Henbaya Shōten

Henbaya Shōten (へんばや商店) is a Japanese wagashi (traditional confectionery) maker based in Obata-chō Akeno, Ise City, Mie Prefecture. According to its official website, the shop was founded in the fourth year of the An'ei era (1775) and has continued for more than two centuries, serving travellers on the Ise pilgrimage route. Its signature product, Henbamochi (へんば餅), is a simple round, flattened rice cake with toasted marks on both sides and a strained-bean (koshian) filling, prized for its distinctive texture. The company states that its founding principle, passed down from its ancestors, is simply to "make it delicious and sell it cheaply" (「美味しく作って安く売れ」), and it insists on domestically produced ingredients and daily fresh production. The name "Henba" is officially explained by the company as deriving from the "henba-sho" (返馬所), the place where pilgrims travelling to Ise Jingū by horse would send their horses back before crossing the Miyagawa river. A folkloric alternative links "henba" to a dialect word for smallpox scars (abata), and a related local dish called "henba-yaki" exists in eastern Kishū, Mie Prefecture. Henbaya Shōten operates four stores, all in Ise City: the main store (本店) in Akeno, the Miyagawa store (宮川店, with an attached factory), the Oharai-machi store (おはらい町店) near the inner shrine approach, and the Ise-shi Station-front store (伊勢市駅前店). Besides Henbamochi, the shop sells other rice cakes such as Sawamochi and Kuromochi, sekihan (steamed red rice), and Ise tea from Mie Prefecture. The business was incorporated as a yūgen gaisha (limited company) in 1975. It temporarily suspended operations during the Pacific War in 1943 and resumed in December 1954. In 2007 the company was subject to administrative guidance after it disclosed that its ingredient labelling had omitted mizuame and salt and had other labelling irregularities under the JAS Law and Food Sanitation Act. The Miyagawa store received a Good Design Award in 2010. Today Henbaya Shōten remains a privately held, family-run regional confectioner closely tied to Ise's pilgrimage tourism and local food culture.

Henbaya Shōten traces its origins to 1775 (An'ei 4), when, according to the Japanese Wikipedia article on Henbamochi, it was founded as a teahouse serving rice cakes to pilgrims at the henba-sho (返馬所) on the banks of the Miyagawa river along the Ise pilgrimage route (伊勢参宮街道). The henba-sho was the point where worshippers who had travelled by horse to Ise Jingū would send their horses back before crossing the river, and the company officially states that its signature Henbamochi takes its name from this place. The shop continued as a local confectioner through the Edo and Meiji periods and into the twentieth century. In 1943 (Shōwa 18), during the Pacific War, it suspended business. It resumed operations in December 1954 (Shōwa 29). In 1975 (Shōwa 50) the business was reorganised as a yūgen gaisha (limited company). In March 1978 the Miyagawa store (宮川店) opened. In October 2009 the main store and Miyagawa store temporarily closed for the rebuilding of the Miyagawa store, reopening on 30 November 2009. In 2010 the rebuilt Miyagawa store received a Good Design Award. In September 2011 the Oharai-machi store (おはらい町店) opened near the inner shrine approach, and in October 2017 the Ise-shi Station-front store (伊勢市駅前店) opened. In 2007 the company became involved in a labelling scandal: on 31 October 2007 it reported to authorities that its ingredient labels had omitted mizuame and salt, and on 1 November the Mie Prefecture agriculture, forestry, commerce and industry department and the Ise health centre conducted an on-site inspection on suspicion of JAS Law violations. Further problems were found, including ingredient order not following weight order and expiry-related information not visible at purchase for some products. The company corrected its labels from 3 November 2007, and on 30 November 2007 the Ise health centre issued a written apology/undertaking (始末書) for Food Sanitation Act violations while the prefectural department issued written guidance for JAS Law violations. Today Henbaya Shōten remains a privately held, family-run regional confectioner with four stores in Ise City, closely tied to Ise's pilgrimage tourism and local food culture.

• 2017

  Ise-shi Station-front store opened in October.

• 2011

  Oharai-machi store opened in September.

• 2010

  Miyagawa store received a Good Design Award.

• 2009

  Main store and Miyagawa store closed for rebuilding in October; reopened on 30 November.

• 2007

  Ingredient labelling scandal; administrative guidance under JAS Law and Food Sanitation Act.

• 1978

  Miyagawa store opened in March.

• 1975

  Reorganised as a yūgen gaisha (limited company).

• 1954

  Resumed operations in December.

• 1943

  Suspended business due to the Pacific War.

• 1775

  Founded as a teahouse serving rice cakes to pilgrims at the henba-sho on the Miyagawa river along the Ise pilgrimage route.

Long-established regional wagashi maker and Ise pilgrimage-route souvenir brand, emphasising unchanged traditional taste, domestic ingredients and daily fresh production.

• Henbamochi (へんば餅)

  Signature round, flattened rice cake with toasted marks on both sides and strained-bean filling, made since 1775.

• Sawamochi (さわ餅)

  A rice cake long familiar in the region.

• Kuromochi (黒餅)

  A dark-coloured rice cake.

• Sekihan (赤飯)

  Steamed red rice, steamed in a traditional steamer.

• Mizu yōkan (水ようかん)

  A chilled azuki bean jelly confection.

• Kombu (昆布)

  Kelp product sold alongside the confections.

• Ise tea (伊勢茶)

  Tea from Mie Prefecture, a major tea-producing region.

1. 1へんばや商店公式サイトhenbaya.jp
2. 2へんば餅 - Wikipedia (ja)ja.wikipedia.org
3. 3Henbaya Shōten - Wikidatawikidata.org