Japanese Students Use Traditional Pickle to Create Novel Wagashi Confectionery

By Soichiro Nakamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

2:00 JST, February 24, 2026

OTSU — A group led by students from Doshisha University have commercialized Naomoi, a wagashi traditional Japanese confection containing hinonazuke pickles. Hinonazuke are made from hinona, a type of turnip grown in Hino, Shiga Prefecture.

Production of the pickles has been a fixture of the town since the Muromachi period (1336-1573).

Sales of Naomoi have begun at Iseto, a wagashi maker and retailer in the town. One piece costs ¥270, including tax. With the new sweet, the group aims to promote popularity and cultivation of the traditional vegetable.

Naomoi’s design is modeled after the face of Anonahinona, the mascot of the turnip. It is a nerikiri confection made by mixing hinonazuke, made with chopped hinona roots and leaves, with white bean paste. It has a satisfying crunch, and the unique spiciness and saltiness of the pickles combine well with the sweetness of the white bean paste.

Hinona was registered in 2022 as a local product protected under the nation’s geographical indication system.

Five students, including one who is a Hino native, came up with the idea of using hinona in wagashi in a seminar class at the university. They worked with Iseto’s owner Haruhisa Takeuchi, 67, to refine their idea into a finished product.

The group submitted Naomoi for the Student IP Business Idea Competition organized by the Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry held last October at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. The contest judges praised the originality of combining Japanese sweets with pickles and the product’s market potential, as demand for wagashi is expected to grow. The product won the special jury prize in the regional brand category.

“We combined the unique flavor of hinonazuke pickles with white bean paste to create an easy-to-eat product,” said Mizuki Sakata, 21, a third-year student in Doshisha University’s Faculty of Policy Studies who was the student representative at the seminar class. “This wouldn’t have been possible without professional expertise. We want to reach many people to introduce them to hinonazuke.”