A day for Kanpyō

Today, and January 10th annually, is Kanpyō day かんぴょうの日. Kanpyo is the long strips of gourd you often see in sushi rolls. Kanpyo is made from drying strips of calabash gourd, scientifically known as Lagenaria siceraria.

I don't have a photo of kanpyo currently in my photo collection, but it is a common household product in Japan. Moreover, I think the gourd in this photo is actually different to the gourd used in Kanpyo which is known as yugao or fukube. Kanpyo isn't just used for sushi rolls in Japan, but has many uses in Japanese cooking.

The commemoration on this day was established by Tochigi Prefecture, the country’s leading producer of kanpyō. The date comes from a clever bit of character play: the kanji for “dry” (干), used in kanpyō (干瓢), can be broken into the elements “一” (1) and “十” (10) — making 1/10 (January 10th) the perfect symbolic match.