Monday, April 07, 2008

Rice Cracker



Rice cracker, or senbei, is one of the most popular confectioneries in Japan. Virtually every city or town has its original cracker. It is fun to try them when you travel around Japan. I found this cracker when I visited Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto. The design on the package made me smile because it reminded me of the old game fukuwarai. The face is called "otafuku," the name of an imaginary woman having many fortunes.

In the game a blindfolded player is given the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth of the otafuku, all made of paper, and the player has to put them in the appropriate places on the faceless otafuku. You can imagine how funny the face will be when the blindfold is taken away.

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