Anpan by Kimuraya
The Traditional Sweet Bread since Meiji Era

Date：29, Apr, 2013
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei
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This time introduced is anpan by Kimuraya as a confectionery, although I thoroughly grasp the thesis that says bean-jam buns are not a sweet but a kind of sweetened bun. That is since they have developed and spread most of sweet bread in Japan and then, I think sweet bread must be our story which Japanese boast of. Sweetened bread should be reckoned as an evolutionary form of confectionery.

A representative of sweet bread is a bean-jam bun which they cram bean jam into a bun, you see. Maybe you will think most Japanese bakeries carry anpan and they are much of a muchness. However, everything has its origin and its reason. You would find the two of bean-jam buns in anpan by Kimuraya.

Kimura Yasubee established Kimuraya, once upon a time. And his second son Kimura Eisaburou and he developed and launched bean-jam bread first in the world. It was in 1874. They wrapped bean jam with bread dough and fermented with special yeast. At Ginza, Tokyo, Japan, they sold the first anpan.

Next year, 1875, they got to offer Kimuraya's bean-jam bread as a tea cake to the Emperor Meiji when Meiji Tenno visited Mukaishima. All Japanese loved its modern deliciousness so much. There, they put a salted cherry petal on the center of their anpan. It is also an evidence of the bean-jam bread originator.

They have repeated trial and error and have used their traditional technique on their bread. It is still in this time Heisei era.

We feel busier than Meiji era. So why not try to have their bean-jam bans since Meiji era for your rest time?