"Abekawa mochi" and Shogun Ieyasu

The other day, one of our customers who visited Shizuoka brought us back 安倍川もち “Abekawa mochi”as a souvenir. Abekawa mochi is a tiny sticky rice cake with roasted soybean flour.

During the Edo era, the upper stream of Abe river was famous for gold mining. When Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa visited there, a man gifted him a mochi with roasted soybean flour.

Since it was so delicious, Ieyasu asked the man the story behind this delicious mochi. The man immediately answered, “This is called金粉餅 “Kinko mochi (gold powder mochi)” because it is said that the gold powder which flew from the gold mine to the Abe river was scooped up and powdered on the mochi.”

Ieyasu praised what he said and named the mochi “Abekawa mochi”

“Abekawa mochi” and Shogun Ieyasu