| Matsushima Koren | |
| Type: | Rice crackers |
| Inception: | (Kareki2 years) |
| Models: | Gurenya Co., Ltd. |
| Website: | http://www.matsushimakouren.com/ |
Korenya Shingetsuan is a type of rice cracker made by making sasanishiki rice from Miyagi prefecture into a thin rice cake shape and grilling it over charcoal. It has a faint sweetness of rice, and melts immediately when you put it in your mouth.[1] The manufacturing method has been passed down through the generations, and is currently being made by Minoru Hoshi, the 23rd generation. The only ingredients are Uruchi rice (Sasanishiki), Cast sugar, Table salt (Hakata salt), and no Food additives are used.
Long ago, a wealthy man named Kanbe, who lived near the approach to Matsushima Zuiganji Temple, befriended a merchant from Zuiganji during a pilgrimage to the Thirty-Three Kannons in Saigoku. When they are about to part ways, he regrets not leaving like this and wants to maintain a relationship with their relatives, so he arranges an engagement between Kotaro, the son of Kanbe, and Tani, the daughter of a merchant. However, when Kanbe returned from his pilgrimage, Kotaro had already died of illness. Tani, who did not know this, visited Kamobe dressed as a bride. When he learned that Kotaro had died, he remained in Matsushima and devoted himself to the Kanbe couple, saying, "As long as our parents have forgiven us, we are husband and wife, and I want to serve Buddha until the end of my life." A few years later, when the Kanbe couple passed away one after another, her duty was to pray for the souls of their souls, and she changed her name to Guren and became a nun. Guren opened Shingetsu-an, baked rice crackers with the rice that had been offered, and gave them to the people of the village. This is called "Matsushima Koren", and it has been passed down to the present day.[2]