วันอังคารที่ 16 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Kinpiragobo - Named After a Son of Kintaro



Most Japanese people upon hearing the word kinpira probably imagine kinpiragobo (fried burdock root). Kinpira, however, is originally a type of stir-fry prepared with sugar, soysauce, and sake and seasoned with cayenne pepper . Besides gobo (burdock root), kinpira can be made with other foods such as udo, shirataki (noodles made from devil's tongue starch), bamboo shoots, carrots, and lotus root.

From the department store food floors to convenience stores, kinpira can always be found in the prepared food sections of the stores. Before the Pacific War, it seems that kinpiragobo was the first thing to come to mind when the phrase "prepared food" was mentioned. This kinpira made its appearance in a document of around the Bunsei era (1818 to 1830) in the latter half of the Edo period. However, it appears that kinpira was not fried in oil back then.

Be that as it may, where did this slightly odd-sounding name of kinpira come from?

Kinpira was taken from the personal name of Sakata no Kinpira. Sakata no Kintoki who was one of the "four heavenly kings" serving under Minamoto no Yorimitsu and is even better known as the model for legendary child Kintaro with an ax on his shoulder. Possessed of prodigious strength, Kinpira was a hero that used his supernatural strength to distinguish himself in serveral military exploits. Kinpira was extremely courageous, but on the other hand, he was completely innocent at heart and also absentminded at times. Kinpira became a popular figure during the Edo period because this gap between his enormous strength and personality appealed to the common people of that time.

That being said, this Kinpira was merely a character in a joruri (a narative chanted to the accompaniment of shamisem music) and was not a person that actually existed.

So, why did this popular character in the narrative become the name of a dish? It's because it is a fairly tough food. The burdock root in kinpiragobo is very hard and has a spicy taste. That is, because the food seemd to be just like the great hero Sakata no Kinpira, kinpiragobo was named after him.

It's probably because people show interest in food named after heroes like children nowadays are attracted to so-called Ranger Sausages and so on. The people back then borrowed the name of Sakata no Kinpira to catch onto his popularity.



From JAPAN CLOSE-UP November 2009

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