The Momiji Manju are a famous sweet of Miyajima of Aki, and remind of one of three most
famous views in Japan.
Miyajima is a famous place for viewing the red leaves of autumn, in particular at the
Koyoutani (red leaf valley) park. Around 1907, when the Ryokan (Japanese style 'hotel')
located within this park purchased sweets to be served with Japanese tea the merchant
Tsunesuke Takatsu was reportedly ordered to prepare sweets in the form of maple leaves.
When the first prime minister Hirofumi Itou visited a tea house on Miyajima, he observed
the beautiful hands of the young lady serving the sweets and said: "Baking and eating these
cute little hands in the shape of maple leaves must surely be delicious." This incident
became the beginning of the production of this kind of sweet.
Regarding the origin there are two theories obscuring reality, but at the beginning of
the Showa period there were several dozen of shops selling these Momiji Manju.
The Momiji Manju are characterized in that they are made from superior quality red bean
paste, where the cover of the bean has been removed in advance. Else the preparation of
the aromatic dough for these buns requires wheat flower, eggs, sugar and malt syrup. Way
back in 1965 these buns were baked on iron plates rotated manually over a charcoal fire,
but today automatic turntable devices have been developed and now allow mass production.
These traditional Japanese sweet are selling by adding a good portion of western taste.
In 1984 new products substituting the bean paste with cheese cream or chocolate appeared
on the market.
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