Damako Miso Soup

Damako Miso Soup

In Akita, the bean bags that children play with are called “damako”, and the round rice balls made by pounding freshly cooked rice with a mortar and pestle and using your hands to shape the rice into balls are also called “damako”. These are essentially a type of dango and came to be referred to as “damako” for their resemblance to the damako toys. It is also said that the saying “damakko”, which refers to children who eat quietly, came into use because damako are so delicious that children would become solely focused on eating them (“damakko” is a play on words combining the “damako” introduced here with the Japanese word for being silent (“damaru” ).