【Reading】えほうまき

【English Name】Eho maki

Eho-maki is a thick rolled sushi (futomaki) eaten on Setsubun while facing that year's lucky direction (eho). It is said that if you eat the whole roll without cutting it, remaining silent until you finish, your wish will come true.

Although its origin is said to be in Osaka, multiple theories exist regarding its exact derivation, and no established account has yet been firmly settled. There is a record that the Osaka Sushi Merchants' Association distributed promotional flyers in 1932, known as one of the oldest promotional materials currently confirmable. Testimony also remains that it was eaten in Osaka households from the Taisho era.

The fillings are basically said to be seven kinds in reference to the Seven Lucky Gods, with representative ones including dried gourd strips, cucumber, datemaki (sweet rolled omelet), conger eel (or eel), pink fish flakes (sakura denbu), simmered shiitake, and koya-dofu. From the 2000s onward, seafood eho-maki incorporating salmon and salmon roe have also become widespread.

In its spread nationwide, convenience stores' promotional activities played an important role. Handling began at a Seven-Eleven store in Hiroshima in 1989, and in 1998 it expanded to nationwide rollout. A 2018 survey found an awareness rate of about 84% and that about 61% of people had actually eaten it, showing that it has taken firm root as a representative food custom of Setsubun.