Hyogo

A seasonal tradition in the beginning of spring “Ikanagoshinkoryo”

Ikanagonokugini

This is a traditional dish of fingerlings, shinko, flavored sweet and salty with shoyu, sugar, mirin and ginger. Shinko are caught during a-month-long “ikanagoshinkoryou (fishing)” from late February every year. This dish was named “kugini (nail-like)” as it looked like used nails. There are several stories of the origin, and some says fish merchants invented it by a request from customers, and the other says amimoto (landlord) in Kobe cooked it for his fishermen. In the end of fishing in the late March, you can find a pile of ikanagonokugini at local supermarkets, and it is also popular as souvenirs.