Mashed portions of rice which got roasted over a fire upon skewers made of Japanese cedars wood; it is kiritanpo famous as the local cuisine of Akita. It is said that they often supply the dish at Akita elementary school meals in wintertime. Namely, it means the local ones have truly taken root into the people living in the region.
Kiritanpo originally means the cut tanpo. And tanpo means tanpo spears whose heads are attached to by cotton covered with cloth for training use. Kiritanpo are said to look like the training spears. Then, uncut kiritanpo are not kiritanpo but tanpo exactly.
Jujiya have made and launched kiritanpo in O-date, Akita since 1948. Using their original blended rice which they developed by hard work, they have made kiritanpo without any additives. From putting rice around wood sticks to packing, the workers at the shop all manually do.
Recently, it is mainly eaten in a pot of stewed chicken pieces and burdocks flavored with soy sauce. Moreover, Misozuke-tanpo painted with miso when roasted on a fire can also be had at teatime.
Incidentally, O-date city is regarded as the best place of kiritanpo and the next door, Kazuno city is said to be the birthplace of kiritanpo. Either way, kiritanpo are considered as a local cuisine in the northern part of Akita.