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.
牡丹餅を作る。
I make botamochi.
お彼岸に牡丹餅を供える。
We offer botamochi at the equinox.
祖母は春の彼岸にいつも牡丹餅を作ってくれる。
My grandmother always makes botamochi for the spring equinox.
Named after the 牡丹 (peony), a spring flower. The same sweet eaten at the autumn equinox is usually called おはぎ, named after the bush clover (萩) that blooms then.
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
- Strongly tied to お彼岸 (the equinoxes), when it is offered at family altars and graves
- Source of the proverb 棚から牡丹餅 ("botamochi from a shelf"), meaning an unexpected stroke of luck