KESENNUMA, Miyagi -- Following the announcement of the new era name "Reiwa" on Monday, there has been a rush to make various products featuring the name.
In one such example, Ichimaru, a long-established kamaboko fish cake maker in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, began selling Reiwa kamaboko on Tuesday.
The white heart-shaped cakes -- which are about 14 centimeters long, 12 centimeters wide and two centimeters thick -- have the kanji characters for Reiwa on them.
The letters were written with black fish paste mixed with edible charcoal. Each piece is also adorned with pink decorations resembling plum blossoms, a design inspired by "Manyoshu," Japan's oldest poetry anthology and from which Reiwa was derived.
Established in 1929, Ichimaru's three-story house combined with a store was destroyed by tsunami after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The store is now located on the first floor of public housing built nearby for people affected by the disaster.
"I hope Reiwa will become a peaceful, serene era without disasters," said Keiichi Ogata, 54, the third-generation owner of the business. "I put that feeling into the kamaboko."
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