【ザ・昭和】　今も人気「たぬきケーキ」　ケーキ界の絶滅危惧種は昭和ケーキ界のアイドルだった！？ (25/09/03 18:38)

To celebrate 100 years since the start of the Showa era, 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the Showa era, in our series "The Showa," we're featuring nostalgic places and things that evoke the warmth of the Showa era. On the 3rd, we'll be featuring "Tanuki Cake." As the name suggests, this cake is based on a tanuki (raccoon dog) motif, and is typically made with buttercream. Developed in the Showa era, the number of shops making it is decreasing, but even now in the Reiwa era, its charm seems to capture people's hearts. We went in search of tanuki cakes in Kagoshima Prefecture. Tanuki Cake. As the name suggests, it is shaped like a tanuki (raccoon dog). The body is made from roll cake and the head is made with buttercream. When we asked people on the street about it... 20s Q. Have you ever seen a tanuki cake? "No." "Cute." 50s "Ah... I used to see them a lot." "Yes, I know them. I used to eat them a lot." 20s "I don't know them. I'm not from here (Kagoshima), to begin with, so I was like, (This is actually sold nationwide.) Huh? Really?! (laughs)." This tanuki cake has different perceptions across generations. Apparently, it originated in a cake shop somewhere in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s, and became a nationwide favorite around the 1960s and 1970s. Apparently, buttercream was used instead of fresh cream, which was expensive at the time. It was a popular cake during the Showa era, but with the times, the number of shops making it has decreased, and now it's referred to as an "endangered species in the cake world." Where are endangered species in the Reiwa era? We visited a cake shop in Harayoshi, Kagoshima City. "Okashi no Yoshikuraya," founded in 1970. Among the 15 or so types of cakes lined up in the store...I found one! A tanuki cake. On this day, a customer came in to buy a tanuki cake. Customer "I came here the other day and it was delicious and brought back memories. I'll be a repeat customer." "I remember them being served as a Christmas cake (in school lunch) when I was in elementary school." One of the charms of tanuki cake is that each store has a different face and shape. Yoshikuraya's tanuki cake, "Ponkichi," is characterized by its big eyes! The "whites" of the eyes are made of buttercream, and large "blacks" are made of chocolate. Yoshikuraya Confectionery's Yoshimura Shuji Q. Do the eyes change depending on the feel of the chocolate each day? "Yes. The size and the amount of sauce. Bigger eyes are cuter, though." Around 30 "Ponkichi" cakes are lined up in the display case every day. Though they're considered an endangered species, they seem to have a strong presence in this store. Yoshimura Shuji "They're so cute, aren't they? They don't just come to look, they come to buy them, asking, 'Do you have them?' It's always been a big seller overall." Someone was so impressed by the tanuki cake that they even made their own merchandise. A booth at a certain event was decorated with a variety of pictures and merchandise featuring the tanuki cake motif. These were created by Suzuki Futako, an illustrator from Kagoshima City. My first encounter with tanuki cake was eight years ago. Illustrator Suzuki Futako "There was a tanuki cake in the cake selection set. It looked kind of nostalgic, but I'd never tried it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I ordered one and enjoyed it, and that's how I got into it. I used to see them all the time, but I wondered if they still exist." That prompted me to start shopping for tanuki cakes around the prefecture. She keeps a record of her research on the tanuki cakes she encounters. Suzuki Futako "They're modeled after living creatures, so rather than going out to buy them, you go and catch them, meet them. They're not anthropomorphized, but they're fun as characters. It's not just about eating them." Among the merchandise is a "tanuki cake encyclopedia" that makes use of the survey results! Suzuki Futako "People who know about tanuki cake say, 'Ah, that brings back memories.' They say, 'I used to see them all the time, but I haven't seen them lately,' so I tell them, 'There are still stores that sell them these days.' People who don't know about them think, 'Oh, I didn't know they existed.' They think, 'That's interesting.' Whether they know about them or not, they're interested." Suzuki's merchandise appears to be helping to spread the appeal of tanuki cake, which the world has almost forgotten. Tanuki cakes are full of retro Showa-era charm, but in fact, riding the wave of the Reiwa era, some have even been chosen as gifts in return for hometown tax donations. That's Ponta-kun! Established in 1954. This is the Tanuki Cake from Kataoka Confectionery in Tsuruta, Satsuma Town, Kagoshima Prefecture. Ponta, born in 1982, is a classic Tanuki Cake made of a cocoa roll coated in buttercream. About five years ago, the happy yellow Ponta-kun, Shiro-chan, Chachamaru, and Sakura-chan joined fo...