牡丹餅(ぼたもち)

ぼたもち
noun
botamochi; rice cake coated with sweet red bean paste
foodculture
1. botamochi; sticky rice ball coated with sweet red bean paste
A traditional sweet made of pounded glutinous rice formed into a ball and covered with あんこ (sweet red bean paste). It is closely associated with the spring equinox, when it is offered to ancestors.
牡丹餅(ぼたもち)を作(つく)る。
I make botamochi.
お彼岸(ひがん)に牡丹餅(ぼたもち)を供(そな)える。
We offer botamochi at the equinox.
祖母(そぼ)は春(はる)の彼岸(ひがん)にいつも牡丹餅(ぼたもち)を作(つく)ってくれる。
My grandmother always makes botamochi for the spring equinox.

Named after the 牡丹(ぼたん) (peony), a spring flower. The same sweet eaten at the autumn equinox is usually called おはぎ, named after the bush clover (萩(はぎ)) that blooms then.

Cultural note

  • Strongly tied to お彼岸(ひがん) (the equinoxes), when it is offered at family altars and graves
  • Source of the proverb 棚(たな)から牡丹餅(ぼたもち) ("botamochi from a shelf"), meaning an unexpected stroke of luck

Related Words

Related: 棚(たな)から牡丹餅(ぼたもち) (proverb: unexpected good fortune)
Compare: おはぎ (ohagi)
general
Added 2026.6.20 9:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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