Age-old buns that sell like hotcakes

In the center of Nankinmachi Chinatown in the Japanese city of Kobe people line up outside the Roshoki pork bun restaurant. Its buns, buta manju, are about the size of a child's fist. The restaurant says it sells an average of 13,000 buns, costing 100 yen (65 cents), a day.

The restaurant, founded in 1915, is regarded as the birthplace of pork buns in Japan.

The first owner, who came from China, and his Japanese wife created a stuffed pork bun by making Tianjin baozi, Chinese steamed buns, with different seasonings to suit Japanese tastes. The restaurant's buns, cheap and convenient, became popular, and many other pork bun shops opened in the area.

Butaman steamed pork buns are a specialty of Kobe, where there are many long-established shops and restaurants famous for the food. Hot buns with a savory filling are a favorite takeout dish for locals and tourists alike.

Now, more than a century after butaman arrived in Japan, there is a movement to further its evolution while preserving traditions.

Eisei So, a member of the third generation of the family to run the restaurant, has dedicated himself to continuing the popular bun. His goal is to bring pork buns international renown.

The number of foreign visitors to Japan has recently returned to pre-pandemic levels. A three-day festival in Nankinmachi during the Chinese New Year season in February attracted about 170,000 people, including foreign tourists.

"I want to make the word butaman known all over the world," he said enthusiastically.

There is also a movement to promote butaman as part of the local culture.

In 2011 the Kobe Butaman Summit was established to enliven the city through butaman, with the initiative taken by Takashi Ando, managing director of Sannomiya Ikkanrou, a company that operates Chinese restaurants also known for their pork buns.

The event has been held almost every year, attracting many visitors each time. In addition to ordinary pork buns, original styles such as those made with truffles or lobster are sold there.

The event has also featured a buta pan pork bread made by the long-established Isuzu Bakery, at Ando's request.

"If more shops sell their original butaman, the event will be more exciting," Ando said. "We also welcome businesses from other industries to join in with us."

He hopes the community will be united by collaboration with other industries without necessarily adhering to the conventional concept of pork buns, he said.

Butaman really took root and grew in Kobe.

"I believe that butaman will continue to be loved by people of all ages even if it changes, thanks to its tradition and background of being passed down from our predecessors," So said.

Since 2022 Roshoki has organized the Dream Butaman Project in which pork buns that are developed in collaboration with food-related businesses in the city are sold for a limited period, with proceeds being used for food and nutrition education projects.

"The more varieties of butaman we can offer, the more interesting our project will be," So said.

THE JAPAN NEWS