Miyajima / Hiroshima (Sweets)

Miyajima, the small island in Hiroshima Prefecture best known for Itsukushima Shrine’s floating torii gate, is also the birthplace of momiji-manju, Hiroshima’s signature confection. The confectioner Takatsu Tsunesuke created it in 1906 for a ryokan near Momijidani, the island’s scenic maple valley, a maple-leaf-shaped, castella-style cake most commonly filled with sweet azuki bean paste.

Because momiji-manju’s basic design was never trademarked as anyone’s exclusive concept, other Miyajima shops began making their own versions soon after, and a 1960s baking machine that could rotate and bake a series of molds at once made large-scale, consistent production practical. That combination let momiji-manju spread beyond Miyajima into a symbol of Hiroshima Prefecture as a whole, now sold at train stations, airports, and gift shops across the region rather than only on the island where it began. Not every innovation on the format stayed open to everyone, though: age-momiji, a deep-fried version introduced by the Miyajima shop Momijido in 2002, is sold under a registered trademark specific to that maker.