きんとん

きんとん
noun
sweetened chestnut paste; mashed sweet potato with chestnuts
foodculture
1. sweetened chestnut paste; mashed sweet potato with chestnuts
A traditional Japanese sweet dish made by mashing sweet potatoes (or yams) with sugar and mixing in whole boiled chestnuts. The bright yellow color symbolizes gold, so it is a customary New Year's (お正月(しょうがつ)) おせち料理(おせちりょうり) dish wishing for wealth in the coming year.
母(はは)がきんとんを作(つく)った。
My mother made kinton.
おせちには栗(くり)きんとんが欠(か)かせない。
Chestnut kinton is indispensable in osechi.
きんとんの鮮(あざ)やかな黄色(きいろ)は金(きん)を象徴(しょうちょう)し、豊(ゆた)かな一年(いちねん)を願(ねが)う意味(いみ)がある。
Kinton's vivid yellow symbolizes gold and carries the meaning of wishing for a prosperous year.

Originally written 金団(きんとん) ("gold cluster"); the yellow color is the source of the auspicious meaning. The most familiar form is 栗(くり)きんとん (chestnut kinton).

Common collocations

Cultural note

In おせち料理(おせちりょうり), each dish carries a wish for the new year. きんとん's gold color represents wealth (金運(きんうん)) and a prosperous year.

Similar words

  • おせち料理(りょうり): New Year's cuisine — the larger meal that contains きんとん
  • 餡(あん): sweet bean paste — a different category of sweetened paste, made from beans rather than chestnuts and sweet potatoes

Related Words

Compare: おせち料理(りょうり) (New Year's cuisine)
Compare: 餡(あん) (sweet bean paste)
general
Added 2026.6.1 11:10 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
28000/28495_kinton