八橋

Japanese

Kanji in this term
八	橋
や(つ) Grade: 1	はし Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
八ツ橋 八ッ橋

Etymology

Literally, “eight bridges” The name of the cracker is thought to either derive from the shape, resembling a koto in memory of Yatsuhashi Kengyō, an early-Edo period musician who started the modern tradition of koto music; or from the location where it was first prepared, which was close to Mikawa-no-kuni Yatsuhashi, an area in modern-day Chiba Prefecture.

Noun

八(やつ)橋(はし) • (yatsuhashi) 

1. a narrow zigzagging plank bridge over a stream, pond, or marsh
2. a motif of a stylised plank bridge, often with irises
3. a baked cinnamon flavoured roof tile shaped rice-flour cracker which is a famous regional food of Kyoto

   Synonym: 焼き八橋 (yaki-yatsuhashi)

4. synonym of 一初 (ichihatsu, “roof iris, Iris tectorum”)

Derived terms

• 八橋織(やつはしおり) (yatsuhashiori)
• 八橋流(やつはしりゅう) (yatsuhashiryū)
• 生八橋(なまやつはし) (nama-yatsuhashi)