Birthplace of Kurikinton
Ena City is located in southeastern Gifu Prefecture, adjacent to Aichi and Nagano Prefectures. The city is rich in nature and history. In the past, the city prospered as a major transportation hub. Ooijuku, the 49th inn on the Nakasendo Highway, is the largest of the 16 inns in Mino. It is lined with the gates of a prestigious main lodge and the houses of village headmen with lattice doors, and was the place where the Emperor Meiji stayed when he made his pilgrimage in 1838. There are six “masugata,” or square-shaped gates, set up to prevent enemies from entering the inn, but only here in Oi-juku are there so many of them. This is the only place where such a large number of them can be seen. As an inn town at the intersection of the Namboku Highway, which carried salt and textiles to Shinshu and Kiso, and the Chuma Highway, which carried cocoons and firewood, it was very busy with travelers visiting Ise.
To entertain travelers, chestnuts from the mountains of the Ena region were boiled, squeezed out with a cloth, and served as a confectionery, which is said to be the origin of Kurikinton. A stone monument with the inscription “Birthplace of Chestnut Kinton” stands in front of JR Nakatsugawa Station, which is part of the Ena area, and free chestnut kinton is served in front of the station on September 9, “Chou-you-no-Sekku,” a festival to express gratitude. Although the town’s function as an inn town has shrunk, the elegant townscape remains, and many tourists visit the area for the chestnut kinton, which is sold only from early fall, when chestnuts are ready for harvest, until around January.
The charm of kuri-kinton is the flavor that makes the most of the ingredients. The elegant, yet nostalgic and simple flavor is addictive. Chestnuts themselves are rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, and other minerals essential for human health, and they also contain many vitamins and dietary fiber. The process is quite simple. The chestnuts are carefully back-cooked, sugar is added, and then the chestnuts are formed into a tea towel. That is why the difference in ingredients and techniques is so noticeable, and the customers appreciate it very highly.
Kurikinton, a traditional and unique dessert at “Ena Jyuya”.
Enasuya ” is a long-established confectionery store that has been in business for more than 60 years, operating six stores in the Tono area, including Ena City, Gifu Prefecture, and Tajimi City, known as a pottery town. It is said that Enasuya was started as a branch of Nakatsugawa Suya, which was established in the Edo period (1603-1868). In the Tono region, many other Japanese confectionery stores are competing with each other to produce their own unique kurikinton (sweet made from chestnuts) using locally harvested chestnuts. The characteristic of Enasuya’s chestnut kinton is that while respecting the traditional method of production, the texture is arranged by cooking the chestnuts while leaving the chestnut grains intact. When you bite into a chestnut kinton, its rich flavor spreads softly in your mouth along with its rich sweetness.
Enasuya does not stick to Ena chestnuts, a specialty of Nakatsugawa City and Ena City, but carefully selects the best chestnuts of the year from all over Japan, and skilled wagashi craftsmen fine-tune the delicate flavor by assessing the conditions.
The Kannonji store, which is attached to the main factory about 10 minutes by car from the main store, is built in a traditional sukiya-style building, and its atmospheric appearance blends in with the beautiful surrounding scenery rich in nature. It has an eating and drinking area where customers can enjoy the view of the garden with its beautiful fresh greenery and autumn leaves, and is trying to match the skills of artisans with the needs of today by offering a “chestnut parfait” that makes the most of its know-how. The shop offers a wide variety of products that only a craftsman who knows chestnuts can produce, keeping customers coming back for more.
The skills and ideas that enable them to propose various ways to enjoy even a single chestnut make this a place where one can not only enjoy Japanese confectionery, but also naturally learn how to look at it. The area is also home to tourist attractions such as the ruins of Naegi Castle, a nationally designated historic site that is famous as a “castle in the sky,” making it a good place to take a break while driving around the area.
