Dorayaki vs Taiyaki: Two Classic Anko Sweets Compared
Dorayaki and taiyaki are both built around the same core idea, anko wrapped in a simple batter, but their shapes come from two genuinely different stories: one a gong, the other a lucky fish.
Dorayaki: named after a gong
Dorayaki, two round, pancake-like discs sandwiching a layer of anko, takes its name from dora, a gong, because of the resemblance between the disc shape and the instrument. A popular legend attaches a specific story to that name: the warrior monk Benkei is said to have accidentally left his gong behind at a farmer’s house, and the farmer used it as an improvised griddle to fry the pancakes, giving them the name. It’s a well-known story, but treat it as folklore rather than documented history; the gong-shape explanation for the name is the more solidly attested version.
The modern, double-layered sandwich form most people picture today is more recent than dorayaki itself: it was standardized in 1914 by Usagiya, a shop in Tokyo’s Ueno district, building on an earlier, single-layer version of the sweet that dates back to the Edo period.
Taiyaki: named after a lucky fish
Taiyaki takes a completely different path to its name. Tai, red sea bream, has carried good-fortune symbolism in Japan for centuries, tied to a pun on medetai (めでたい), the word for “auspicious” or “happy,” and to Ebisu, one of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods, traditionally depicted holding a tai. Real tai was historically expensive, a fish mostly enjoyed by the wealthy or served at celebrations like weddings and New Year.
Taiyaki’s own ancestor has at least six names
Imagawayaki, the round pancake taiyaki was reshaped from, never settled on one national name the way taiyaki did. It’s still called imagawayaki across much of Kanto, Tohoku, and a few scattered pockets elsewhere. In Tohoku, Tokai, and Shikoku, the same basic sweet is usually called obanyaki instead, literally “big-coin-shaped,” a name traced to 1955 when a confectionery-machine maker in Ehime started producing a larger version. Kansai and Kyushu generally call it kaitenyaki or kaitenmanju, referring to the rotating griddle used to cook it, and smaller regional names, like nijuyaki in Hiroshima, taikoyaki in Wakayama, and oyaki in Hokkaido, add even more variation. Taiyaki’s fish shape gave it one stable, unified name nationwide; the round pancake it came from never got that consistency.
What’s actually different to eat
Beyond the shape and backstory, the two have a genuine textural difference. Dorayaki’s batter is closer to a small pancake or castella sponge, soft and cake-like all the way through, meant to be eaten at room temperature. Taiyaki is cooked in a hinged, fish-shaped mold, and its thinner batter crisps noticeably at the edges where it meets the hot iron, giving it a firmer, slightly crunchy bite that dorayaki doesn’t have, and it’s traditionally eaten warm, straight from the mold.
Frequently asked questions
Why is dorayaki called that?
It's named after dora, a gong, because of the resemblance between its round, disc-like shape and the instrument. A popular legend ties the name to the warrior monk Benkei accidentally leaving a gong behind, which a farmer then used to cook the pancakes, though this is folklore rather than documented history.
Why is taiyaki shaped like a fish?
Tai (sea bream) carries good-fortune symbolism in Japan, tied to a pun on "medetai" (auspicious) and to the lucky god Ebisu. Real tai was historically expensive, and taiyaki's creator, Seijiro Kobe, reshaped his round anko pancakes into tai specifically so ordinary people could enjoy an affordable taste of that luck symbolism.
What's the actual texture difference between dorayaki and taiyaki?
Dorayaki is soft and cake-like throughout, similar to a small pancake, and eaten at room temperature. Taiyaki's thinner batter crisps at the edges in its fish-shaped mold, giving it a firmer bite, and it's traditionally eaten warm.
Is taiyaki related to imagawayaki?
Yes, directly. Taiyaki descends from imagawayaki, an older round anko pancake first sold near Kanda's Imagawa Bridge in the 1770s. Taiyaki's creator simply reshaped the same basic pancake into a fish.
Does imagawayaki have other names?
Yes, at least six across Japan: imagawayaki in much of Kanto and Tohoku, obanyaki ("big-coin-shaped") in Tohoku, Tokai, and Shikoku, kaitenyaki or kaitenmanju in Kansai and Kyushu, plus smaller regional names like nijuyaki in Hiroshima and oyaki in Hokkaido. Taiyaki's own name stayed consistent nationwide because its fish shape is so distinctive.
Which is older, dorayaki or taiyaki?
Dorayaki's roots go back further, to the Edo period, though its familiar double-layered sandwich form was only standardized in 1914. Taiyaki is a Meiji-period creation, built on the even older imagawayaki tradition.
The short version
Dorayaki and taiyaki both wrap anko in a simple batter, but their names and shapes come from different stories: dorayaki after a gong, with its familiar double-layered form standardized in 1914, and taiyaki after tai, a fish tied to good fortune, deliberately reshaped from an older round pancake called imagawayaki so ordinary people could afford a playful taste of that luck symbolism. The two also differ in texture, dorayaki soft and cake-like, taiyaki firmer and crisp at the edges from its mold, not just in shape.