Why Did a Warlord Name
a Sweet on the Spot?
A samurai warlord tasted a sweet in 1585 and named it right there. A pie's mashed-potato crust began as a cheap substitute for pastry.
Sorted by what kind of story explains them, twelve more foods fall into three groups.
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Three Kinds of Food Stories, Round Two
Ayatoki's Food genre covers everything from Japanese comfort food to dishes from around the world. Sorting twelve more of them by what kind of story explains the name turns up three groups: names borrowed from an animal or legend, dishes born from a documented historical moment, and dishes defined by where they come from.
Named After an Animal or a Legend
01
Uguisu Mochi
According to tradition, this sweet was first presented to the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi during his visit to Yamato-Koriyama in 1585. He liked it so much he supposedly named it himself — "uguisu mochi," after the bush warbler (uguisu), for its pale green color.
02
Uguisu-an
A green sweet bean paste made from green peas — not matcha, as many assume. It's named after the same bush warbler (uguisu) as uguisu mochi, for its similar pale green feathers.
03
Kappa Maki
A thin sushi roll filled with cucumber. Its name comes from folklore that cucumbers are the favorite food of the kappa, a water-dwelling goblin from Japanese legend. It's a popular palate-cleanser between richer, fattier cuts of fish at sushi restaurants.
Born From a Documented Historical Moment
04
Katsu Curry
A distinctly Japanese dish combining a breaded, fried cutlet with curry rice. It's said to have been invented in 1948 at Grill Swiss, a Western-style restaurant in Tokyo's Ginza district.
05
Peach Melba
Created around 1893 by French chef Auguste Escoffier in honor of the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba. The combination of peaches and ice cream is still served around the world under her name today.
06
Salad Chicken
First commercialized in 2001 by Amatake, a food company in Iwate Prefecture. A skinless, lower-fat version launched in 2014 rode Japan's growing health-food trend and turned it into a convenience-store staple.
07
Cottage Pie
A British home-cooked dish of ground beef in a savory sauce, topped with layers of mashed potato and cheese and baked. It's said to have originated at a time when flour was expensive, leading cooks to substitute a cheap, abundant crop — the potato — for a traditional pastry crust.
Defined by Where — or When — It Comes From
08
Miso Ramen
A ramen dish built around a broth of dissolved fermented soybean paste. It was born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, sometime in the 1950s, and became famous as a way to warm up in one of Japan's coldest cities.
09
Straw-Wrapped Natto
A traditional style of fermented soybeans wrapped in rice straw. The natto bacteria naturally present on the straw itself does the fermenting — meaning in the old days, all you needed to make natto was some straw.
10
Peking Duck
A single duck is said to yield about 120 slices of crispy skin. Chefs achieve the signature crackle by using a special air pump to separate the skin from the meat before roasting.
11
Sriracha Sauce
A hot sauce of red chili, garlic, and vinegar that originated in Thailand. The green-capped bottle produced by California's Huy Fong Foods has become the version most recognized worldwide.
12
Tokoroten
A jelly-like food made by boiling down a type of seaweed called tengusa. Records show it was already being presented as a tribute to the imperial court in the Nara period, giving it a documented history stretching back well over 1,000 years.
Knowing the Name Changes the Next Bite
Somewhere behind every dish you eat without a second thought, someone gave it its name. Ayatoki's Food genre shows a short trivia fact like these every time you solve a word.
💡 The Food genre spans everything from Japanese home cooking to dishes from around the world, so you'll run into plenty of unfamiliar names along the way.