Abstract
Tarashiyaki is one of the traditional home-cooked dishes found in rural Japan. It is made by baking wheat flour dissolved in water in a frying pan. This paper reports on the usage of tarashiyaki before the period of high economic growth based on interviews conducted in Gunma Prefecture. In this prefecture, where wheat cultivation has thrived, various powdered foods such as udon, suiton, steamed buns, and yakimochi have been made since ancient times. Among them, tarashiyaki was mainly used as a snack because it was easy to make. Miso was often used as a seasoning because home-brewed miso was common in rural households in Gunma Prefecture at the time. Tarashiyaki is not only made from wheat flour. In mountainous areas, it was sometimes made from buckwheat flour or corn flour, so it varied from region to region. In addition, there are various names for tarashiyaki, such as jiriyaki, mizuyaki, and senbeiyaki. Even within the same prefecture, there are various names depending on the region. The reason for differing names is related to tarashiyaki's role in the local diet. It is thought that local names for the dish did not circulate freely between regions because it was a food that was only eaten occasionally among families.
