Usa-ame is a soft candy that has been sold as a souvenir to visitors to the Usa-Jinguu Shrine in the city of Usa. The aims of the present study are to investigate the history of Usa-ame and how it has been inspired by other candies produced in the Buzen area and to reproduce Usa—ame using traditional methods and ingredients.

In the Edo period, soft candies similar to Usa-ame were mainly made in Kokura and Gyoji, and the small villages surrounding those cities. Usa-ame existed in the late Edo period. It is supposed that religious beliefs of people in the area and production of candies in the Kokura and Gyoji regions were a considerable influence on the invention and development of Usa-ame. However, despite the introducing of kneading machines in the manufacture of Usa-ame in the 1960’s, production of the candy decreased; the number of visitors to the Usa-Jinguu Shrine declined and the candy’s popularity also suffered as the Japanese people’s eating habits became more diverse. Today, only four souvenir stores in the area continue to make the candy using glutinous starch syrup.

We interviewed the people who had the experience of producing Usa-ame. The finding allowed us to produce traditional Usa-ame made with rice and barley.