【Reading】ほおばずし/ほうばずし

【English Name】Hohba sushi / Hohba zushi

Hoba-zushi is a traditional regional sushi handed down in parts of the Chubu and Kinki regions, in which chirashi-zushi topped with ingredients such as fish and wild mountain vegetables (sansai) is wrapped in the leaf of the Japanese bigleaf magnolia (hoonoki). The magnolia leaf has an antibacterial effect, and because the sushi is wrapped in the leaf, the hands stay clean, making it easy to eat between bouts of farm work or logging. For this reason it was easy to carry as a portable food and was eaten during breaks in farm work.