Abstract
We studied the distribution of five good luck sweets traditional to the city of Kanazawa (goshiki-namagashi, himuro-manju, fukuume, kinkato, and sasagi-mochi) in Ishikawa Prefecture by surveying 34 Japanese confectionery stores in that prefecture.
Only fukuume was made and sold anywhere in Ishikawa Prefecture. Both goshiki-namagashi and sasagi-mochi were seen mainly in the Kaga region except the city of Kaga. The reason for the lack of distribution throughout the Noto Peninsula could be that this region has poor rice yields. The dearth of these sweets in the city of Kaga could be explained by the fact that Kaga residents were unable to adopt the traditional confectionery culture of Kanazawa due to severe economic conditions in the Edo period.
Even if the design of a particular sweet spread to areas outside of its origin, the sweet's cultural background and other various meanings would not always follow. Without this cultural background, such sweets may cease to exist.
