【Reading】かきまぜずし

【English Name】Kakimaze-zushi

Kakimaze-zushi is one of the local sushi handed down in Tokushima Prefecture, an alternative name for "barazushi." Depending on the region it is also called "mazekuri," "gomoku-zushi," or "osumoji," and it has been served at celebratory occasions such as festivals and seasonal festivities.

Tokushima originally did not have a large rice harvest, and it is said to have been born from the device of adding various ingredients to reduce the amount of rice used. A characteristic is that the vinegared rice uses local citrus vinegar such as sudachi, yuzu, and yuko, and ingredients such as konnyaku, chikuwa, carrot, and burdock simmered in sugar-soy are mixed in. In spring, mountain vegetables such as zenmai, warabi, bamboo shoots, fuki, and broad beans are sometimes added, and in the southern part of the prefecture there are regions that use peanuts instead of kintoki beans.

What is eaten on the day of the Boar in the tenth lunar month is called "inoko-zushi," and there was a custom of offering it before the deity together with crops. The custom was to heap it eight-tenths full in a masu (measuring box) and pray for the next year's bountiful harvest. Made in each household centered on home-grown vegetables, it was also used to entertain visitors and as a gift to bring along.