot from Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori, episode 1 at 00:11:50 — domyoji style vs. chomeiji style. Source & copyright: Shimizu Yuu/Shinchosha/ZEXCS Inc./Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori Production Committee

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of most sakura flavoured foods, because...well, it really doesn't taste of much. It's mostly the aroma, which is subtle. I do very much enjoy sakura sake however, and would love to eat sakura sake jelly! I say that, but all this brings to mind that delicious yomogi sakura mochi蓬桜餅 that I ate back in a 2015 summer trip to Kamikochi. Now that was one that I liked very much, with its balanced ratio of salty and sweet. In hindsight, it's kind of surprising that it was still available in summer, as yomogi (mugwort), like sakura, is a spring season food. Hubby and I were on catching the shinkansen at Nagano Station, when we passed the small station store of Kiso Narai-juku Kimura木曽 奈良井宿 きむら, which I later learnt is an established store in Narai-juku, a historical post town that was the 34th station along the Nakasendo. Sigh...this is stoking my longtime wish to do the Nakasendo trail...if Hubby would only agree....

The delicious yomogi sakura mochi from the Nagano Station store of Kiso Narai-juku Kimura, summer 2015.

Seeing the pictures on social media of the sakura in Japan, I can't believe it's been 2 years since I was last physically there. To think that in early March 2020, we were among early blooming sakura in Tokyo. Soon afterwards, borders closed and a worldwide travel ban was implemented to stem the tide of the pandemic. At the time, we spent our last 3 days in and around our hotel, and in parks in Tokyo. Mainly Yoyogi Park and one of my favourite Tokyo parks, Shinjuku Gyoen.

Early sakura at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, 15 March 2020 (more on IG).

Early blooming kohigan-zakura at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, 15 March 2020.

On our last day in Tokyo, we stopped by Shinjuku Gyoen. It's one of my favourite parks in Tokyo, with its wide lawns, variety of landscapes and highlights. With around 1,000 sakura trees of 65 species, it is also one of the best sakura spots in Tokyo, with a long sakura season that starts from around February with the early blooming species like kanzakura寒桜, through to March with the representative Somei Yoshino, the Oshima-zakuraオオシマザクラ, and April with later blooming species like the kanzan-zakura関山桜, ichiyo-zakura一葉桜, kasumi-zakura霞桜. It also has rarer sakura species like the pale yellow ukonウコン and green gyoikou御衣黄.

Early blooming sakura at Shinjuku Gyoen, 17 March 2020 (more on IG).

Early blooming sakura at Shinjuku Gyoen, 17 March 2020 (more on IG).

Thinking back, I just remembered that I didn't do a full post of that early 2020 trip (IG), or of the spring of 2018 when we caught the sakura at peak bloom in Tokyo (IG). I can't help but think now of how crowded hanami season had been in 2018, and how there was hardly anyone in March 2020.

In the present time, it would be past peak in Tokyo now. But according to this year's sakura zensen forecast, it will be peak bloom in the Fuji Five Lakes area in a few days time. This sure brings back memories of a Fuji Five Lakes spring trip in 2017 where we got to catch some sakura too....

Gotemba-zakura at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes, spring 2017 (IG).

Late-blooming kanzan-zakura at Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Fuji Five Lakes, spring 2017 (IG).

All this is making me really really crave some spring season snack, like sakura mochi or maybe sanshoku dango.... Or this delicious looking sakura spring-themed sweets makunouchi bento幕の内弁当 featured in Rokuhoudou....

Screenshot from Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori, episode 1 at 00:20:33 — a makunouchi bento filled with spring-themed sweets. Source & copyright: Shimizu Yuu/Shinchosha/ZEXCS Inc./Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori Production Committee.

Materials & Tools:

• Pattern: sakura mochi crochet pattern by Ollie + Holly
• Yarn: Scheepjes Catona No.238 Powder Pink and No.395 Willow
• Hook: 2.5mm Clover Amour hook

Domyoji sakura mochi (IG), pattern by Ollie + Holly.